Q Tabarestani and Stuart Raty The Kinakid School
English 9-3 September 20, 2012
30 Second Myths: Ares
Throughout mythology, the infamous god or war, Ares, has appeared in many myths and contemporary adaptations. The origin of Ares dates back to the time of Zeus and Hera. Some stories portray him simply as the child of the two powerful gods while others illustrate the origin in many differnet ways. A few mythologists claim that jealous Hera got herself pregnant by touching a magical flower and giving birth to him. Her purpose was to become even with Zeus’s infidelity. Ares, one of the Twelve Olympians, ruled over war and phyisical violence. Many of the other gods were ambivalent towards him because he was dangerous towards man kind and usually was humiliated in myths that he appeared in. As a god, Ares had superhuman strength, speed, agility, durability, reflexes, and immortality. In myths and wars, the javelin, a powerful type of spear, proved to be his favorite weapon of choice. In addition, many symbols are used to represent the mighty Ares but the most frequently associated with him are the spear, helmet, chariot, boar, and a ferocious dog. All around Greece, Ares was a image of war in Sparta and violence in other parts of Greece. His roman counterpart was Mars, god of war, who was worshipped by all to increase the strength of their army and fight away invaders. As time went on, many adaptation have been written to explain the origin of Ares or his attributes in battle such as the Marvel Comic Books. An example of an ancient mythographer’s story is the Battle of Troy within the Illiad and Odyssey written by the famous writer Homer. His relative myth about the Battle of Troy included an adaptation of Ares in battle and how he was defeated. An example of a widly known contemporary adapation is the Marvel Comic Book series which included a charcater representing Ares in the comics. He is shown to have incredible strength and power while having the same flaws as in the myths. Overall, the powerful Ares has made his way through the years as one of the most well known gods of Olympus and will remain on his throne much longer.
Myth Adaptation: http://library.thinkquest.org/19300/data/homer.htm
Contemporary Adaptation: http://marvel.wikia.com/Thor_Vol_1_129
You guys did an excellent job on stating a solid history of Ares in a concise fashion. In addition, the information was easy to understand, while it was also captivating. It is clear thought and effort was put forth on the project. Good job!
ReplyDelete-Josh