Ares and Athena: an Eternal Feud
The History Behind the two Gods
In all of Greek Mythology, no two figures hold a worse grudge against one another than the deities Athena and Ares. Their heated rivalry was so powerful, in fact, that it seeped into the real world through the religious and military rivalry between the Greek cities of Sparta and Athens. Each of these bastions were shaped entirely on their chosen God: Spartan values were built upon the military worship of Ares, God of war, and Athenian society revolved around the civil code of Athena, Goddess of wisdom. The citizens of Athens and Sparta despised each other with a deep passion. Relations became so terrible that in 431 B.C.E., war broke out between the two city states. This brutal struggle, called The Peloponnesian War, lasted nearly thirty years and fueled a passionate struggle which would last for centuries to come.
Reasons for the Rivalry
As a result of Ares' and Athena's vastly differentiating viewpoints on life issues, they were honored by Greeks in different points of view. Ares, always hot tempered and eager to fight, was worshiped by militaristic cults and city states, while on the other hand, Athena was revered as a goddess of protection and strategy. Between the violent temper of Ares and the intelligent cunning of Athena, worshipers of these Gods would think low of their rival. While followers of the cult of Ares viewed Athenians as weak, cowardly children, Athenians would think of Ares' followers as ignorant, hotheaded lowlifes.
Not soon after Athena's awkward birth, (emerging from the skull of Zeus), Ares found his new sister a nuisance, a challenge to his place on Olympus as the God of war, and murder. The intelligent strategy which Athena gave to Greeks threatened Ares' success in warfare, and his uncivilized manners would result in proper Greek society disowning him over time. According to the Greek authors Homer and Euripides, the ancient cults would last until a centralized religious system spread across most of Greece, from c.300 B.C.E. - c.250 B.C.E. But, despite the evaporation of God cults across most of Greece, the societal battles between Ares, Athena, and the members of their divine cults would continue for centuries to come.
Not soon after Athena's awkward birth, (emerging from the skull of Zeus), Ares found his new sister a nuisance, a challenge to his place on Olympus as the God of war, and murder. The intelligent strategy which Athena gave to Greeks threatened Ares' success in warfare, and his uncivilized manners would result in proper Greek society disowning him over time. According to the Greek authors Homer and Euripides, the ancient cults would last until a centralized religious system spread across most of Greece, from c.300 B.C.E. - c.250 B.C.E. But, despite the evaporation of God cults across most of Greece, the societal battles between Ares, Athena, and the members of their divine cults would continue for centuries to come.
Similarities Between Ares and Athena
Despite the countless moral and mental differences between these two great Deities, there were several major similarities between them, and both were worshiped for similar reasons. The most important point of which is their representation of warfare, and how each deity saw warfare in the lives of mortals. Ares, enjoying battles as a result of their bloodshed and woe, lived in stark contrast to Athena, who preferred the glory and tactful maneuverings of victory. Rather than compromise on their similar hobbies of fighting, the two gods suvh created sensless struggles throughout Greece that their rivalry would become second to Zeus and Hades for change in Olympus.