The Ares Borghese is a Roman marble statue of the imperial era (1st or 2nd century AD). It is 2.11m high. It is identifiable as

Ares Ares (; grc, Ἄρης, ''Árēs'' ) is the Greek god of 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 success in war ...

by the helmet and by the ankle ring given to him by his lover

Aphrodite Aphrodite ( ; grc-gre, Ἀφροδίτη, Aphrodítē; , , ) is an ancient Greek goddess associated with love, lust, beauty, pleasure, passion, and procreation. She was syncretized with the Roman goddess . Aphrodite's major symbols incl ...

. This statue possibly preserves some features of an original work in bronze, now lost, of the 5th century BC. The cult and representation of Ares are very rare in the ancient Greek world, especially in sculpture. It has been thought that this statue may be derived from one by

Alcamenes Alcamenes ( grc, Ἀλκαμένης) was an ancient Greek sculptor of Lemnos and Athens, who flourished in the 2nd half of the 5th century BC. He was a younger contemporary of Phidias and noted for the delicacy and finish of his works, among ...

, an Athenian sculptor who, according to

Pausanias Pausanias ( el, Παυσανίας) may refer to: *Pausanias of Athens, lover of the poet Agathon and a character in Plato's ''Symposium'' *Pausanias the Regent, Spartan general and regent of the 5th century BC * Pausanias of Sicily, physician of t ...

(I, 8, 4), made a statue of Ares that was erected on the

Athenian agora The ancient Agora of Athens (also called the Classical Agora) is the best-known example of an ancient Greek agora, located to the northwest of the Acropolis and bounded on the south by the hill of the Areopagus and on the west by the hill kn ...

. However, the

temple of Ares The Temple of Ares was a sanctuary dedicated to Ares, located in the northern part of the Ancient Agora of Athens. The Temple was identified as such by Pausanias but the ruins present today indicate a complex history. Ares had a temple somewhat li ...

to which he refers had only been moved from

Acharnes Acharnes ( el, Αχαρνές, , before 1915: Μενίδι Menidi, ) is a northwestern suburb of Athens, Attica, Greece. With 106,943 inhabitants (2011 census), it is the most populous municipality in East Attica. It is part of the Athens Urban ar ...

and re-sited in the Agora in

Augustus Caesar Augustus (born Gaius Octavius; 23 September 63 BC – 19 August AD 14), also known as Octavian, was the first Roman emperor; he reigned from 27 BC until his death in AD 14. He is known for being the founder of the Roman Pr ...

's time, making this a chronological impossibility. Also, statues known to derive from Alcamenes' statue show the god in a

breastplate A breastplate or chestplate is a device worn over the torso to protect it from injury, as an item of religious significance, or as an item of status. A breastplate is sometimes worn by mythological beings as a distinctive item of clothing. It is ...

(one is depicte
in this relief
. So, in all, this statue may not be a copy of Alcamenes's, but instead a Roman creation according to a classicising or

Neo-Attic Neo-Attic or Atticizing is a sculptural style, beginning in Hellenistic sculpture and vase-painting of the 2nd century BC and climaxing in Roman art of the 2nd century AD, copying, adapting or closely following the style shown in reliefs and stat ...

type. Later, widely dispersed, this type was paired with female statues of the

Venus de Milo The ''Venus de Milo'' (; el, Αφροδίτη της Μήλου, Afrodíti tis Mílou) is an ancient Greek sculpture that was created during the Hellenistic period, sometime between 150 and 125 BC. It is one of the most famous works of ancient ...

type for portraits of the imperial Roman couple, symbol of the union between military and peace, such as the '' Mars and Venus''. Formerly part of the Borghese collection, it was purchased from there in 1807 by

Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader wh ...

Popular culture

*The statue is present (as a bust) in the anime Sekko Boys.

Gallery

File:Ares Borghese Louvre Ma 866 n02.jpg, A closer view of the upper torso File:Ares Borghese2.gif, Fuller view File:Ares Borghese Louvre Ma 866 n05.jpg, Rear view File:Ares Borghese Louvre Ma 866 n07.jpg, detail of the helmet File:Mars Borghese (Louvre) 2.jpg, In the Louvre gallery File:2011AresBorgheseLouvre.jpg, From below

External links

3D model of head of ''Ares Borghese'' via photogrammetric survey of a plaster cast of the Munich Glyptothek's bustLouvre catalogue
Borghese antiquities Antiquities acquired by Napoleon Ancient Greek and Roman sculptures of the Louvre Roman copies of 5th-century BC Greek sculptures Marble sculptures Archaeological discoveries in Italy {{France-sculpture-stub