Areius () was an

epithet An epithet (, ), also a byname, is a descriptive term (word or phrase) commonly accompanying or occurring in place of the name of a real or fictitious person, place, or thing. It is usually literally descriptive, as in Alfred the Great, Suleima ...

of the

Greek god In ancient Greece, deities were regarded as immortal, anthropomorphic, and powerful. They were conceived of as individual persons, rather than abstract concepts or notions, and were described as being similar to humans in appearance, albeit larg ...

Zeus Zeus (, ) is the chief deity of the List of Greek deities, Greek pantheon. He is a sky father, sky and thunder god in ancient Greek religion and Greek mythology, mythology, who rules as king of the gods on Mount Olympus. Zeus is the child ...

. It may mean either "the warlike god" or "the propitiating and atoning god" (as it does for

Athena Athena or Athene, often given the epithet Pallas, is an ancient Greek religion, ancient Greek goddess associated with wisdom, warfare, and handicraft who was later syncretism, syncretized with the Roman goddess Minerva. Athena was regarde ...

). According to Pausanias, the Eleans believed an altar in Olympia belonged to Zeus Areius, to whom

Oenomaus In Greek mythology, King Oenomaus (also Oenamaus; , ''Oinómaos'') of Pisa (Greece), Pisa, was the father of Hippodamia (daughter of Oenomaus), Hippodamia and the son of Ares. His name ''Oinomaos'' denotes a wine man. Family Oenomaeus' mother ...

was said to make sacrifices. A number of coins depicting Zeus Areius survive from the city of

Iasos Iasos or Iassos (; ''Iasós'' or ''Iassós''), also in Latinized form Iasus or Iassus (), was a Ancient Greece, Greek city in ancient Caria located on the Gulf of Iasos (now called the Güllük Gulf, Gulf of Güllük), opposite the modern town ...

in western

Anatolia Anatolia (), also known as Asia Minor, is a peninsula in West Asia that makes up the majority of the land area of Turkey. It is the westernmost protrusion of Asia and is geographically bounded by the Mediterranean Sea to the south, the Aegean ...

Molossian The Molossians () were a group of ancient Greek tribes which inhabited the region of Epirus in classical antiquity. Together with the Chaonians and the Thesprotians, they formed the main tribal groupings of the northwestern Greek group. On th ...

kings made sacrifices to him, and an inscription from

Galilee Galilee (; ; ; ) is a region located in northern Israel and southern Lebanon consisting of two parts: the Upper Galilee (, ; , ) and the Lower Galilee (, ; , ). ''Galilee'' encompasses the area north of the Mount Carmel-Mount Gilboa ridge and ...

mentions priests of Zeus Areius.

Olympia

According to the Greek author Pausanias (2nd century AD), in the city of Olympia (and next to an altar to the river god Alpheus) there sat an altar to

Hephaestus Hephaestus ( , ; wikt:Hephaestus#Alternative forms, eight spellings; ) is the Greek god of artisans, blacksmiths, carpenters, craftsmen, fire, metallurgy, metalworking, sculpture and volcanoes.Walter Burkert, ''Greek Religion'' 1985: III.2. ...

. This altar, he states, was considered by the people of Elis to instead be an altar of Zeus Areius. The people of Elis similarly believe, he says, that the mythical figure

, the son of

Ares Ares (; , ''Árēs'' ) is the List of Greek deities, Greek god of war god, war and courage. He is one of the Twelve Olympians, and the son of Zeus and Hera. The Greeks were ambivalent towards him. He embodies the physical valor necessary for ...

, sacrificed to Zeus Areius whenever he entered into a chariot-driving contest with the suitors of his daughter, Hippodamia.

Iasos

There is evidence of Zeus Areius's veneration in

, a city from the region of

Caria Caria (; from Greek language, Greek: Καρία, ''Karia''; ) was a region of western Anatolia extending along the coast from mid-Ionia (Mycale) south to Lycia and east to Phrygia. The Carians were described by Herodotus as being Anatolian main ...

in western

. The name is inscribed upon a number of coins from the city, picturing Zeus holding a shield, as well as his thunderbolt (or a spear), and donned with a helmet.

Passaron

In reality, ancient Greek kings of the

Molossians The Molossians () were a group of ancient Greek tribes which inhabited the region of Epirus in classical antiquity. Together with the Chaonians and the Thesprotians, they formed the main tribal groupings of the northwestern Greek group. On t ...

would sacrifice to Areius at the city of Passaron, and exchange oaths with the people over which they ruled: the king swore to uphold the laws, and the people swore to defend the kingdom from threats. If the king failed to live up to this oath, the people would be relieved of their obligations here, and so throughout history we would sometimes see kings removed for this failure.

Galilee

There exists an inscription on a column in

which indicates the column was a gift from persons unknown to the priests of Zeus Areius, which would seem to indicate a significant priesthood in this city at least.

Notes

References

* ''

Realencyclopädie der classischen Altertumswissenschaft The Pauly encyclopedias or the Pauly-Wissowa family of encyclopedias, are a set of related encyclopedias on Greco-Roman world, Greco-Roman classical studies, topics and scholarship. The first of these, or (1839–1852), was begun by compiler A ...

'', Band II, Halbband 1, Stuttgart, J. B. Metzler, 1895
Wikisource
* Smith, William, ''

Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology The ''Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology'' is a biographical dictionary of classical antiquity, edited by William Smith (lexicographer), William Smith and originally published in London by John Taylor (English publisher), Tayl ...

'', London, John Murray, 1873.
Perseus Digital Library
{{DEFAULTSORT:Areius Epithets of Zeus Greek war deities