The Orphic Hymns

bearer of the scepter of courage, whirling your fire-bright orb among the seven-pathed signs of the sky, where fiery steeds carry you forever above the third orbit;

Here Ares is the planet Mars. The "seven-pathed signs" are the seven wandering stars of ancient astronomy, the Moon, Mercury, Venus, the Sun, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn, each moving on its own path. Counted from the outermost, Mars comes third, after Saturn and Jupiter, which is most likely the "third orbit" of the hymn, and the fire-bright orb is the red planet. This picture of the god as a star belongs to a much later age than the old Homeric hymns.