The Sin of War

Devon L. Harrison, New Mexico State UniversityFollow

Document Type

Creative Piece

Abstract

The main question of the short story is who is Ares? It's well known he is the war god of ancient Greek mythos and individuals interested in Greek Mythology could tell you he is one of several war gods, who specifically embodies the brutality of war. I bother to explore this question as Ares doesn't make much of an appearance in mythology and when he does it's in a rather demeaning light. Ares is one of the only Olympians who is, typically, disliked existing as a necessary evil rather than a god. He is appreciated in certain circles with the Spartans loving him and being portrayed in a flattering light of vigorous masculinity within the 'Homeric' & 'Orphic' hymns, but not majorly in ancient or modern times usually written as a villain if not the villain.The short story itself served as a final project assigned to me over gender within writing as I chose to retell a version of an infamous adultery tale from Homer's "*Odyssey*" of Aphrodite's affair. I wanted to approach the narrative as Chriétien did Arthurian mythos when adding in his own original character (Lancelot) and introducing the Lancelot and Guinevere romance subplot writing the affair as beautiful love not one bit wrong due to either the ennobling power of love, unfulfilled desires, or the idea of love for love's sake. In doing so the audience accompanies Ares's exploration of emotional & passionate masculinity in ways that add commentary on stereotypes/stigmas like 'manly/real men' shouldn't/don't cry or how the lack of self-control is just seen as 'boys being boys'. However, the story places Aphrodite & Hephaestus' marriage in the backseat with the spotlight on Ares as the piece interrogates Ares about who he is as a god, a lover, a child, a sibling, and a man. Bringing a historical symbol for manhood to the center and viewing the symbol of masculinity through the more complex modern question of 'what it means to be a man'.