Roman Mythology

Mars

Roman gods

Mars

Mars was the son of Juno, the goddess of childbirth. She was impregnated by Flora pressing a magic flower against Juno's stomach. It is believed in Roman tradition that he was born in March (originally named Martius) and, therefore, the month was named for him.

Mars had numerous lovers. Mars had a relationship with a human priestess, Rhea Silvia, with whom he fathered Romulus, the founder of Rome, and Remus. He was said to have had a love affair with Venus, and scenes of them together are viewed as romantic despite the adulterous implications. The uniting of Venus and Mars (love and war) has often lent itself to allegory in literature. The myths also state that he was to have had a romantic relationship with Nerio (valor). She represented the power and majesty of Mars. The relationship had a great influence on Greek mythology.

Mars is usually depicted with a spear that is said to be kept in a sacrarium in the former residence of the kings of Rome. Myths state that the spear trembles or vibrates during times of impending danger to Rome. The spear was said to do so immediately before the assassination of Julius Caesar.

Facts about Mars

Name: Mars

A major deity and one of the 12 Olympian Gods

Jurisdiction: He was described as being the Roman God of war

Mythology: Mythical Family Tree or Relatives: Mars was believed to be the God of War. Mars was the son of Jupiter and Juno

Depiction / Description / Symbol: a vulture, a wolf and he often carried a bloody spear.

Name of equivalent Greek God : Ares

March 23 a festival called Tubilustrium was held in honor of Mars

Sacrifices to Mars - During sacrifices to the Roman gods the sex of the victim had to correspond to the sex of the god to whom it was offered. White animals were given to the gods of the upper world whereas black victims to the gods of the underworld

Animals

Two animals are often attributed as having a special connection with Mars: the woodpecker and the wolf. A Greek historian named Plutarch wrote, the woodpecker is sacred to Mars because it is a courageous and spirited bird and has a beak so strong it can overturn oaks by pecking them until it has reached the inmost part of the tree. The woodpecker was also believed to guard an herb that grew in the woods, named paeonia, that was used for treatment of the female reproductive system. The myth said that the herb was to be picked only at night lest the woodpecker poke out the seeker's eyes.

Mars was also aligned with a wolf. The myth said that a wolf found Mars' infant sons in the woods and fed them from her breast. An appearance of a wolf in battle was said to be a sign that Roman victory was imminent.

Regularly sacrificed to Mars was a bull. Often times Romans would sacrifice animals in three to Mars—a pig, a ram, and a bull. Additionally, a horse was, at times, sacrificed to Mars. Mars was the only god to which a horse was sacrificed due to the fact that after the gods received their share, the Romans would eat the rest. The Romans considered the horse edible.

Roman Festivals Consecrated to Mars

Practically the whole month of March was consecrated to Mars, the God of War. The god Mars was also associated with the growth of vegetation. His special festivals (Feriae Marti) in March were of a warlike character: on the 9th of March the priests (Salii) began the ancient custom of carrying his sacred shields (ancilia) round the town from one ordained resting-place to another. The Salii priests wore the full war-dress (trabea and tunica picta ) and performed a sacred dance and song round the city accompanied by war trumpets. On the 19th, Quinquatrus, the sacred shields of Mars were solemnly purified, and on the 23rd March the same ceremony was performed with the war-trumpets. His altar was in the Campus Martius, outside the city-walls and horse races were celebrated in his honor. The races of the war-horse were called Equirria on March 14 and February 27, and the great race was run on the Ides of October.