Mars (mythology)
For the fourth planet from the sun, see Mars.Mars was the
Roman god of
war, the son of
Juno and either
Jupiter or a magical flower. As the word
Mars has no
Indo-European derivation, it is most likely the
Latinized form of the agricultural
Etruscan god Maris. Initially the Roman god of
fertility and
vegetation and a protector of cattle, fields and boundaries, Mars later became associated with battle (perhaps as the growing Roman Empire found it necessary to expand in order to feed itself) and
identified with the
Greek god Ares. He was also a
tutelary god of Rome, and as the legendary father of its founder,
Romulus, it was believed that all Romans were descended of Mars.
Mars, unlike his Greek counterpart, Ares the god of war, was more widely worshipped than any of the other Roman gods, probably in part because his sons by the
Vestal Virgin Rhea Silvia,
Romulus and Remus, were said to have founded
Rome; the Romans called themselves the sons of Mars.
Venus, who was Mars' consort in legends borrowed from the Greek mythos, held similar importance for them because of her relationship to
Aeneas. Mars was also one of the three supreme Roman deities of the Archaic Triad, along with
Jupiter and
Quirinus.
In his
agricultural aspect, Mars presided over
springtime and crops in major festivals. In his warlike aspect, Mars was offered sacrifices before combat and was said to appear on the battlefield accompanied by
Bellona, a warrior goddess variously identified as his wife, sister, daughter or cousin. Mars' wife was also said to be
Nerio.
Mars had a succession of festivals in February, March and October, as well as one on
June 1. On
March 1, the
Feriae Marti (loosely "Festivals of Mars") was celebrated. On
February 27 and
March 14, the horserace of the
Equirria were held. On
March 23, the
Tubilustrium was celebrated by purifying weapons and war-trumpets. On
October 19, the
Armilustrium was celebrated in Mars' honor, and the weapons of the soldiers were purified and stored. Every five years, the
Suovetaurilia was celebrated, consisting of the sacrifice of a pig, sheep and bull—Mars was one of only three Roman deities, along with
Neptune and
Apollo, to whom
bulls could be sacrificed.
The
Campus Martius ("Field of Mars") was dedicated to Mars, and was where soldiers and athletes trained. Mars also had an altar there, the
Ara Martis. In the
Regia on the
Roman Forum, the
hastae Martiae ("lances of Mars") were kept in a small chamber. Any movement of the hastae Martiae was seen as an omen of war. If Rome was attacking, the generals moved their lances and repeated
Mars vigila ("Awaken, Mars!").
Priests of Mars and
Quirinus were called
Salii ("jumpers"). They were referred to as jumpers because they jumped down streets and sang the
Carmen Saliare. A lone priest of Mars was called a
flamen Martialis.
Mars was sometimes associated with
Quirinus, a
Sabine deity said to be the Spirit of Romulus, the founder of Rome. He was also identified with
Celtic gods of war, particularly in
Roman Britain, and was commonly considered not only a war-bringer, but also a peaceful protector, healer and tribal god, to the
Celts.
[Green, Miranda J. (1992). Dictionary of Celtic Myth and Legend (pp. 140–144). London: Thames and Hudson. ISBN 0500015163.]Temples of Mars
The primary temple to Mars, dedicated to
Mars Gradivus (referring to Mars' role of preceding the army in battle) was on the northeast side of the
Via Appia outside the
Porta Capena, between the first and second
milestones. As a result of the temple, this district came to be known as
ad Martis ("to [the temple] of Mars"). The temple contained a statue of Mars and probably images of
wolves. It was vowed during the
Gallic invasions, and was dedicated c.
June 1,
388 BC. It was also the site where the Roman army gathered before leaving for a war, and was praised upon returning from victorious battles.
He is also known as "The Red God".
Another major temple to Mars, shared with Jupiter and Quirinus, was on the
Capitoline Hill. Another, the Temple of Mars Ultor ("Mars the Avenger"), was in the
Forum Augustus. It was dedicated in 2 BC by
Augustus, and paid tribute to Mars for supposedly aiding Augustus at the
Battle of Philippi. Yet another temple, designed by a Greek architect, was built in the
Circus Flaminius by
Decimus Junius Brutus Callaicus, probably after his triumph c.
133 BC. It contained a massive statue of Mars and a naked
Venus by
Sopas, and the path to the temple was decorated with verses by the poet
Lucius Accius.
Julius Caesar planned to build a titanic temple to Mars on the
Naumachia, a lake used for mock sea battles, but the site was instead used as part of the location of the
Pantheon.
[Richardson, L. (1992). A New Topographical Dictionary of Ancient Rome (pp. 244–245). Baltimore and London: The John Hopkins University Press. ISBN 0801843006.][Scullard, H.H. (1981). Festivals and Ceremonies of the Roman Republic (p. 127). London: Thames and Hudson. ISBN 0801414024.][Steinby, E. (Ed.) (1993). Lexicon Topographicum Urbis Romae Volume I, A–C (p. 222–223). Rome: Quasar. ISBN 8870970191.] |
Mars celebrated as peace-bringer in this coin struck under Aemilianus. |
Mars was called
Mavors in some poetry (
Virgil VIII, 630), and
Mamers was his
Oscan name. He was also known as
Marmor,
Marmar and
Maris, the latter from the Etruscan deity
Maris.
Like other major Roman deities, Mars had a large number of
epithets representing his different roles and aspects. Many of Mars' epithets resulted from mythological
syncretism between Mars and foreign gods. The most common and significant of these included:
*
Mars Alator, a fusion of Mars with the Celtic deity
Alator (possibly meaning "Huntsman" or "Cherisher"), known from inscription found in
England, on an altar at
South Shields and a silver-gilt votive plaque at
Barkway,
Hertfordshire.
[Phillips, E.J. (1977). Corpus Signorum Imperii Romani, Great Britain, Volume I, Fascicule 1. Hadrian's Wall East of the North Tyne (p. 66). Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN 0197259545.][Ross, Anne (1967). Pagan Celtic Britain. Routledge & Kegan Paul. ISBN 0902357034.]*
Mars Albiorix, a fusion of Mars with the ancient Celtic deity
Toutatis, using the epithet
Albiorix ("King of the World"). Mars Albiorix was worshiped as protector of the Albici tribe of southern France, and was regarded as a mountain god. Another epithet of Toutatis,
Caturix ("King of Combat"), was used in the combination
Mars Caturix, which was worshiped in
Gaul, possibly as the tribal god of the
Caturiges.
*
Mars Balearicus, statues of a warrior discovered in the
Mallorca Island, associated by the
archeologists to the Roman god Mars [
1].
*
Mars Barrex, from
Barrex or
Barrecis (probably meaning "Supreme One"), a Celtic god known only from a dedicatory inscription found at
Carlisle, England.
*
Mars Belatucadrus, an epithet found in five inscriptions in the area of
Hadrian's Wall in England, based on equating the Celtic deity
Belatu-Cadros with Mars.
*
Mars Braciaca, a synthesis of Mars with the Celtic god Braciaca. This deity is only known from a single inscription at
Bakewell, England.
*
Mars Camulos, from the Celtic war god
Camulus.
*
Mars Capriociegus, from an
Iberian god who was linked to Mars. He is invoked in two inscriptions in the
Pontevedra region of northwest Spain.
*
Mars Cocidius, a combination of Mars with the Celtic woodland hunting god
Cocidius. He is referenced around northwest
Cumbria and Hadrian's Wall, and was chiefly a war god only in instances where he was equated with Mars.
*
Mars Condatis, from the Celtic god of the confluence of rivers,
Condatis. Mars Condatis, who oversaw water and healing, is known from inscriptions near Hadrian's Wall, at
Piercebridge,
Bowes and
Chester-le-Street.
[Jones, Barri & Mattingly, David (1990). An Atlas of Roman Britain (p. 275). Oxford: Basil Blackwell. ISBN 1842170678.]The name of the third month of the year,
March, is derived from
Mars via the Roman month
Martius, which was considered a lucky time to go to war.
The blood-red fourth
planet in the
Solar System,
Mars, was also named after Mars; an adjective form of Mars,
Martian (from
Martianus), is most commonly used in reference to the planet. Another adjective form of Mars,
Martial (from
Martialis), is instead associated with war, as in
martial law. Martial, along with another adjectival form,
Martin (from
Martinus), is a common name. A more popular name derived from Mars is Mark (Italian, Marco).
The planet Mars and the
male sex are both commonly represented by the
astronomical or
gender symbol ♂, which originally represented the shield and spear of Mars and was popularized as the
alchemical symbol for
iron.
*
Ares*
Nergal*
Tyr*
Marsmon*
Aphrodite*
Mars in Roman Religion
