[history] Ares in fictional literature: so edgey, war lord, Punk Goth Mercenary, will kill a man for looking at him wrong, man who is a true secret evil
Ares according to the Actual Greeks: the guy that teaches you to use your strength wisely and help those around you

stern governor of the rebellious, leader of righteous men

hear me, helper of men, giver of dauntless youth!

Shed down a kindly ray from above upon my life,
and strength of war, that I may be able to drive away
bitter cowardice from my head
and crush down the deceitful impulses of my soul.

Restrain also the keen fury of my heart which provokes me
to tread the ways of blood-curdling strife.

and let me say it LOUDER, FOR THE PEOPLE IN THE BACK, WONDER WOMAN

Rather, O blessed one,
give you me boldness to abide within the harmless laws of peace,
avoiding strife and hatred and the violent fiends of death.

it makes sense that a god of war would also necessarily have diplomatic qualities, as knowing when to end a war is just as important as waging it

and like dont get me wrong, earlier on, yeah, he's stabby mcstab stab

but as greek society evolves

THEY STOP FEELING THAT WAY

marvel ares is good sometimes

another version of him

Halt the raging strife! Cease the travail grieving our hearts!

Rather, yield to the peaceful yearnings of Aphrodíti and the revels of Diónysos.

Exchange your fury and weapons for the gentle works of Dimítir.

Conceive a desire for peacefulness which will cultivate the young and grant them blessedness.

"Ares, just like, please go get laid for a second"

I think in pop culture this is both the long shadow of the christian concept o "just war" and that they tend to use athena to take the place of "good warrior" in the pantheon

go figure

I hesitate to say "Athenian bias" but maybe, Athenian bias.

ATHENIAN BIAS!!!

i mean.

athens

I'm so glad that Ares is honestly not as bad

like sorry but courage???? is relevant to him and important for things other than fighting thanks