About the Author

My name is Pete, your friendly author of the Aspis of Ares. I wanted to let you, the reader, know a little about me so it may help you understand where I’m coming from and why I chose to write this blog.

First off, I live in southeast Michigan with my family. I’m the oldest of six children, and an uncle to a tiny new niece. I’m an Air Force veteran of four years. I spent my time as a linguist and analyst. Now I’m out to finish school, though I’m not sure what I want to do with the rest of my life.

My religious story is kind of bland. I found neopaganism when I was eleven or twelve, just before the events of 9/11. I led a small ragtag group of neopagans in a couple rituals during highschool, and studied online at Witchschool.com. After I enlisted, I gradually shifted from eclectic neopaganism towards a more ‘traditional’ approach. The further I delved into history and primary material, the less I came to believe that neopaganism was even pagan at all. I felt a deep connection to divinty, just not the generic ‘Lord and Lady’. There was a distinctness to what I felt, a concrete and defined solidarity. That’s when Ares just kind of popped into my head. I’d have imaginary hypothetical conversations with him (I don’t consider myself a mystical person, and am pretty sure it was just me in my head) about war and life. I was still pretty firm in the neopagan mindset of disliking violence for its own sake and such, so I was a bit off put at thinking so aggresively and even relishing the thought of confrontation at the behest of Ares. Little by little Ares wore off on me. I taught a combat readiness course and stayed active in the chaplain program (for which I was awarded twice), and all the while, searched deeper and deeper into ways to honor Ares in a proper manner. This led me down the road to finding Hellenismos. It’s where I’ve been ever since, for the last two or three years, though I haven’t been very good about it at times.

Because I’m not the best at always pouring wine and burning incense, and because the gods have been very generous to me, especially Ares, I decided to devote a blog to Ares. I know it’s not a traditional offering, but I feel Ares is vastly underrepresented in Hellenismos, even though he’s given the world so much. There’s so much I’d like to do to honor Ares, and this just seemed the best way to start. Who knows though, a blog may become a book, and a book a shrine, a shrine a temple, at which point I may take the role of a priest, if Ares would have me. Until then, I hope this is pleasing to him.