Head of Ares wearing a helmet of Roman type decorated with a crest and 2 griffons, Chalkis. 1st-2nd century. Ares was the Greek god of war. He often represented the violent and destructive nature of war as opposed to Athena who stood for its wise and just use for the protection of cities and citizens. With the possible exception of the Peloponnese and Crete the worship of Ares was not widely popular in Greece. The month Areios in the calendar of Histiaea indicates his worship before the Persian Wars in North Euboea where it probably spread from Thessaly.