Roman god mars biography

In this guise, Mars is presented as the dignified ancestor of the Roman people.

Roman god mars biography: Mars was the Roman god

The panel of the Ara Pacis on which he appears would have faced the Campus Martius, reminding viewers that Mars was the god whose altar Numa established there, that is, the god of Rome's oldest civic and military institutions. Particularly in works of art influenced by the Greek traditionMars may be portrayed in a manner that resembles Ares, youthful, beardless, and often nude.

The spear is the instrument of Mars in the same way that Jupiter wields the lightning bolt, Neptune the trident, and Saturn the scythe or sickle. The high priest of Mars in Roman public religion was the Flamen Martialiswho was one of the three major priests in the fifteen-member college of flamens. Mars was also served by the Saliia twelve-member priesthood of patrician youths who dressed as archaic warriors and danced in procession around the city in March.

Both priesthoods extend to the earliest periods of Roman history, and patrician birth was required. The festivals of Mars cluster in his namesake month of March Latin: Martiuswith a few observances in October, the beginning and end of the season for military campaigning and agriculture.

Roman god mars biography: He is the son of

Festivals with horse racing took place in the Campus Martius. Some festivals in March retained characteristics of new year festivals, since Martius was originally the first month of the Roman calendar. Mars was also honored by chariot races at the Robigalia and Consualiathough these festivals are not primarily dedicated to him. From BCE onward, Mars was among the gods honored at the lectisterniuma banquet given for deities who were present as images.

Roman hymns carmina are rarely preserved, but Mars is invoked in two. The Arval Brothersor "Brothers of the Fields", chanted a hymn to Mars while performing their three-step dance. In Classical Roman religionMars was invoked under several titles, and the first Roman emperor Augustus thoroughly integrated Mars into Imperial cult. The 4th-century Latin historian Ammianus Marcellinus treats Mars as one of several classical Roman deities who remained "cultic realities" up to his own time.

The tenth bull violated ritual protocol by attempting to break free, and when killed and examinedproduced ill omensamong the many that were read at the end of Julian's reign. As represented by Ammianus, Julian swore never to make sacrifice to Mars again—a vow kept with his death a month later. Gradivus was one of the gods by whom a general or soldiers might swear an oath to be valorous in battle.

The archaic priesthood of Mars Gradivus was the Saliithe "leaping priests" who danced ritually in armor as a prelude to war. The poet Statius addresses him as "the most implacable of the gods," [ ] but Valerius Maximus concludes his history by invoking Mars Gradivus as "author and support of the name 'Roman'": [ ] Gradivus is asked — along with Capitoline Jupiter and Vestaas the keeper of Rome's perpetual flame — to "guard, preserve, and protect" the state of Romethe peace, and the princeps the emperor Tiberius at the time.

A source from Late Antiquity says that the wife of Gradivus was Nereiathe daughter of Nereusand that he loved her passionately. Mars Quirinus was the protector of the Quirites "citizens" or "civilians" as divided into curiae citizen assemblieswhose oaths were required to make a treaty. The deified Romulus was identified with Mars Quirinus.

In the Capitoline Triad of JupiterMars, and Quirinushowever, Mars and Quirinus were two separate deities, though not perhaps in origin. Each of the three had his own flamen specialized priestbut the functions of the Flamen Martialis and Flamen Quirinalis are hard to distinguish. Mars is invoked as Grabovius in the Iguvine Tabletsbronze tablets written in Umbrian that record ritual protocols for carrying out public ceremonies on behalf of the city and community of Iguvium.

The same title is given to Jupiter and to the Umbrian deity Vofionus. This triad has been compared to the Archaic Triad, with Vofionus equivalent to Quirinus. After the auspices were taken, two groups of three victims were sacrificed at each gate. Mars Grabovius received three oxen. Father Mars is the regular recipient of the suovetauriliathe sacrifice of a pig susram ovis and bull taurusor often a bull alone.

Although pater and mater were fairly common as honorifics for a deity, [ ] any special claim for Mars as father of the Roman people lies in the mythic genealogy that makes him the divine father of Romulus and Remus. In the section of his farming book that offers recipes and medical preparations, Cato describes a votum to promote the health of cattle:.

You may place the viands in one vessel, and the wine likewise in one vessel. Either a slave or a free man may make this offering. After the ceremony is over, consume the offering on the spot at once. A woman may not take part in this offering or see how it is performed. You may vow the vow every year if you wish. That Mars Silvanus is a single entity has been doubted.

Invocations of deities are often list-like, without connecting wordsand the phrase should perhaps be understood as "Mars and Silvanus". Augustus created the cult of "Mars the Avenger" to mark two occasions: his defeat of the assassins of Caesar at Philippi in 42 BCE, and the negotiated return of the Roman battle standards that had been lost to the Parthians at the Battle of Carrhae in 53 BCE.

He holds a shield in his left hand. On various Imperial holidaysMars Ultor was the first god to receive a sacrifice, followed by the Genius of the emperor. Augustus or Augusta was appended far and wide, "on monuments great and small," [ ] to the name of gods or goddesses, including Mars. The honorific marks the affiliation of a deity with Imperial cult.

An inscription in the Alps records the gratitude of a slave who dedicated a statue to Mars Augustus as conservator corporis suithe preserver of his own body, said to have been vowed ex iussu numinis ipsius"by the order of the numen himself". In addition to his cult titles at Rome, Mars appears in a large number of inscriptions in the provinces of the Roman Empireand more rarely in literary texts, identified with a local deity by means of an epithet.

In Celtic settings, he is often invoked as a healer. Other bronzes at the sites represent the romans god mars biography or horns of bulls, but the bones in the ash layers indicate that sheep, goats, and pigs were the sacrificial victims. Bronze horse-hooves were found in one sanctuary. Another site held an imported statue of Imhotepthe legendary Egyptian physician.

These sacred precincts were still in active use when the Roman occupation began in BCE. They seem to have been astronomically oriented toward the rising or setting of the constellation Centaurus. Mars gave his name to the third month in the Roman calendarMartiusfrom which English March derives. In the most ancient Roman calendar, Martius was the first month.

The planet Mars was named for him, and in some allegorical and philosophical writings, the planet and the god are endowed with shared characteristics. Contents move to sidebar hide. Article Talk. Read Edit View history. Convinced of its power, she then used the flower on herself and conceived Mars. A recurring "roman god mars biography" in the mythology of Mars was the affair he carried on with Venus.

Though Vulcan and Venus had an unhappy marriage, Vulcan still took any affair Venus might have as a great offense. Though Vulcan was enraged, he did not act immediately. He waited patiently, and plotted his revenge. In his workshop, Vulcan crafted a net of material so fine that it could not be seen with the naked eye. He then laid the trap by placing the net over his bed.

When Mars and Venus next made love, they became ensnared in the net and could not move. Vulcan then assembled the gods to witness the scene, and together they mocked the naked lovers. Mars's pursuit of Minerva ultimately backfired when the god of war found himself in an unwanted marriage. Another well-known and similar story also featured Mars in an ill-fated love affair.

Minerva rebuked his advances, sending Mars to seek the help of Anna Perenna, a goddess of time. While Anna Perenna outwardly agreed to help Mars win the affections of Minerva, she secretly plotted to make the comely god of war her own. Putting her plan into motion, Anna disguised herself as Minerva and offered her hand in marriage to Mars, who eagerly accepted.

After the marriage had been formalized, Anna revealed herself to Mars, who was very displeased. Not only had he lost Minerva, but he had also been duped into an unwanted marriage. According to mytho-historical accounts of the founding of Rome, Mars was the father of the twins Romulus and Remus. While this story had countless variations, its core always remained the same.

After Aeneas and his band of refugees arrived on Italian shores, he established a community that eventually came to be known as the kingdom of Alba Longa.

Roman god mars biography: It is clear that by

One of the kings of Alba Longa was Numitor, a wise and just monarch. His reign was cut short, however, when he was overthrown by his wicked brother Amulius. Whether through outright lust or the desire to perpetuate the lineage of Numitor, Mars visited Rhea Silvia when she was sleeping and raped her. Sound asleep, Rhea Silvia dreamed that she planted seeds that grew into two trees.

With time, these romans god mars biography grew large enough to cover the entire world. When she awoke, Rhea Silvia discovered that she was pregnant with twins, who would come to be known as Remus and Romulus. Fearing that the twins might challenge his claim to Alba Longa, Amulius ordered that they be executed immediately. When the executioner set about the task, he took pity on the twins and sent them down the Tiber River in a basket.

The twins eventually came to rest at a spot that would become Rome and were nursed back to health by a she-wolf. Taking on a more materialistic approach to things, Majorcans fashioned depictions of Mars on hooves, horns, and various types of statuettes. Mars Quirinus depicted the rageful god as a peaceful protector of the Roman state and a crucial symbol of serenity after times of intense chaos.

Surprisingly, Mars appears in other cultures far away from the white-marbled infrastructure of Rome. In the green fields paraded by the Celts in Roman Britain, Mars went by many epithets, and some of them even hung the red deity up there with Celtic gods. Mars Braciacahe combines with Braciaca, the Celtic god of abundant harvest and sacred grove.

Albeit, numerous other epithets were attributed to Mars and combined with other Celtic gods. Being the god of war makes for a chaotic daily life. It is only fair that you entrap the most beautiful of Musesnay; goddesses, as your consort. Venus, just like her Greek counterpart, is the Roman goddess of love and beauty. Like two planets dancing alongside each other in the night sky, the love story of Mars and Venus charms the very foundations of Roman mythology.

It is not without fault due to the fact that their relationship is adulterous. But for some strange reason, traditional analysis and depictions continue to slide straight past that as this power couple continues to inspire contemporary artists and writers alike. The tutelary god of war engaged in a much more severe part of the mythology that is often overlooked by historians.

One day, however, Mars was casually walking down the street with his spear in hand and came across Rhea Silvia minding her business. Overcome by the need for invasion, Mars blew the war trumpets and marched toward the poor woman. Mars proceeded to rape Rhea Silvia, and this sudden outburst of libido forever changed the course of Roman history.

She named Mars their father, either because she really believed it or because the fault might appear less heinous if a deity were the cause. They were none other than Romulus and Remusthe legendary figures in Roman mythology whose tales dictate the eventual founding of the city of Rome. Though the story of Romulus and Remus stretches over many events, all of it does lead back to the stirring in the loins of the Roman god.

Hence, in some sense, Mars helps construct the city, which returns to his worship unironically, thus completing the cycle. This only solidifies the tutelary god and his imposing position within the pantheon of the rest of the Roman gods. Triads in theology are a huge deal. In fact, they are integrated into many well-known religions and mythologies.

Mars is the god of war in Roman religion and mythology, and his Greek counterpart is Ares. Though he is primarily known as the god of war, he is also known as a guardian of agriculture, the god of spring, fertility, virility, and growth in nature. Mars is one of the most feared gods as the second most important god in Roman history following Jupiter, and he is also the military god most celebrated by the Roman army.

Mars is considered the son of Jupiter and Juno. According to the Roman poet Ovidius, Jupiter had previously given birth to his daughter, Minerva, through his forehead using only his mind. Flora gave Juno a magic flower, and Juno became pregnant just by touching it. Until the reign of Numa Pompilius, the second king of Rome circa BC, March was the first month of every year and signified the time for the resumption of war.

According to Roman mythology, Mars had a love affair with Venus, the goddess of love, and fathered Cupid, Fuga, and Timor.