Abstract
The Arès movement began with revelations which a French citizen, Michel Potay, claims to have experienced in 1974 and 1977. The movement centres on a pilgrimage, and its followers call themselves “pilgrims of Arès”. The author examines the development of the pilgrimage and the way in which it is currently undertaken. Limited significance is given to the pilgrimage as a physical journey, although the metaphor of pilgrimage as a spiritual advance remains; what matters much more is what pilgrims do once they have arrived at the holy place. The pilgrimage is to a place where tourism was already present; this has contributed to its acceptance by the local population, since the pilgrimage also brings customers to local businesses deriving their income from tourists.