Temple of Ares Enyalios

Ares was a bloody god, a god of rage, brutality, and lust for battle. All of these were vital qualities for a warrior, but they were also dangerous and Ares, for all his status as one of the twelve Olympians, was a god of chaos, to be placated and feared as well as worshipped. His own divine parents, Zeus and Hera, were not fond of him and his destructive ways. Despite all his rough and rowdy qualities, Ares was considered handsome, and Aphrodite, the goddess of love, fell for his charms. When she took a new lover, Adonis, as was inevitably going to be the case, Ares turned Adonis into a boar and slaughtered him in a jealous rage. Even his children, Phobos and Deimos - Fear and Terror - inherited his terrifying nature. For mortals, Ares is a bloody-handed god of fighting, where Athena is a goddess of strategic warfare. Both are necessary, and a wise man looked to both in times of danger. At the temple of Ares Enyalios Spartan youths sacrificed dogs in the hope of gaining his favour and courage.