Greek mythology is messy. If you’ve ever looked into the Olympians, you know it’s basically a cosmic soap opera where everyone is related and everyone is usually screaming at each other. At the center of a lot of that screaming is Ares. He's the guy people think of when they think of mindless violence and the "dogs of war," but if you want to understand why he was so disliked by his peers, you have to look at the source. Who are Ares parents? Well, the short answer is Zeus and Hera, the King and Queen of the gods. But that doesn’t even begin to cover the actual drama involved.
Imagine being the son of the two most powerful beings in the universe and having both of them basically tell you that you're a disappointment. That was Ares' life. Unlike Athena, who was also a war deity but represented strategy and wisdom, Ares was the embodiment of the bloodlust and the "noise" of battle. Because of this, his relationship with his parents was, frankly, toxic.
The King and Queen: Zeus and Hera
So, we’ve established that Zeus and Hera are the biological parents of Ares. This is one of the few things in Greek mythology that is relatively consistent across sources like Hesiod’s Theogony and Homer’s Iliad. In a world where Zeus was constantly fathering children with random nymphs, mortals, and even personified concepts, Ares is one of the "legitimate" ones. He’s a prince of Olympus.
But "legitimate" didn't mean "loved."
Zeus is a complicated father. He’s the sky god, the thunderer, the guy who runs the show. In the Iliad, there is a famous moment after Ares gets wounded in battle by the mortal Diomedes (with a bit of help from Athena). Ares goes running back to Olympus to complain to his dad. Instead of getting sympathy, Zeus looks him dead in the eye and tells him he’s the most hateful of all the gods who dwell on Olympus. He basically tells Ares that if he weren't his son, he would have kicked him down to Tartarus a long time ago.
Why Hera’s Role Matters
Then you have Hera. She’s often portrayed as the jealous wife, but she’s also the goddess of marriage and family. In some versions of the myths, Hera was so fed up with Zeus’s constant cheating that she tried to produce children on her own to get back at him. While Hephaestus is sometimes the result of that solo effort, Ares is almost always credited to both of them.
Hera’s relationship with Ares is a bit more supportive than Zeus's, but it's often transactional. She uses him. When she needs a blunt instrument to mess with Zeus's latest mistress or her illegitimate children, Ares is her go-to. He’s the muscle. It’s a classic family dynamic where the mother protects the "problem child" mostly because he’s useful for her own grievances against the father.
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The Sibling Rivalry That Defined Ares
You can't talk about who are Ares parents without talking about his sister, Athena. While Ares was the son of both Zeus and Hera, Athena was famously born from Zeus’s head. This created an immediate rift. Zeus adored Athena. She was the "favorite."
Ares was the son of the marriage, but Athena was the daughter of the mind.
This rivalry wasn't just about who got more presents at Christmas. It was ideological. Ares represented the physical carnage of war—the shields breaking, the screaming, the mud. Athena represented the reason for war and the strategy to win it. Because Zeus valued order and justice, he naturally gravitated toward Athena. This left Ares in a perpetual state of trying to prove himself through violence, which only made his parents dislike him more. It's a vicious cycle.
The Contrast with Hephaestus
Ares also had a brother, Hephaestus, the smith god. Their relationship is even more strained because Ares spent a significant amount of time sleeping with Hephaestus’s wife, Aphrodite.
If you're looking at the family tree, you see a pattern of dysfunction.
- Zeus (Father): Resents Ares for his chaotic nature.
- Hera (Mother): Uses Ares as a weapon in her marital disputes.
- Hephaestus (Brother): Humiliated by Ares’s affair with Aphrodite.
- Athena (Sister): Constantly outsmarts and defeats him on the battlefield.
Are There Other Versions?
In mythology, there’s always a "but." While the Zeus and Hera origin is the gold standard, some fringe Roman traditions and later interpretations suggest Hera conceived Ares by touching a magical flower. The Roman poet Ovid mentions this in his Fasti. In this version, Hera was angry that Zeus had birthed Athena without her, so she went to the goddess Flora, who gave her a flower that could cause pregnancy upon contact.
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This version is interesting because it removes Zeus from the equation entirely. It makes Ares a "spite baby." If you follow this line of thinking, it explains why Zeus has absolutely no paternal bond with Ares in the myths. He isn't his child; he’s a physical manifestation of Hera’s grudge.
The Reputation Problem
Why does any of this matter? Because the identity of who are Ares parents shaped how the Greeks viewed the god. Unlike the Romans, who loved Mars (the Roman version of Ares) and saw him as a father of the state, the Greeks were kinda terrified of Ares. They saw him as an unpredictable force.
When you look at his parentage, you see the union of "Power" (Zeus) and "Structure/Law" (Hera). When those two things collide in a toxic way, you get chaos. Ares is the byproduct of a high-conflict marriage.
Real scholars like Walter Burkert have pointed out that Ares is often a "foreign" god in the Greek mind. They associated him with Thrace, a land they considered wild and barbarian. By making him the son of Zeus and Hera, the Greeks were essentially acknowledging that "War" is a part of the divine family, even if it's the part of the family nobody wants to invite to dinner.
Historical Evidence and Cult Worship
It’s a misconception that nobody worshipped Ares. He had temples, particularly in Crete and Sparta. However, compared to the massive festivals for Zeus or Athena, his cult was small.
Archaeologists have found inscriptions and votive offerings that suggest soldiers would pray to him before a fight, but they’d usually thank Athena after they won. It’s a bit of a "break glass in case of emergency" situation. If you're about to go into a meat-grinder of a battle, you want the god of bloodlust on your side. Once the battle is over, you want him to go back to Thrace and stay away from your civil society.
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His parents reflected this. Zeus is the god of the polis (the city-state). Ares is the god of the wilderness where the city laws don't apply.
Key Takeaways on Ares’ Heritage
To wrap your head around this divine mess, you have to look at the three main pillars of his identity:
- Legitimacy: He is one of the few gods born to the "official" union of Zeus and Hera, giving him high status but also high expectations he never met.
- Conflict: His existence is defined by the friction between his parents. He is the personification of their worst traits—Zeus's temper and Hera's vindictiveness.
- Isolation: Despite his high birth, he is an outsider. His father's open hatred of him is one of the most unique dynamics in all of Greek mythology.
How to Use This Information
If you're studying Greek mythology or writing about these characters, stop looking at Ares as just a "villain." He's a tragic figure. He’s the son who could never do anything right in the eyes of his father.
If you want to explore this further, start by reading Book 5 of the Iliad. It’s the best primary source for seeing the "Who are Ares parents" drama play out in real-time. You’ll see the dialogue where Zeus explicitly disowns him emotionally. From there, look into the Homeric Hymns to see how different poets tried to soften his image over time.
Understanding Ares isn't just about knowing his name; it's about seeing the wreckage of the family he came from.
Next Steps for Mythology Enthusiasts:
- Read the Primary Sources: Check out Hesiod’s Theogony (lines 921-922) for the birth record.
- Compare the Romans: Look at how Ovid’s Fasti changes the narrative to make Ares (Mars) a product of Hera (Juno) alone.
- Analyze the Offspring: Look at Ares’ own children—Phobos (Fear) and Deimos (Terror). You’ll see that the cycle of "terrible parenting" in this family tree definitely continues.