This statue possibly preserves some features of an original work in bronze, now lost, of the 5th century BC.
However, the temple of Ares to which he refers had only been moved from Acharnes and re-sited in the Agora in Augustus's time, making this a chronological impossibility.
While commonly recognized as Ares, this identification has been challenged by some scholars, with an emphasis on the left leg's anklet.
Historian Kim Hartswick mentions several possible origins for the so-called anklet: as a setting for a decorative element such as a bronze greave, the top of a boot, or indeed as a ring.
Other scholars have argued that the ring identifies the statue with Theseus or with Achilles, where in the latter case it is perhaps meant to highlight the hero's vulnerable ankle.