Which Greek hero wounded the god Ares in battle?

Diomedes was the Greek hero who wounded the god Ares in battle. In Homer’s Iliad, Diomedes is fighting at the height of his battlefield prowess when he recognizes Ares aiding the Trojans. With Athena’s help, he confronts the war god rather than retreating.

Ares throws his spear, but Athena deflects it. Diomedes then drives his own spear into Ares’s abdomen, piercing him and drawing divine blood. The god’s scream is described as terrifyingly loud, and Ares flees to Mount Olympus to complain to Zeus. The episode is extraordinary because Diomedes is a mortal attacking an Olympian directly.

This scene follows Diomedes’ earlier encounter with Aphrodite, whom he also wounds when she tries to rescue her son Aeneas. Athena permits him to attack only those two gods and warns him not to challenge Apollo. The common mix-up is assuming Achilles wounded Ares because Achilles is the Iliad’s most famous Greek warrior; in this episode, the decisive hero is Diomedes, supported by Athena.