Transcript Mars, God of Agriculture and War

Mars, God of
Agriculture
and War
Symbol of War
Babylonian god of War – Nergal
 Roman god of War – Mars
 Greek god of War – Ares
 Astrology – Commander of the Solar
System, animal instincts

How everything came to be…
Romans believed there was first Chaos,
the first principle
 From Chaos:

– Gaia – the earth
– Tartarus – the depths of the earth
– Erebrus – the darkness of Tartarus
– Night
– Eros – the “mingling god”
From the Gods
Jupiter, the earth god,
rises to power and
controls all beings
 Mortals were created
 Juno is the sky goddess
 Sacred union of Jupiter
and Juno  Mars is born

Mars, the father of the Romans
Most important god after
Jupiter
 Mars mates with Rhea
Sylvia, who becomes a
goddess
 Twin sons: Remus and
Romulus
 Romulus kills Remus and
takes over the city of
Rome

Romulus kills Remus and takes over the
city of Rome
 Rome is a city of criminals and has few
women
 Romulus invites the Sabine Women for
religious games but the women are seized
by the Romans
 With Sabine queen, Romulus founds Rome
 Romans : “Sons of Mars”

Roman-Greek Gods
Jupiter – Zeus
 Juno - Hera
 Mars – Ares
 Venus – Aphrodite

God of Fields and Ripening
Italian god Mars was the protector of
fields, ripener of fruits and grain
 Prayers were said before preparing the
land
 March was named after him
 As Romans turned into warriors from
farmers, Mars became the god of war

God of War
Warrior in full battle
armour
 Wolf and the woodpecker
are his symbols
 Lover of Venus, the
goddess of love and
fertility
 Protector of gardens and
flowers

City of Rome
Temples of Mars
Mars Gradivus – “he who precedes the
army in battle”
 Roman army gathered here before going
to war
 Campus Martius – field of Mars: training
area of the army
 Lances of Mars – kept in the centre of the
city

Festivals for Mars
Festival of Mars – beginning of the year in
the pre-Julian calendar
 Citizens vote on political and criminal
matters
 Fields are ready for spring
 Warriors,horses and armour are purified
for the new year and the new battles
 Salii dance around the city for Mars

19th October, war season is over, the army
is purified for the winter – Armilustrium
 Suovetaurilia – sacrifice of pig (sus),
sheep (ovis) and bull (taurus), for
purifying purposes
 Masculine, powerful and aggressive

Ares, Greek god of war
Less popular than
Mars
 Attributed less
profound aspects of
war as brutality and
waste
 Very similar to Mars
but not as important
in Greek mythology

Mars in Astrology
Controls the basic
feelings as temper,
anger and sexual
desire
 Commander of the
solar system
 Associated with Aries
which is confident,
intelligent, impulsive,
violent and quick
tempered.

To conclude
Maybe lost some of the importance in
people’s lives
 Still occupies minds
 From a feared god to the neighbouring
planet…
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