The shape of his head perhaps gives some hint of his combative nature. The cast of countenance, too, shows an impulsive temper, weak in intellectual qualities, and quick to anger. Yet he is undeniably attractive, with his well-chiseled features and clustering curls. The small ear is as delicately cut as a woman's. The fine athletic figure is such as any warrior might covet; muscular and supple, it is full of power even in repose. The attitude of easy grace displays its best points to advantage. Sitting on the ground in front of the god is the figure of a mischievous baby boy. This is the little god Eros, who in Greek mythology was supposed to be the inspirer of love. The artist meant to suggest that the subject of Ares' meditations might be some affair of the heart. Certainly his mild smile would carry out that interpretation. Some critics have thought, however, that the statue did not originally include the child. As we study the modelling of the figure, the free sweep of the long lines delights the eye. We shall come to understand from repeated examples that the best Greek sculptors thoroughly mastered the secret of fine lines. Our illustration is somewhat unusual because the figure is seated. Even in this position, however, the sculptor gives us a sense of the perfect grace and lightness of the pose. There is nothing heavy or immovable in the attitude. We can easily imagine how the god, rising lightly to his feet, would stand erect and beautiful, ready for action. XI HEAD OF THE OLYMPIAN HERMES To do his errands and carry his messages through the universe the supreme god Zeus had a herald, Hermes, the god of the wind. As the wind blows out of the great sky, so Hermes descended from Olympus to earth to do the sky god's bidding. Equipped as a herald he wore a winged cap and winged sandals, which carried him about with great speed. He had also a short sword bent like a scythe, given him by Zeus with the cap and sandals. He possessed the strange power of making himself invisible, and of assuming different forms. As he had besides a ready wit and an eloquent tongue, he could make himself very useful. It was one of his common tasks to carry sleep to mortals, and his most solemn office was to conduct the souls of the dying to the other world. This is the way the Odyssey describes Hermes setting forth on one of the errands of Zeus:-- "The herald Argicide obeyed, And hastily beneath his feet he bound The fair ambrosial golden sandals, worn To bear him over ocean like the wind, And o'er the boundless land. His wand he took, Wherewith he softly seals the eyes of men, And opens them at will from sleep."[24] [24] Book v., lines 55-61 in Bryant's translation.