InGreek mythology,Deimos/ˈdaɪmɒs/ (Ancient Greek:Δεῖμος,lit.'fear'[1]pronounced[dêːmos]) is the personification of fear.[2] He is the son ofAres andAphrodite, and the brother ofPhobos. Deimos serves to represent the feelings of dread and terror that befall those before a battle, while Phobos personifies the feelings of fear and panic in the midst of battle. The Roman counterpart to Deimos is Metus.
Deimos mainly appears in an assistant role to his father, who causes disorder in armies.[citation needed] In theIliad, he accompanied his father, Ares, into battle with the Goddess of Discord,Eris, and his brotherPhobos (fear).[5] Deimos is also depicted on Agamemnon’s shield alongside his brother Phobos.[6] In theShield of Herakles, Phobos and Deimos accompany Ares into battle and remove him from the field onceHerakles injures him.[7] The poetAntimachus, in a misrepresentation of Homer's account, portrays Deimos and Phobos as the horses of Ares.[8] InNonnus'sDionysiaca,Zeus arms Phobos with lightning and Deimos with thunder to frightenTyphon.[9] Later in the work, Phobos and Deimos act as Ares's charioteers to battleDionysus during his war against the Indians.[10]
In 1877, the AmericanastronomerAsaph Hall discovered the two satellites of the planetMars. Hall named the two moonsPhobos andDeimos. Deimos is the smaller of the two satellites.[11]
