ares

The sons of Ares, seven hundred fifty and six:

And again they bring forward another as a god, and they call him Ares. And they say that he is a warrior, and jealous, and covets sheep and things which are not his. And he makes gain by his arms. And they say that at length he committed adultery with Aphrodite, and was caught by the little boy Eros and by Hephaistos the husband of Aphrodite. But it is impossible that a god should be a warrior or bound or an adulterer.

Again they say of Aphrodite that she indeed is a goddess. And at times she dwells with their gods, but at other times she is a neighbour to men. And once she had Ares as a lover, and again Adonis who is Tammuz. Once also, Aphrodite was wailing and weeping for the death of Tammuz, and they say that she went down to Sheol that she might redeem Adonis from Persephone, who is the daughter of Sheol (Hades). If then Aphrodite is a goddess and was unable to help her lover at his death, how will she find it possible to help others? And this cannot be listened to, that a divine nature should come to weeping and wailing and adultery.

Shall cut a warlike father off, and Ares,

Shall break off. And, Byzantium of Ares,

To Ares dear, and after the young babes,

Shall Roman Ares flash from many a spear;

Around thyself stern Ares, hapless one,

Enemy of the Hebrews. Then shall Ares

Go plundering Ares; and he shall himself

To rule with Ares. And when he has wrought

But when with cruel Ares there shall come

Who are to Ares dear. And one of these

All Thrace, and toil of Ares on the isles

Down upon Asia Ares comes, he comes

Ares of Pella shall in Egypt found,

Struck by dire Ares by a hostile man,

And dreadful Ares of the glittering helm

To Ares dear, and after the young babes,

Of man-destroying Ares; thou shalt pay

But peace shall come, and Ares shall desist

Wars and sad cares; and Roman Ares shall

Shall perish by strong Ares' sturdy hands.

Spear-wielding Ares, whom seven times the tenth

Shall for the toil of Ares not escape

Ares himself first of the alphabet

Of these shall perish, fearful Ares then,

Man-slaying Ares bound by treacherous fate.

Of Ares many in Palladian halls

By mighty Ares, struck by gleaming iron.

A warlike Ares he shall come to Thrace;

And the Cilician plain; but brazen Ares

Impulse of baleful Ares; serpent dire,

Slain by strong Ares with the gleaming iron;

And . . . Roman Ares Roman lord.

In the hands of Ares; and the lot of men

And spear impetuous Ares; and by him

Shall draw near, a young Ares, and as far

Shall warlike Ares stretch his deadly spear

Terror of Ares, and also his son,

But when a Roman Ares shall destroy

A German Ares ruinous of life

Thee, wretched Antioch, shall Ares strong

And round them horrid Ares, rushing on,

Destructive Ares with his bastard son;

With city-wasting Ares and the Carpians

By mighty Ares, struck by gleaming iron.

Shall in the toil of Ares yet again

But him shall brazen Ares quickly slay

Then shall he under powerful Ares die

And lay down laws; but him shall brazen Ares

But they shall fall in wars, slain by strong Ares

Shall Ares with strong brass receive! And then,

With helmet Ares shall from Egypt come,

Before we begin our reply, we have to remark that the endeavour to show, with regard to almost any history, however true, that it actually occurred, and to produce an intelligent conception regarding it, is one of the most difficult undertakings that can be attempted, and is in some instances an impossibility. For suppose that some one were to assert that there never had been any Trojan war, chiefly on account of the impossible narrative interwoven therewith, about a certain Achilles being the son of a sea-goddess Thetis and of a man Peleus, or Sarpedon being the son of Zeus, or Ascalaphus and Ialmenus the sons of Ares, or Æneas that of Aphrodite, how should we prove that such was the case, especially under the weight of the fiction attached, I know not how, to the universally prevalent opinion that there was really a war in Ilium between Greeks and Trojans? And suppose, also, that some one disbelieved the story of Œdipus and Jocasta, and of their two sons Eteocles and Polynices, because the sphinx, a kind of half-virgin, was introduced into the narrative, how should we demonstrate the reality of such a thing? And in like manner also with the history of the Epigoni, although there is no such marvellous event interwoven with it, or with the return of the Heracleidæ, or countless other historical events. But he who deals candidly with histories, and would wish to keep himself also from being imposed upon by them, will exercise his judgment as to what statements he will give his assent to, and what he will accept figuratively, seeking to discover the meaning of the authors of such inventions, and from what statements he will withhold his belief, as having been written for the gratification of certain individuals. And we have said this by way of anticipation respecting the whole history related in the Gospels concerning Jesus, not as inviting men of acuteness to a simple and unreasoning faith, but wishing to show that there is need of candour in those who are to read, and of much investigation, and, so to speak, of insight into the meaning of the writers, that the object with which each event has been recorded may be discovered.