Phobos
Phobos was the god of fear who accompanied his father Ares into battle, spreading terror before the armies.
The Myth of Phobos
Phobos was the god of panic and terror in battle, son of Ares and Aphrodite, twin brother of Deimos. He drove Ares's war chariot alongside his brother to the fields before Troy, where they served their father against the Achaeans. In the Iliad, Phobos could rout entire armies with his mere presence — warriors would drop their spears and flee. Heracles and Athena both stood against Ares and his sons during the Trojan War. Phobos's face was painted on shields, including the great shield of Agamemnon, and his image was carved into armour across Sparta and Thebes. Alexander the Great sacrificed to Phobos before battle, seeking to turn the god's power against his enemies.
Parents
Ares and Aphrodite
Symbols
Fun Fact
Every word ending in "-phobia" descends from this god — arachnophobia, claustrophobia, and hundreds more.
Words We Inherited
English words and phrases that trace back to this myth. See our full guide to English words from Greek mythology.
Explore Further
Deimos
⚡ godGod of terror and dread
Deimos was the personification of dread and terror — the brother of Phobos who accompanied Ares into war.
Ares
⚡ godGod of war, violence, bloodshed
God of the brutal, savage side of war. Unlike Athena's strategic warfare, Ares represented the raw violence and chaos of battle.
Ares
⚡ godGod of brutal, bloodthirsty warfare
The god of the savage violence of battle — feared, hated, and necessary, embodying the bloodlust that the Greeks recognised but did not admire.
Enyo
⚡ godGoddess of war and destruction
Enyo was a goddess of war who delighted in bloodshed and the destruction of cities — she accompanied Ares and Eris into battle.
Kydoimos
⚡ godBattle confusion, the din of war
The daimon of the uproar and bewildering chaos that overwhelms warriors in the thick of combat
Diomedes
🗡 heroKing of Argos who wounded gods
Diomedes was the only mortal in the Iliad to wound two Olympian gods in a single day.
Hysminai
⚡ godCombat, fray, hand-to-hand fighting
The daimones of close combat and the chaotic violence of the battlefield melee
Pan
⚡ godGod of shepherds and wild panic
The goat-footed god of shepherds, wilds, and rustic music whose sudden appearance caused the terror that bears his name: panic.
Diomedes
🗡 heroThe hero who wounded two Olympian gods in a single day
The king of Argos who fought at Troy with such ferocity that he wounded both Aphrodite and Ares — becoming one of the only mortals to injure gods.
Pan
⚡ godGod of the wild, shepherds, and panic
Pan was the goat-legged god of the wild, shepherds, and mountain meadows whose sudden appearance could cause "panic" — the irrational terror named after him.
Mars
⚡ godWar, agriculture, guardianship
Roman god of war and agriculture, second in importance only to Jupiter, far more honoured than his Greek counterpart Ares
Bellona
⚡ godWar, destruction, battlefield fury
Roman goddess of war and destruction, companion or sister of Mars, equivalent to the Greek Enyo