Areius ( grc, Ἀρεῖος) was a cultic
epithet of the
Greek god
The following is a list of gods, goddesses, and many other divine and semi-divine figures from ancient Greek mythology and ancient Greek religion.
Immortals
The Greeks created images of their deities for many purposes. A temple would house the ...
Zeus
Zeus or , , ; grc, Δῐός, ''Diós'', label= genitive Boeotian Aeolic and Laconian grc-dor, Δεύς, Deús ; grc, Δέος, ''Déos'', label= genitive el, Δίας, ''Días'' () is the sky and thunder god in ancient Greek reli ...
, which may mean either "the warlike god" (in the sense of "like
Ares") or "the propitiating and atoning god" (as Areia in the case of
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 regarded ...
).
In the myth of
Oenomaus, this mythological king sacrificed to Zeus Areius whenever he entered upon a contest with the suitors of his daughter, whom he put to death as soon as they had been beaten.
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.
There exists an inscription on a column in
Galilee 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
Epithets of Zeus
Greek war deities
{{Greek-deity-stub