Mars

Mars, the god of war and agricultural guardian in ancient Roman religion and mythology, was the son of Jupiter and Juno. He was prominent among the Roman army's military gods and held festivals in March and October, which were traditionally the months for military campaigning and farming. Mars was associated with the Greek god Ares, whose myths were reinterpreted in Roman literature and art under the name Mars. His character and dignity differed from Ares, who was often treated with contempt in Greek literature. Mars's altar in Rome's Campus Martius was supposed to have been dedicated by Numa, the peace-loving second king of Rome. In Republican times, it was a focus of electoral activities. Augustus shifted Mars' cult to within the pomerium and built a temple to Mars Ultor as a key religious feature. Mars represented military power as a way to secure peace and was a father (pater) of the Roman people. In Rome's mythic genealogy and founding, Mars fathered Romulus and Remus through his rape of Rhea Silvia. His love affair with Venus reconciled two different traditions of Rome's founding.
The word Mārs, also known as Māvors or Māvortis, is cognate with Oscan Māmers. The oldest recorded Latin form, Mamart-, is likely of foreign origin, possibly deriving from Maris, an Etruscan child-god. Scholars have varying views on the relationship between the two gods. Latin adjectives from Mars' name are martius and martialis, which derive English "martial" and personal names like "Marcus", "Mark", and "Martin". Mars may be a thematic reflex of the Proto-Indo-European god Perkwunos.
== Background ==
=== Birth ===
Mars, traditionally considered the son of Jupiter and Juno, is believed to be the son of Juno alone. Jupiter usurped the role of women as mothers when he gave birth to Minerva directly from his forehead. Juno sought advice from the goddess Flora, who obtained a magic flower and ritually impregnated Juno. The story is told in Ovid's Fasti, a long-form poetic work on the Roman calendar. This may explain why the Matronalia festival, celebrated by married women in honor of Juno as a goddess of childbirth, occurred on the first day of Mars's month, which is also marked on a late antiquity calendar as the birthday of Mars. Ovid may have presented a literary myth or an unknown archaic Italic tradition, emphasizing that Mars was connected to plant life and was not alienated from female nurture.
=== Consort ===
Nerio, or Neriene, was the consort of Mars, representing the vital force, power, and majesty of the planet. Her name was Sabine in origin and was equivalent to Latin virtus, meaning "manly virtue." In the early 3rd century BCE, Plautus mentioned Mars greeting Nerio, his wife. In late antiquity, Mars and Neriene were celebrated together at a festival on March 23. In the later Roman Empire, Neriene was identified with Minerva. Nerio likely originated as a divine personification of Mars's power, as Latin abstractions are generally feminine.
Venus and Mars, the lovers of Ares and Aphrodite, were a popular subject of art in ancient Greece. In Roman art, Venus and Mars were often depicted as a complementary pair, with scenes often ignoring the adulterous implications of their union. Some scenes may imply marriage, and the relationship was romanticized in funerary or domestic art. The uniting of deities representing Love and War lent itself to allegory, especially since the lovers were the parents of Concordia. Renaissance philosopher Marsilio Ficino noted that only Venus dominates Mars, and he never dominates her. In ancient Roman and Renaissance art, Mars is often shown disarmed and relaxed, or even sleeping, but the extramarital nature of their affair can suggest that this peace is impermanent.
=== Essential nature ===
Mars, a god of agriculture, is known for his virility and ability to create conditions conducive to crop growth. He is often invoked as ferus, meaning "savage" or "feral" like a wild animal, and may have originated as a god of the wild, beyond human boundaries. Mars's potential for savagery is evident in his connections to wild woodlands and his role as a defender and protector. His warrior nature may be inseparable from his role as an agricultural god, as the leaping of his armed priests, the Salii, was meant to accelerate crop growth. Mars's role as a thunderer or storm deity may explain some of his mixed traits in terms of fertility. This role was later adopted by other Roman gods, such as Summanus or Jupiter. Mars's role as an agricultural god may be derived from his role as a defender and protector, or from his warrior nature.
=== Sacred animals ===
Mars was considered the most sacred wild animal in Roman lore, with the woodpecker and wolf inhabiting the same foothills and woodlands. The woodpecker, known for its strong beak, was revered by Latin peoples who abstained from eating its flesh. It was also a significant bird in Roman and Italic augury, the practice of reading the will of the gods through watching the sky for signs.
The mythological figure Picus had powers of augury when transformed into a woodpecker, and in one tradition, he was the son of Mars. The Italic Picenes were believed to have derived their name from the picus, who served as their guide animal during a ritual migration. In the territory of the Aequi, Mars had an oracle where prophecies were supposed to be spoken by a woodpecker perched on a wooden column.
Mars's association with the wolf is familiar from Roman myths, such as the story of a she-wolf (lupa) suckling his infant sons when they were exposed by King Amulius. The woodpecker also brought nourishment to the twins. The wolf appears in Roman art and literature in masculine form as the animal of Mars, and at the Battle of Sentinum in 295 BCE, the appearance of the wolf of Mars was a sign of Roman victory.
In Roman Gaul, the goose was associated with the Celtic forms of Mars, and archaeologists have found geese buried alongside warriors in graves. The goose was considered a bellicose animal because it was easily provoked to aggression.
Ancient Greek and Roman religion differentiated between animals sacred to a deity and those prescribed as sacrificial offerings. Wild animals were often considered belonging to the god or not owned by humans, making them unsuitable for sacrifice. Sacrificial meat was consumed at banquets after gods received their portion, mainly entrails. Domestic animals were often sacrificed, with gods often receiving castrated male animals and goddesses receiving female victims. Mars, however, regularly received intact males. The most distinctive animal sacrifices made to Mars were the suovetaurilia, a triple offering of a pig, ram, and bull, and the October Horse, the only horse sacrifice known to have been carried out in ancient Rome. These sacrifices were rare instances of a victim considered inedible by the Romans.
Category:God
Category:Roman Pantheon
Category:Religion
Category:Male Characters
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