You’ve probably seen the movies. Ares usually shows up as this massive, snarling guy in black armor, ready to kick over a city because he’s bored or angry. But if you look at the old stories—the stuff Homer and Hesiod were writing down thousands of years ago—the question of who is Ares parents gets a lot more interesting than just a family tree entry.
He’s the son of Zeus and Hera. Simple, right?
Well, not exactly. In the messy, soap-opera world of Mount Olympus, being the son of the King and Queen of the Gods didn't actually make Ares a favorite. In fact, his dad basically hated him. Imagine being the literal God of War and having your father tell you to your face that you're the most hateful person on the mountain. That's the vibe we're dealing with here.
The Power Couple Behind the God of War
To really answer who is Ares parents, you have to look at the marriage of Zeus and Hera. This wasn't exactly a match made in heaven, even if they lived there. Zeus was the ultimate philanderer, and Hera was the goddess of marriage who spent most of her time trying to punish Zeus's various flings.
Ares was their legitimate son. This matters. Unlike Heracles or Perseus, who were half-mortal "side projects" of Zeus, Ares was the real deal. He was full Olympian. He had the "royal" blood of the two most powerful beings in the universe.
Yet, he didn't get the respect you’d expect.
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Zeus represents order, justice, and the "higher" sky. Ares? He represents the bloodlust, the screaming, and the sheer chaos of a battlefield. There’s a famous scene in the Iliad where Ares gets wounded and runs back to Zeus to complain. Zeus basically looks at him and says, "Don't sit here and whine. To me, you are the most hateful of all the gods who hold Olympus."
Ouch.
Why Hera Supported Him Anyway
Hera’s relationship with her son was a bit different. She was often his biggest advocate, mostly because he was hers. In a world where Zeus was constantly bringing home illegitimate kids, Ares was a symbol of Hera’s status as the legitimate Queen.
When Ares would get into trouble—which was often—Hera was the one plotting to get him out of it. She used him as a weapon against Zeus’s other children. It’s a toxic family dynamic that would keep a modern therapist busy for decades.
The Sibling Rivalry That Defined History
If you're asking about who is Ares parents, you also have to talk about his sister, Athena.
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They both represent war. But where Ares is the "bad" parts of war—the carnage and the panic—Athena is the strategy and the glory. Interestingly, some myths suggest Athena was born from Zeus's head alone, while Ares was the product of both Zeus and Hera.
This created a massive rift.
Zeus clearly preferred the "daughter of his mind" over the "son of his marriage." It’s one of the great ironies of Greek mythology. The legitimate son was the outcast, while the daughter born from a literal headache was the favorite. This rivalry played out on the fields of Troy, where Athena basically embarrassed Ares in front of everyone.
The Myth of the Herb: A Different Origin?
Now, here is where things get weird. Greek myths aren't a single book; they are a collection of stories that changed over centuries. While the Zeus and Hera connection is the "standard" answer for who is Ares parents, there’s a stray Roman tradition (and some obscure Greek whispers) that suggests a different path.
In some versions, Hera was so annoyed that Zeus had managed to "birth" Athena by himself that she wanted to prove she could do the same. She supposedly went to the goddess Flora (or used a magical herb) and conceived Ares without Zeus's involvement at all.
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This would make Ares the ultimate "mother's boy," born out of spite rather than love.
It explains why he and Zeus never got along. If Zeus didn't even help make him, why would he care about him? It also highlights Hera's power. She didn't need the King of the Gods to create one of the most feared entities in existence.
What This Family Drama Teaches Us Today
Understanding who is Ares parents isn't just a trivia point for a history quiz. It tells us how the Greeks viewed conflict. They didn't see war as something noble or something that came from a place of "justice" (that was Zeus's domain). They saw it as a wild, uncontrollable force that even the gods found distasteful.
Ares is the "black sheep" because he reflects the parts of humanity we don't like to look at.
- Family isn't always support: Even the most powerful god in history had "daddy issues."
- Legitimacy vs. Favoritism: Being the "rightful" heir doesn't mean you'll be the favorite.
- The Mother's Influence: Hera's fierce protection of Ares shows how parental loyalty can exist even when a child is destructive.
How to Use This Knowledge
If you’re a writer, a student, or just a mythology nerd, don't just stop at the names Zeus and Hera. Look at the why.
- Analyze the source: If you're reading the Iliad, look for the moments where Ares cries out for his mother. It’s a rare moment of vulnerability for a war god.
- Compare the archetypes: Compare Ares to his half-brother Hephaestus. Both were Hera's sons, both were "rejected" in different ways, and both represent the darker, more physical sides of the Olympian life.
- Recognize the patterns: You see these same family dynamics in modern storytelling, from Succession to Game of Thrones. The unloved son trying to prove himself to a distant father is a story as old as time.
Ares might be the God of War, but at his core, he’s just a kid who never got the validation he wanted from his dad. When we ask who is Ares parents, we aren't just looking for two names. We're looking at the origin story of human rage and the complicated mess of being part of a family that doesn't quite know what to do with you.
The next time you see Ares in a movie or a book, remember he's not just a monster. He's the son of a marriage that was falling apart, caught between a father who hated what he stood for and a mother who used him to hold onto her own power. Honestly, it’s a miracle he wasn't more destructive than he was.