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Mars was the Roman
Roman mythology

Roman mythology, or more appropriately, Latin mythology, refers to the mythology beliefs of the Italic people inhabiting the region of Latium and its main city, Rome....
 warrior
Warrior

According to the Random House Dictionary, the term warrior has two meanings. The first Literal and figurative language use refers to "a person engaged or experienced in warfare." The second Literal and figurative language use refers to "a person who shows or has shown great vigor, courage, or aggressiveness, as in politics or athletics...
 god
God (male deity)

God, as a male deity, contrasts with female deities, or "goddesses". While the term 'goddess' specifically refers to a female deity, words like 'gods' and 'deities' can be applied to all gods collectively, regardless of gender....
, the son of Juno
Juno (mythology)

File:Juno sospita pushkin.jpgJuno was an Roman religion, the protector and special counselor of the state. She is a daughter of Saturn and sister of the chief god Jupiter and the mother of Juventas, Mars , and Vulcan ....
 and Jupiter
Jupiter (mythology)

In Roman mythology, Jupiter or Jove was the king of the gods,and the god of sky and thunder. He is the equivalent of Zeus in the Greek pantheon....
, husband of Bellona
Bellona (goddess)

Bellona was an Ancient Roman war goddess. She is believed to be one of the numen gods of the Romans , and is supposed by many to have been the Romans' original war deity, predating the identification of Mars with Ares....
, and the lover of Venus
Venus (mythology)

Venus was a major Roman mythology goddess principally associated with love, beauty and sexual reproduction, the equivalent of the Greek mythology Aphrodite....
. He was the most prominent of the military
Military

A military is an organization authorized by its nation to use force, usually including use of weapons, in defending its country by combating actual or Threat of force ....
 gods that were worshipped by the Roman legions. The martial Romans considered him second in importance only to Jupiter. His festivals were held in March (named for him) and October. As the word Mars has no Indo-European
Proto-Indo-European language

The Proto-Indo-European language is the unattested, linguistic reconstruction common ancestor of the Indo-European languages, spoken by the Proto-Indo-Europeans....
 derivation, it is most likely the Latinised
Romanization

In linguistics, romanization is the representation of a written word or spoken speech with the Latin alphabet, or a system for doing so, where the original word or language uses a different writing system ....
 form of the agricultural Etruscan
Etruscan mythology

The Etruscan civilizations were a people of unknown origin living in Northern Italy, who were eventually integrated into Roman culture and politically became part of the Roman Republic....
 god Maris
Maris

Maris was the Etruscan civilisation god of agriculture and fertility later borrowed by the Romans as a war/agricultual god Mars and equated with Greek mythology Ares by interpretatio romana....
.






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Mars was the Roman
Roman mythology

Roman mythology, or more appropriately, Latin mythology, refers to the mythology beliefs of the Italic people inhabiting the region of Latium and its main city, Rome....
 warrior
Warrior

According to the Random House Dictionary, the term warrior has two meanings. The first Literal and figurative language use refers to "a person engaged or experienced in warfare." The second Literal and figurative language use refers to "a person who shows or has shown great vigor, courage, or aggressiveness, as in politics or athletics...
 god
God (male deity)

God, as a male deity, contrasts with female deities, or "goddesses". While the term 'goddess' specifically refers to a female deity, words like 'gods' and 'deities' can be applied to all gods collectively, regardless of gender....
, the son of Juno
Juno (mythology)

File:Juno sospita pushkin.jpgJuno was an Roman religion, the protector and special counselor of the state. She is a daughter of Saturn and sister of the chief god Jupiter and the mother of Juventas, Mars , and Vulcan ....
 and Jupiter
Jupiter (mythology)

In Roman mythology, Jupiter or Jove was the king of the gods,and the god of sky and thunder. He is the equivalent of Zeus in the Greek pantheon....
, husband of Bellona
Bellona (goddess)

Bellona was an Ancient Roman war goddess. She is believed to be one of the numen gods of the Romans , and is supposed by many to have been the Romans' original war deity, predating the identification of Mars with Ares....
, and the lover of Venus
Venus (mythology)

Venus was a major Roman mythology goddess principally associated with love, beauty and sexual reproduction, the equivalent of the Greek mythology Aphrodite....
. He was the most prominent of the military
Military

A military is an organization authorized by its nation to use force, usually including use of weapons, in defending its country by combating actual or Threat of force ....
 gods that were worshipped by the Roman legions. The martial Romans considered him second in importance only to Jupiter. His festivals were held in March (named for him) and October. As the word Mars has no Indo-European
Proto-Indo-European language

The Proto-Indo-European language is the unattested, linguistic reconstruction common ancestor of the Indo-European languages, spoken by the Proto-Indo-Europeans....
 derivation, it is most likely the Latinised
Romanization

In linguistics, romanization is the representation of a written word or spoken speech with the Latin alphabet, or a system for doing so, where the original word or language uses a different writing system ....
 form of the agricultural Etruscan
Etruscan mythology

The Etruscan civilizations were a people of unknown origin living in Northern Italy, who were eventually integrated into Roman culture and politically became part of the Roman Republic....
 god Maris
Maris

Maris was the Etruscan civilisation god of agriculture and fertility later borrowed by the Romans as a war/agricultual god Mars and equated with Greek mythology Ares by interpretatio romana....
. Initially Mars was a Roman god of fertility
Fertility

Fertility is the natural capability of giving life. As a measure, "fertility rate" is the number of children born per couple, person or population....
 and vegetation
Vegetation

refers to the flora system of a specific region....
 and a protector of cattle, fields and boundaries. In the second century BCE, the conservative Cato the Elder
Cato the Elder

Marcus Porcius Cato was a Ancient Rome statesman, surnamed the Censor , the Wise , the Ancient , or the Elder , to distinguish him from Cato the Younger ....
 advised "For your cattle, for them to be healthy, make this sacrifice to Mars Silvanus... If you want, you make this sacrifice each year". Mars later became associated with battle as the growing Roman Empire
Roman Empire

The Roman Empire was the Roman Republic phase of the Ancient Rome, characterised by an autocracy form of government and large territorial holdings in Europe and around the Mediterranean....
 began to expand, and he came to be identified with the Greek
Greek mythology

Greek mythology is the body of myths and legends belonging to the Ancient Greece concerning their List of Greek mythological figures#Immortals and Greek hero cult, Cosmology#Metaphysical cosmology, and the origins and significance of their own cult and ritual practices....
 god Ares
Ares

In Greek mythology, Ares is the son of Zeus and Hera. Though often referred to as the Twelve Olympians God of warfare, he is more accurately the god of bloodlust, or slaughter personified: "Ares is apparently an ancient abstract noun meaning throng of battle, war."...
. Unlike his Greek counterpart, Mars was generally revered and rivaled Jupiter as the most honoured god. He was also the tutelary
Tutelary

A tutelary spiritual being or patron deity serves as the guardian of, or an entity to watch over and protect, a particular site, person, culture, or nation....
 god of the city of Rome. As he was regarded as the legendary father of Rome's founder, Romulus
Romulus and Remus

Romulus and Remus are the traditional Founding Fathers of Rome, appearing in Roman mythology as the twin sons of the Vestal Virgin Rhea Silvia, fathered by the god of war, Mars ....
, it was believed that all Romans were descendants of Mars.

Names and epithets

Antoninianus Aemilianus Ric 0015
Mars was called Mavors in some poetry (Virgil
Virgil

Publius Vergilius Maro was a classical Roman poet, best known for three major works?the Bucolics , the Georgics and the Aeneid?although several Appendix Vergiliana are also attributed to him....
 VIII, 630), and Mamers was his Oscan
Oscan language

Oscan, the language of the Osci, is in the Sabellic branch of the Italic languages, which is a branch of Indo-European languages that also includes Umbrian language, Latin, and Faliscan language....
 name. He was also known as Marmor, Marmar and Maris, the latter from the Etruscan deity Maris
Maris

Maris was the Etruscan civilisation god of agriculture and fertility later borrowed by the Romans as a war/agricultual god Mars and equated with Greek mythology Ares by interpretatio romana....
.

Like other major Roman deities, Mars had a large number of epithet
Epithet

An epithet is a descriptive word or phrase accompanying or occurring in place of the name of a person or thing, which has become a fixed formula....
s representing his different roles and aspects. Many of Mars's epithets resulted from mythological syncretism
Syncretism

Syncretism consists of the attempt to reconcile disparate or contrary beliefs, often while melding practices of various schools of thought. The term may refer to attempts to merge and analogy several originally discrete traditions, especially in the theology and mythology of religion, and thus assert an underlying unity allowing for an inclu...
 (interpretatio graeca
Interpretatio graeca

Interpretatio graeca is a Latin term for the common tendency of ancient Greek writers to equate foreign divinities to members of their own pantheon....
) of 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
    England

    native_name =|conventional_long_name = England|common_name = England|image_flag = Flag of England.svg|image_coat = England COA.svg|symbol_type = Royal Coat of Arms...
    , on an altar at South Shields
    South Shields

    South Shields is a coastal town in Tyne and Wear, England, located at the mouth of the River Tyne, England. The town has a population of about 90,000 and is part of the Metropolitan_borough of South Tyneside, which includes the riverside towns of Jarrow and Hebburn and the villages of Boldon, Cleadon and Whitburn....
     and a silver-gilt votive plaque at Barkway
    Barkway

    Barkway is a long established village and civil parish in the North Hertfordshire district of Hertfordshire, England, about five miles south-east of Royston, Hertfordshire,35 miles from London and 15 miles from the centre of Cambridge....
    , Hertfordshire
    Hertfordshire

    Hertfordshire is a Ceremonial counties of England and Metropolitan and non-metropolitan counties of England Counties of England in the East of England region of England....
    .


  • Mars Albiorix, a fusion of Mars with the ancient Celtic deity Toutatis
    Toutatis

    Toutatis or Teutates was a Celtic polytheism worshipped in ancient Gaul and Roman Britain. On the basis of his name's etymology, he has been widely interpreted to be a tribal protector....
    , 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 worshipped in Gaul
    Gaul

    Gaul is the name used for the region of Western Europe comprising part of present day northern Italy, France, Belgium, western Switzerland and the parts of the Netherlands and Germany on the west bank of the River Rhine....
    , possibly as the tribal god of the Caturiges.


  • Mars Balearicus, statues of a warrior discovered in the Mallorca
    Mallorca

    Majorca is the largest island of Spain. It is located in the Mediterranean Sea and part of the Balearic Islands archipelago. The name derives from Latin insula maior, "larger island"; later Maiorica....
     Island, associated by the archaeologists to the Roman god Mars .


  • Mars Barrex, from Barrex or Barrecis (probably meaning "Supreme One"), a Celtic god known only from a dedicatory inscription found at Carlisle
    Carlisle

    Carlisle is in the City of Carlisle, a district of Cumbria in North West England. It is located at the confluence of the rivers River Eden, Cumbria, River Caldew and River Petteril, south of the Anglo-Scottish border....
    , England.


  • Mars Belatucadrus, an epithet found in five inscriptions in the area of Hadrian's Wall
    Hadrian's Wall

    Hadrian's Wall is a Rock and Sod fortification built by the Roman Empire across the width of what is now northern England. Begun in AD 122, during the rule of emperor Hadrian, it was the middle of three such fortifications built across Great Britain, the first being from the River Clyde to the River Forth under Agricola and the last the Ant...
     in England, based on equating the Celtic deity Belatu-Cadros
    Belatu-Cadros

    In Celtic mythology, Belatu-Cadros, also rendered Belatucadros or Belatucadrus, was a deity worshipped in northern Britain, particularly in Cumberland and Westmorland....
     with Mars.


  • Mars Braciaca, a synthesis of Mars with the Celtic god Braciaca. This deity is only known from a single inscription at Bakewell
    Bakewell

    Bakewell is a small market town in the Derbyshire Dales district of Derbyshire, England, deriving its name from 'Badeca's Well'. It is the only town included in the Peak District National Park....
    , England.


  • Mars Camulos, from the Celtic war god Camulus
    Camulus

    In Gaulish Mythology, Camulus or Camulos was the List of Gaulish deities of the Remi, a Gaul tribe, who lived in the area of today's Belgium....
    .


  • Mars Capriociegus, from an Iberian
    Iberians

    The Iberians were a set of peoples that Ancient Greece and ancient Rome sources identified with that name in the eastern and southern coasts of the Iberian peninsula at least from the 6th century BC....
     god who was linked to Mars. He is invoked in two inscriptions in the Pontevedra
    Pontevedra

    Pontevedra is a city in the north-west of the Iberian Peninsula. It is the capital of both the Pontevedra and Pontevedra of Pontevedra, in Galicia ....
     region of north-west Spain.


  • Mars Cocidius, a combination of Mars with the Celtic woodland hunting god Cocidius
    Cocidius

    In Romano-British religion, Cocidius was a deity worshipped in northern Ancient Britain. The Romans equated him with Mars , god of war and hunting and with Sylvanus, god of forests, groves and wild fields....
    . He is referenced around north-west Cumbria
    Cumbria

    Cumbria is a non-metropolitan county in the North West England of England. Cumbria came into existence as a county in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972....
     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
    Condatis

    In Celtic mythology, Condatis was a deity worshipped primarily in northern Roman Britain but also in Gaul. He was associated with the confluences of rivers, in particular the River Tyne and the River Tees....
    . Mars Condatis, who oversaw water and healing, is known from inscriptions near Hadrian's Wall, at Piercebridge
    Piercebridge

    Piercebridge is a village in the borough of Darlington and the ceremonial county of County Durham, England. It is situated a few miles west of Darlington....
    , Bowes
    Bowes

    Bowes is a village in County Durham, England. Located in the Pennines, it is situated close to Barnard Castle. It is built around the medieval Bowes Castle....
     and Chester-le-Street
    Chester-le-Street

    Chester-le-Street is the main town in the Chester-le-Street district of County Durham, England. It has a history going back to Roman times when it was called Concangis....
    .


  • Mars Corotiacus. A local British version of Mars from Martlesham in Suffolk
    Suffolk

    Suffolk is a Non-metropolitan counties of England of Historic counties of England in East Anglia, England. It has borders with Norfolk to the north, Cambridgeshire to the west and Essex to the south....
    . He appears on a bronze statuette as a cavalryman, armed and riding a horse which tramples a prostrate enemy beneath its hooves.


  • Mars Gradivus, God of War.


  • Mars Lenus. A fusion of Mars with the Celtic healer-god Lenus
    Lenus

    Lenus was a Celtic healing god worshipped mainly in eastern Gaul, where he was almost always identified with the Roman mythology god Mars ....
    . In the main cult centre of the god, the indigenous name always comes first (Lenus Mars), an indication that Lenus was an established god, with whom Mars was later equated.


  • Mars Loucetius. A fusion of Mars with the Celtic god Loucetius.


  • Mars Mullo. A fusion of Mars with the Celtic god Mullo
    Mullo (god)

    Mullo is a Celtic polytheism. He is known from inscriptions and is associated with the god Mars in the form of Mars Mullo.The cult of the god was popular in northern and north-western Gaul, particular in Brittany and Normandy....


  • Mars Nodens. A fusion of Mars with the Celtic god Nodens
    Nodens

    Nodens is a Celtic mythology deity associated with healing, the sea, hunting and dogs. He was worshipped in ancient Britain, most notably in a temple complex at Lydney Park in Gloucestershire, and possibly also in Gaul....
    .


  • Mars Ocelus. A fusion of Mars with the Celtic god Ocelus
    Ocelus

    Ocelus is a Celtic polytheism known from three inscriptions in Roman Britain. He is twice invoked on dedications at Caerwent: one stone is the base of a state of which only a pair of human feet and a pair of goose feet survive....
    .


  • Mars Olloudius. A fusion of Mars with the Celtic god Olloudius
    Olloudius

    Olloudius is a widely venerated Celtic polytheism , known from locations as far apart as Custom Shrubs in Gloucestershire and Ollioules in southern Gaul....
    .


  • Mars Rigisamus. Mars was given this title (which means 'Greatest King' or 'King of Kings') in at West Coker
    West Coker

    West Coker is a village and civil parish in Somerset, England, situated south west of Yeovil in the South Somerset district....
     in Somerset
    Somerset

    Somerset is a Counties of England in South West England. The county town is Taunton, which is in the south of the county. The Ceremonial counties of England of Somerset borders the counties of Bristol and Gloucestershire to the north, Wiltshire to the east, Dorset to the south-east, and Devon to the south-west....
    , where a bronze figurine and inscribed plaque dedicated to the god were found in a field, along with the remains of a building, perhaps a shrine. The figurine depicts a standing naked male figure with a close-fitting helmet; his right hand may have once held a weapon, and he probably originally also had a shield (both are now lost). The same epithet for a god is recorded from Bourges
    Bourges

    Bourges is a commune in France in central France on the Y?vre river. It is the capital of the Departments of France of Cher and also was the capital of the former provinces of France of Berry ....
     in Gaul
    Gaul

    Gaul is the name used for the region of Western Europe comprising part of present day northern Italy, France, Belgium, western Switzerland and the parts of the Netherlands and Germany on the west bank of the River Rhine....
    . The use of this epithet implies that Mars had an extremely high status, over and above his warrior function.


  • Mars Rigonemetis ("King of the Sacred Grove"). A dedication to Rigonemetis and the numen (spirit) of the Emperor inscribed on a stone was discovered at Nettleham
    Nettleham

    Nettleham is a large village and civil parish within the West Lindsey district of Lincolnshire, England. It is located four miles northeast of the city of Lincoln, England and has a total resident population of 6,514....
     (Lincolnshire
    Lincolnshire

    Lincolnshire is a Counties of England in the east of England. It borders Norfolk, Cambridgeshire, Rutland, Leicestershire, Nottinghamshire, South Yorkshire, and the East Riding of Yorkshire....
    ) in 1961. Rigonemetis is only known from this site, and it seems he may have been a god belonging to the tribe of the Corieltauvi.


  • Mars Segomo. A fusion of Mars with the Celtic god Segomo
    Segomo

    In Gallo-Roman religion, Segomo was a war god worshipped in Gaul. In Roman Empire times he was equated with Mars and Hercules. He may be related to Cocidius, a similar god worshipped in Britain....
    .


  • Mars Teutates. A fusion of Mars with the Celtic god Teutates (Toutatis
    Toutatis

    Toutatis or Teutates was a Celtic polytheism worshipped in ancient Gaul and Roman Britain. On the basis of his name's etymology, he has been widely interpreted to be a tribal protector....
    ).


  • Mars Thinesus. A form of Mars invoked at Homesteads at Hadrian's Wall
    Hadrian's Wall

    Hadrian's Wall is a Rock and Sod fortification built by the Roman Empire across the width of what is now northern England. Begun in AD 122, during the rule of emperor Hadrian, it was the middle of three such fortifications built across Great Britain, the first being from the River Clyde to the River Forth under Agricola and the last the Ant...
    , where his name is linked with two goddesses called the Alaisiagae
    Alaisiagae

    In Romano-British Celt/Germanic peoples polytheism, the Alaisiagae, possibly the "Dispatching Terrors," or "All victorious" were a pair of Celtic or Germanic goddesses, Beda and Fimmilena, respectively deifying victory....
    . Anne Ross associated Thinesus with a sculpture, also from the fort, which shows a god flanked by goddesses and accompanied by a goose - a frequent companion of war gods.


  • Mars Ultor Under Augustus he obtained this title, meaning Avenger, in recognition of his victory over Caesar's assassins.


  • Mars Visucius. A fusion of Mars with the Celtic god Visucius
    Visucius

    Visucius was a Gallo-Roman religion god, usually interpretatio Romana with Mercury . He was worshipped primarily in the east of Gaul, around Trier and on the Rhine; his name is recorded on about ten dedicatory inscriptions....
    .


  • Mars Vorocius. A Celtic healer-god invoked at the curative spring shrine at Vichy
    Vichy

    Vichy is a Communes of France in the Departments of France of Allier in Auvergne in central France. It is known as a Spa town and resort town....
     (Allier
    Allier

    Allier is a departments of France in south-central France named after the Allier River....
    ) as a curer of eye afflictions. On images, the god is depicted as a Celtic warrior.


Photo gallery



See also

  • Nergal
    Nergal

    The name Nergal refers to a deity in Babylonia with the main seat of his cult at Kutha represented by the mound of Tell-Ibrahim. Nergal is mentioned in the Hebrew bible as the deity of the city of Kutha : "And the men of Babylon made Succoth-benoth, and the men of Cuth made Nergal" ....
  • Aphrodite
    Aphrodite

    Aphrodite is the classical Greek mythology goddess of love, sex, and beauty. According to Greek oral poet Hesiod, she was born when Uranus was castrated by his son Cronus....
  • Tuesday
    Tuesday

    Tuesday is a day of the week in the Gregorian calendar. According to the international standard ISO 8601, it is the second day of the week....
  • Tyr
    Tyr

    File:T?r by Fr?lich.jpgT?r is the god of single combat, victory and heroic glory in Norse mythology, portrayed as a one-handed man. In the late Icelandic Eddas, he is portrayed, alternately, as the son of Odin or of Hymir , while the origins of his name and his possible relationship to Tuisto suggest he was once considered the father of...
  • Ares
    Ares

    In Greek mythology, Ares is the son of Zeus and Hera. Though often referred to as the Twelve Olympians God of warfare, he is more accurately the god of bloodlust, or slaughter personified: "Ares is apparently an ancient abstract noun meaning throng of battle, war."...


External links