Roman mythology. Mars

In the ancient mythology of Rome, the great God Mars occupies one of the places of honor. He was famous for his reliable, devoted defender and patron of the Roman Empire. He was revered as a fearless and fair warrior, as a brave knight leading his army against the enemies of Rome.

In ancient times in Italy, he was part of the triad of gods who were the ancestors of the Roman pantheon (Jupiter, God Mars, Quirinus). Being the deity of military battles, Mars was ready to give all his power to preserve the peace and glory of the great empire. Mars is considered the equivalent of the cunning and evil God Ares in Ancient Greece.

Pantheon of Gods - as a place of honor for God Mars

The archaic Triad of the divine pantheon of Rome is famous for its strength and majesty. God Mars is one of the prominent characters in this field. At the head is the God Jupiter, who is the formidable ruler of the skies, thunder and lightning, fierce storms and thunderstorms. He is identified with the Greek Zeus, who is terrible in his anger and begins to throw lightning. The next place of honor is occupied by Quirin, who provides light from the rays of the sun. In the mornings, at his will, the heavenly gates opened and the heavenly body appeared, in the evenings Quirin closed the gates with bolts.

Next came God Mars, and although the inhabitants of Rome gave Mars third place, it was he who retained his prototype more clearly than the other deities. The Romans worshiped Mars, believing that he brought victories in battles and long wars, endowed the army with the spirit of courage and fearlessness, kept peace in the Roman Empire and glorified it. You can often find sources where Mars is represented as a bloodthirsty and dishonest God of War, who does not care whose side is right; his goal was numerous victims, blood and confusion. But be that as it may, his strength was directed primarily to ensuring peace and unity. Under the leadership of his male aggression, great wars were carried out, which, in an ideal situation, should have guaranteed security and peace.

God of battles and vernal equinox

The Romans, distinguished from most peoples by their warlike qualities, worshiped the fierce and powerful Mars, considering him the father and founder of the empire. The name of the first spring month was given by the Romans in honor of this great god - Latin Martius (month of March). The beginning of spring was considered a particularly busy period, with many festivals held in preparation for new battles and wars. Particular attention was paid to tournaments involving horses, since these animals were the only assistants in any battle.

In the mythology of ancient Rome, the God Mars also performed more harmless functions than military actions. He was considered the deity of fertility and agriculture, the protector of lands, vegetation, and the surrounding nature. It depended on what the harvest would be and how healthy the livestock and future offspring would be. Or, on the contrary, it was in his power to burn all the sown fields and kill all the animals. He was worshiped not only by soldiers, but also by ordinary peasants, who brought him various sacrifices hoping for a rich harvest. Mars was associated with wild forests, places unknown to people. Perhaps this wildness given to him as the god of nature created him separately from the world and people beyond all conventions, and transformed into an unbridled force that must be pacified and subdued.

Birth

The parents of Mars are Juno and Jupiter. There is an amazing version about his birth, told by the Roman poet Ovid: according to him, Juno was jealous of Minerva, the daughter of Jupiter, because in her conception she appeared without the participation of a woman. And Juno also wanted to give birth to a child without the help of a man. Flora, the goddess of vegetation, gave her a magic flower, and only after touching this flower did Juno become pregnant with the god Mars. That is why, initially, he was considered an agricultural god, the patron of plants, nature and wild forests.

The Myth of Mars and the Goddess Nerio

Once upon a time, Mars took a liking to the goddess Minerva, who personified wisdom and beauty, love and art. Mars was confused and taken by surprise by his own feeling of love, and he did not know how to tell the goddess about his sympathy. He asked for help from the goddess Anna Perenne, known as the patroness of the new year. Anna was supposed to act as a matchmaker in the amorous affairs of Mars, but nothing came of it, and Minerva refused the formidable Mars. But the goddesses decided not to stop there and wanted to play a prank on Mars.

Anna informed him that Minerva reciprocated his feelings and was waiting on a date. Satisfied and delighted, Mars rushed to his beloved on the “wings of love.” Arriving at the meeting place, he saw a woman sitting, wrapped from head to toe in a long dress. Moving the tent away from her face, he jumped away from the woman in horror: old Anna Perenna appeared before him. The gods of the Roman Empire remembered this joke for a long time and laughed at the gullibility of the formidable god, who had been fooled. As a result, Mars chose the goddess Nerio as his wife, whom, according to legend, he had to kidnap. Nerio was the goddess of courage, feminine strength, courage and courage. Mars did not regret his choice at all, since his wife was his devoted companion and was present with him at all battles.

Remus and Romulus

The great Mars had two sons - the twins Remus and Romulus. Their mother was Rhea Silvia - who served the goddess Vesta as a vestal priestess. She was a virgin, as she took a vow of celibacy and remained celibate to guard the magical fire. One day, Rhea went to fetch water for a ceremony. On the way she met a huge wolf, the girl took refuge in a cave and remained there until dark. Suddenly the god Mars appeared before her and Rhea became pregnant.

She gave birth to twin boys - Remus and Romulus. The Vestal faced severe punishment, since she broke her vow, and none of the gods took her side. Rhea explained that she became a victim of violence from Mars, but this did not save her. As a result, she was executed, and the twins who were born were placed in a box and thrown into the stormy waters of the Tiber River. Having traveled a considerable distance, the box landed on one of the banks of the river, crashed against it, and the boys found themselves on dry land. Soon a wolf found them, brought them into his pack, and they were fed with the milk of a she-wolf and grew up with the wolf cubs. When the twins grew into strong young men, they decided to build their own city and began their plan by searching for suitable territory. But each of them liked different places and they could not come to a compromise. A serious dispute arose between them and Romulus killed Remus. Afterwards, he regretted his action for a long time, and when he finally erected a city, he gave it the name Rome, in honor of the murdered twin.

Temple of Mars

After Rome was founded by the son of the god Mars, Romulus, the main territory of the city began to be called the Campus Martius. This place served for military exercises, training, and for holding civilian rallies. The center of the field was occupied by a majestic temple erected in honor of the great Mars. The temple servants included people only from noble and wealthy families. According to legend, on the first day of spring, a huge shield fell from the sky at the feet of the second king of Rome, Numa Pompilius. Residents of the city perceived this sign as a blessing from the gods, and the shield became a sacred artifact personifying the invincible Roman army.

To avoid theft of the shield, the servants smelted 11 more of the same pieces from the metal. In this way, it was intended to confuse anyone who decided to steal the sacred shield. On the first day of spring, during the festive festival in honor of the god Mars, the shields were carried outside by the servants and the cart carried them throughout the city, showing the Romans the sacred symbol.

In the alchemical tradition, the symbol of Mars is a graphic image of a circle with an arrow located at an angle of 45 degrees. The “symbol of Mars” meant iron, which in medieval esotericism was inextricably linked with the “red planet” and the element of Fire. At the same time, Mars originally embodied strength, aggression and belligerence (in fact, Mars is the name of the ancient Roman god of war), that is, purely “male” characteristics. That is why, over time, the symbol of Mars became a gender designation for the male sex (in a similar way, the symbol of Venus, which also came from medieval alchemy, and came into it from ancient mythology, began to be used to designate the female sex).

Thus, the symbols of Venus and Mars moved from the alchemical environment into the category of universal gender emblems, which, in fact, is not surprising, given the characteristic features attributed to the images of these planets. However, the mythological background of the symbols of Venus and Mars is much more significant than it might seem. In particular, the symbol of Mars in its statutory outline has its own characteristic name - “shield and spear of Mars.” And here we literally mean the legendary weapon of the ancient Roman god of war.

However, in the concept of “shield and spear of Mars” the mythological meaning is emphasized only by the concept of “shield”. That is, Mars (in the sense of god) was depicted with a spear (unlike, for example, the Greek Ares, who was sometimes armed with a sword). However, the spear here acted as an absolutely abstract male and military symbol, in which it is easy to see a phallic image. And there is no information that Mars had any special spear that could be classified as a magical artifact.

But the shield of Mars is a completely different image, which is sometimes called (with good reason) the symbol of Rome. The shield of Mars, called the ankylus, according to legend, fell from the sky and fell directly into the hands of King Numa Pompilius at a time when his people were suffering from a pestilence epidemic. Pompilius claimed that the fall of the ankylus was accompanied by a loud voice that told the king that Rome would rule the world as long as the shield of Mars was in the hands of a Roman. Actually, at the official level, the shield of Mars was never a symbol of Rome, however, this myth was widely known at all times, therefore in traditional Roman architecture there are often bas-reliefs and statues that include a characteristic element - the ankylos, the shield of Mars (its image given above).

There are two interesting points in this tradition associated with the shield of Mars. Firstly, the etymology of the word “ankil” itself is not known. Secondly, by order of Pompilius, 11 copies of the original shield were made and once a year, on the holiday of the god of war, servants of the cult of Mars carried these shields through the streets of Rome.

It is not known exactly when the formulation “spear and shield of Mars” appeared (although, for example, the origin of the concept “mirror of Venus”, denoting the female gender sign, is beyond doubt). At the same time, taking into account the courteous features of the image of the god Mars in the form of statues and bas-reliefs (with an ankylos and a spear), this combination looks quite logical. It is no less logical to correlate the desired symbol with the planet of the same name and the masculine principle as such.

Thus, the symbol of Mars, which arose in deep antiquity, experienced a “rebirth” in the Middle Ages on the pages of alchemical treatises, and in the 20th century it became a generally accepted “male” sign. And it is very important that today we know well the true origin of this truly ancient and profound image. After all, if a culture uses emblems the essence of which it does not understand, then such a culture is worthless.

In Ancient Italy, Mars was the god of fertility; it was believed that he could either cause the destruction of crops or the death of livestock, or avert them. In his honor, the first month of the Roman year, in which the rite of expelling winter was performed, was named March. Mars was later identified with the Greek Ares and became the god of war. The temple of Mars, already as the god of war, was built on the Field of Mars outside the city walls, since the armed army was not supposed to enter the city territory.

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MARS, ancient Italian deity (one of the most ancient gods of Italy and Rome). Initially, he was part of the first triad of gods (Jupiter (see JUPITER (in mythology)), Mars, Quirin (see KVIRIN)). According to most researchers, he was the god of wild nature,... ... encyclopedic Dictionary

Mars: Mars god of the Roman pantheon Mars planet of the solar system Mars astrological concept “Mars” a series of Soviet interplanetary space stations Mars platform on the top of the composite mast Mars, Incorporated American food... ... Wikipedia

In Roman mythology, Mars is the god of war. Figuratively: a military, belligerent person. The expression son of Mars is used in the same meaning; expression Field of Mars meaning: battlefield. One of the parts of the city was also called in Ancient Rome... ... Dictionary of popular words and expressions

- [boh], ah, call. God; pl. gods, gods; m. 1. [with a capital letter] only units. According to religious beliefs: the creator of heaven and earth, of all things; the omniscient supreme mind that rules the world; universal world principle (has many names: Creator, ... ... encyclopedic Dictionary

God of War, Ares; red planet, gradiv Dictionary of Russian synonyms. mars noun, number of synonyms: 8 ares (5) god ... Synonym dictionary

God- (boh) a, name; God; pl., bo/gi, bogo/in; m. see also. God help you, my God!, God be with you, God forbid, God forbid... Dictionary of many expressions

Mars- wing. sl. Mars. Son of Mars. Field of Mars In Roman mythology, Mars is the god of war. Figuratively: a military, belligerent person. The expression “son of Mars” is used in the same meaning; the expression “Champus of Mars” meaning: battlefield. Also… … Universal additional practical explanatory dictionary by I. Mostitsky

- (Mars). The Roman god of war, who, as the father of Romulus, was considered the ancestor of the Roman people. He granted victory, and when Roman generals went to war, they worshiped Mars. The wolf and woodpecker were sacred to Mars. (Source: “A brief dictionary... Encyclopedia of Mythology

- (Gol. mars). 1) a plank or lattice platform at the top of the mast. 2) (lat. Mars). God of war among the ancient Romans. 3) planet of the solar system, fourth in terms of its distance from the sun. 4) in alchemy iron. Dictionary of foreign words included in... ... Dictionary of foreign words of the Russian language

1. MARS, a; m. [from lat. mars male] [with a capital letter] 1. In ancient Roman mythology: the god of war (considered the father of Romulus and Remus, the ancestor of the Romans). 2. The fourth planet of the solar system, whose orbit is between Earth and Jupiter. ◁… … encyclopedic Dictionary

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• Sowers. Book 1. Universal Flame, Alexey Berkut, You know where humanity came from, why the dinosaurs disappeared, why Mars lost its atmosphere, and where Phaeton disappeared, who and why visits Earth on high-speed spaceships, and who is... Category: Science fiction Publisher: Publishing Solutions, eBook
• I will return to God his wife Asherah. In 620 BC, the worship of Asherah, the wife of God, was banned in Jerusalem. Igor Vladimirovich Levanov, God the Father said: “Igor, return my wife Asherah.” Igor, a reserve major, replied: “Yes!” and together with NLPer Lena went on a search. If found, two billion Christians will be happy... Category: Contemporary Russian literature Publisher: Publishing Solutions, eBook

One of the few most ancient gods of Rome is Mars. Over time, he turned from a peace-loving god of fertility into a warlike god of War.

In mythology, it is believed that Mars accompanied warriors to war, accepting gifts from them in the form of sacrifices. During battles, he appeared on the field accompanied by the goddess Bellona. After the war was won, he was presented with a gift in the form of a horse sacrifice. This god had some features compared to others - for example, he had 3 lives. He was revered much more than others.

It is worth adding to all that has been said that it was applied in the form of symbolism on coins, products, shields, and other things that took place in everyday life. By the way, this god is considered the ancestor of Rome, the current capital of Italy. He also had sons - Romulus and Remus. The Vestal Virgin Rhea Silvia gave birth to twins.

Mars is the god of war in Roman mythology, the oldest deity of Italy and Rome, who was part of the triad of gods that originally headed the Roman pantheon - Jupiter, Mars and Quirinus. In ancient times he was considered the god of fertility and vegetation, but gradually acquired a warlike character.

Mars accompanied warriors going to war, accepted sacrificial gifts before battle and appeared on the battlefield accompanied by the goddess of war Bellona. The symbol of Mars was a spear kept in the royal palace - regin; Twelve shields were also kept there, one of which, according to legend, fell from the sky as a guarantee of the invincibility of the Romans, and the rest were one hundred skillful copies designed to confuse the kidnappers.

The commander, going to war, called on Mars, setting in motion the shields and spears hanging in the palace. At the end of hostilities, a horse from the quadriga that won the race was sacrificed to the god of war.

Mars enjoyed great popularity during the period of the Republic: his images were minted on coins, and the god was awarded the epithets winner, fighter, expander of the empire, pacifier. In the western Roman provinces, the main gods of territorial and tribal communities were associated with the image of Mars. This is why some researchers have suggested that early Roman ideas about Mars as a supreme deity continued to live on in folk traditions.

The god of war, Mars, corresponds to the god Ares in ancient Greek mythology. But unlike the Greek Ares, Mars was revered in Rome above other gods, perhaps because, according to legend, his sons Remus and Romulus founded this city.

Mars- an ancient Roman god, was considered one of the indigenous Italian deities, who was worshiped throughout the Italian Peninsula, and later in the provinces, where the cult of similar native deities merged with the cult of the national Italian god. First of all, Mars was a god spring, as indicated by his holidays, which fell in the spring and especially in the month of March, named after him. There were holidays in honor of Mars in other warm seasons, that is, in summer and autumn. The veneration of Mars continued, therefore, for a whole 8 months, which, in their importance compared with the short and useless winter season for the villager, amounted to essentially year. As a representative of the plant force of nature, Mars was considered the god of the year, annual prosperity. This explains his connection with the goddess Anna, who gave bread to the hungry plebeians.

12 shields of Mars - a symbolic image of the 12th month of the year. As a deity born to combat cold and the dead forces of nature, Mars receives the attributes of the god of war. He must fight the demons of winter and from his very birth he is armed for the fight. In this regard, there are shields and the military nature of the religious movements of the Salii. Just during the 8 warm months dedicated to Mars, military operations took place, ending on the day of the last festival.

The furious and indomitable god of war, Mars was revered as the father of the great and warlike Roman people, whose glory began with the founder of the city of Rome - Romulus. Thanks to the patronage of the mighty god of war, the Romans won victories over neighboring tribes, and then over other peoples. Mars had two nicknames - Mars Marching into Battle and Mars the Spear-Bearer. After the death of Romulus and his deification, the god Quirinus appeared, into whom Romulus turned, thus becoming the double of Mars.

Mars was once feared. The bright reddish star was named after the ancient Roman god of war, and was believed to bring disaster and suffering. Nowadays, everyone knows that Mars is not a STAR, but one of the most interesting planets in the SOLAR SYSTEM. In 1877, astronomers began to suspect that there was or was intelligent life on Mars.

The conditions for this seemed favorable. True, Mars is smaller than Earth and 1.5 times farther from the Sun. But his day is only 37 minutes longer. On Mars, as on Earth, the seasons change and in the summer the polar ice melts at the poles. There is also an atmosphere, although more rarefied than on Earth, with less oxygen and water vapor. Mars receives less light and heat than Earth, but still enough for life to develop. But which one? Now scientists believe that nothing but mosses and lichens can exist on Mars: there is still too little water and heat there. And, of course, there are no Martians there in our time. But there are many mysterious things on Mars.

For example, “channels” are incomprehensible dark lines crossing the planet, some up to 100 km wide. Most likely, these are just depressions and breaks in the soil. But maybe these are artificial structures? In addition, they change their color at different times of the year, which means there is vegetation on Mars.

Even more amazing are the satellites of Mars - Phobos and Deimos. They are very small: their diameters are 8 and 15 km. They are located quite close to the planet: Phobos is at a distance of 9380 km. It turned out that they move around Mars in the same way as artificial satellites would move. That is why some scientists have suggested that in ancient times there were conditions on Mars for the existence of intelligent beings, who created these satellites. And now the planet is cooling, and life on it is dying out. Where did the Martians go? One can only guess about this, but it is possible that they moved to other worlds with the help of the artificial satellites Phobos and Deimos.

All this, of course, is just HYPOTHESES. It is still as difficult to refute them as it is to prove them. Powerful telescopes are aimed at Mars. It is especially convenient to study it when the “great confrontation” occurs. This happens once every 15-17 years. The last opposition of Mars was in 1956. The next one will be in 1971. Who knows, maybe then scientists will be able to discover something that will help solve Martian mysteries.

Sources: smexota.net, aforizmu.com, www.wikiznanie.ru, www.mifologija.ru, www.what-who.com

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Mars, Latin, Greek Ares is the Roman god of war and patron of Roman power, the son of Jupiter and Juno.

Unlike, who was the god of frantic war among the Greeks and did not enjoy special honor, Mars was one of the most revered Roman gods, only Jupiter stood above him. According to Roman myths, Mars was the father of Romulus and Remus, the founders of Rome. Therefore, the Romans considered themselves his descendants and believed that Mars loved them more than all other peoples and ensured their victories in wars. In archaic times, Mars was also revered as the god of the harvest, fields, forests and spring. This is evidenced by a number of surviving prayers of farmers and the name of the first month of spring (March).

The wife of Mars was the goddess Neria (Nerio), about whom it is only known that Mars had to kidnap her. But Romulus and Remus were born to him by the Vestal Rhea Silvia, daughter of the Latin king Numitor. In battles, Mars was constantly accompanied by Pallor and Pavor, “Pale” and “Terror”, corresponding to the satellites of Ares and Phobos. As his forefather, the Romans called him by the name Mars Pater or Marspiter, and as the god of war, bestowing victory, he was called Mars Victor. Mars showed his favor towards Rome already in ancient times, dropping his own shield from the sky so that it would protect the city. By order of King Numa Pompilius, eleven exactly the same shields were subsequently made so that an attacker who would try to steal the shield of Mars would not be able to identify it. All year these shields were kept in the sanctuary of Mars in the Forum. Only on March 1, on the birthday of God, his priests (salia) carried them around the city in a solemn procession, accompanied by dancing and singing. The sacred animals of Mars were the wolf, the woodpecker, and the symbol was the spear.

"Mars and Rhea Silvia", Rubens

The Romans honored Mars with special festivals. In addition to the salii processions, these were, in particular, horse competitions (equiria), held annually on February 27 and March 14. However, the most important festival was the so-called “Suovetavrilia”, which took place every five years after the end of the next census of the Roman population (census). It consisted in the fact that around the Romans, who had gathered on the Campus Martius and lined up in battle formation, a pig, a sheep and a bull were paraded three times, which were then sacrificed to Mars. With this sacrifice, the Roman people cleansed themselves of all sins and ensured themselves the help and protection of Mars for the future.

In addition to Mars, the Romans knew and honored other gods of war: in ancient times, this was primarily Mars, who was later identified with the founder of Rome, Romulus; They also revered the goddess of war. Later, under Greek influence, they transferred some properties to their goddess Minerva, and as a result, she also became the goddess of war. However, the cult of Mars as the god of war decisively prevailed until the fall of ancient Rome.

"The Battle of Mars and Minerva", Jacques Louis David

In honor of Mars, the Romans built several temples and sanctuaries in their city. The oldest of them stood on the Campus Martius (on the left bank of the Tiber), where military exercises, censorship reviews and public meetings took place, at which in ancient times the issue of declaring war was decided. The sanctuary of Mars in the Forum was also considered very ancient. Going to war, each commander came to the sanctuary, shook his shields at Mars, asked God for help and promised him a portion of the spoils of war. The most magnificent temple was dedicated by Emperor Augustus to Mars the Avenger (Mars Ultor) in memory of the retribution that befell the murderers of his adoptive father, Julius Caesar. The temple was consecrated in 2 AD. h. in the new Forum of Augustus, several damaged columns and the base of a temple statue have survived from it. The Campus Martius in Rome disappeared as a result of development already during the Empire. At the end of the 1st century. n. e. Emperor Domitian ordered a stadium to be built in its place, the contours of which correspond to the current Roman Piazza Navona. (Centuries later, new Fields of Mars emerged in Paris, St. Petersburg and other cities - even Detroit).

"Venus, Mars and the Graces", Jacques Louis David

Mars has long died along with the rest of the ancient gods, but, unfortunately, humanity brings more and more victims to him: Mars is the most famous and still living symbol of war. Already in ancient times, Mars passed from mythology to astronomy as the “bloody planet”. In 1877, American astronomer A. Hall discovered two satellites of the planet Mars, Deimos and Phobos, the existence of which was foreseen by Swift 150 years before this discovery. Many ancient statues and images of Mars have been preserved, and in modern times even more were created (see article “Apec”).

In a number of cities, the place of military reviews was called the Champs of Mars:

“I love the warlike liveliness
Amusing Fields of Mars..."
- A. S. Pushkin, “The Bronze Horseman.”