style="font-family: tahoma;">Mars, Father of Rome
By
Darkgolem
Mars is the most warlike of the
Roman gods, however, he was not only the primary god of battle in the
Roman pantheon, but also had other responsibilities over aspects of
Roman life.
style="font-weight: bold;">The Nature of Mars
Mars was considered
the most ruthless and powerful of the war gods of the Roman
pantheon. Miverva was considered having oversight over the more
tactical, strategic and thoughtful parts of battle while Mars was
considered more of a hothead, driven by passions for blood and
battle. This nature was less emphasized by the Romans than his
Greek equivalent, Ares. Mars developed to be more of a noble and
benevolent warrior with great skill in battle than a vicious murderer
as Ares was.
Interestingly, Mars originally did
not have the aspect of war god as his aegis. In early roman
history, he was a god of spring, natural growth, fertility and the
protector of cattle. In time he was considered a god of the
earth, which may eventually have led to his being considered a god of
death, and in turn war, though this link is unclear. His nature as an
agricultural patron was eventually credited to other gods by the Roman
people, and he was considered solely concerned with the Roman state in
wartime.
href="http://tth.tentonhammer.com/modules.php?full=1&set_albumName=album155&id=rome_2006_07_19_15_44_12_50_PNG_jpgcopy&op=modload&name=gallery&file=index&include=view_photo.php">
alt="Battle Lines"
src="http://media.tentonhammer.com/tth/gallery/albums/album155/rome_2006_07_19_15_44_12_50_PNG_jpgcopy.jpg"
style="border: 2px solid ; width: 250px;" align="left">The Romans
seem to have to adopted Mars as a very powerful patron for their
culture. He was said to be the father of Romulus, and as such,
the Roman people considered themselves children of Mars.
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Aspects of Mars
With the changing
aspects of Mars over time, it can be expected that Mars had many names
to reflect his many natures. The acquisition of many names by
Roman gods is the case even more so for Mars than the other Roman gods,
as other cultures were subsumed by conquering Romans. Because of
this conquest, many of the gods of war of other cultures were changed
to involve the name or nature of Mars in some way.
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The Celts had many gods who were
connected in some way to Mars, their names being Mars Camulos (Cumulus
was a Celtic war god), Mars Cocidius (Cocidius was a Celtic hunting
god), and so on. By the same token, the Gauls, Britains and
Iberians all had their gods subsumed by Mars. For example, Mars
Capriociegus was the Iberian name for their god of war, and Mars
Corotiacus for the Britains.
Within the Roman culture (aside from
the names given Mars by conquered peoples), Mars might be called Mars
Ultor (Mars the avenger), Mars Gradivus (He who precedes
href="http://www.gods.tentonhammer.com/index.php?module=ContentExpress&func=display&ceid=88">the
army in
battle), or Mars Pater (Mars the father).
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Interestingly, one of the symbols of
Mars is the Spear, and the circle with arrow symbol for masculinity may
be based upon this symbol. Because of the associations of Mars
with the origins of Rome, the
href="http://gods.tentonhammer.com/index.php?module=ContentExpress&func=display&ceid=108">wolf
is a symbol of his. Also, the
Horse (because of Roman cavalry most likely) is another animal sacred
to Mars. The fig tree, oak and dogwood also are associated with
this god.
Stories of Mars
Mars is said to have
been born of either a fertile flower and Juno or of Juno and Jupiter,
depending upon what mythological reference you find.
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There are very few stories that
involve Mars directly, even counting stories involving Ares. In
most stories he is mentioned as fighting enemies of the gods, sometimes
of his own accord, sometimes after being sent into battle by the other
gods. Aside from being mentioned as fighting one or another foe,
not many myths seem to refer to him doing other things.
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He is said (as Ares in Greek myth)
to have fathered the Amazon race with a nymph named Harmony, though the
Amazons favored their father's warlike ways.
style="font-family: tahoma;"> Mars (again as Ares) is said to
have been accompanied into battle by his sister Eris (meaning Discord)
and Altercatio (Strife).
Worship of Mars
href="http://tth.tentonhammer.com/modules.php?full=1&set_albumName=album155&id=GNHSquadBattleReady_png_jpgcopy&op=modload&name=gallery&file=index&include=view_photo.php">
alt="Squad Prepared"
src="http://media.tentonhammer.com/tth/gallery/albums/album155/GNHSquadBattleReady_png_jpgcopy.jpg"
style="border: 2px solid ; width: 250px;" align="right">On
Palatine Hill the temple of Mars stood, originally it was the residence
of the pre-republic kings of Rome. His tokens of the shield and
spear were kept here, and were considered sacred. Twelve shields
were eventually created as his sacred shields, placed under the care of
a Salii of priests, who cared for them. The other priests of
Mars were the Flamen Marialis. In the forum of Rome, the
spears of Mars were kept. The consul of Mars would ceremonially
shake these spears when war broke out, symbolically waking Mars up.
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While the former kings residence
upon Palatine Hill was in a sense a temple to Mars in that his icons
were kept there, his first true temple, made and dedicated to him, was
the outside the Porta Capena, the gate through with the army marched on
military campaigns. Another site dedicated to Mars was kept at
the Campus Martius, where the army exercised at home.
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The month of March, dedicated to
Mars, was moved to be later in the calendar to emphasize that war
should not be the first thing Romans dwelled upon (symbolically).
Festivals and ceremonies dedicated to Mars were conducted in the warmer
months, since this was the time of war. The first day of March
was the day of the Feriae Marti, considered holy to Mars.
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The Equirriae were two festivals
involving horse racing, and referring to the months ending and opening
of the war seasons (February and March) and the horses involved in
warfare.
As the father of the Roman people,
held in a special place in Roman culture and heart, understanding the
view of Mars by the Roman people and his worship by the Roman people is
key to understanding the Roman point of view. In addition,
understanding the aspects of Mars assists players of Gods and Heroes in
immersion in the settings of Gods and Heroes and the comments of NPCs
in the game.
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