Mars (mythology)
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- For the fourth planet from the sun, see Mars.
Mars was the Roman god of war, the son of Juno and either Jupiter or a magical flower. As the word Mars has no Indo-European derivation, it is most likely the Latinized form of the agricultural Etruscan god Maris. Initially the Roman god of fertility and vegetation and a protector of cattle, fields and boundaries, Mars later became associated with battle as the growing Roman Empire began to expand, and he was identified with the Greek god Ares. He was also a tutelary god of Rome, and as the legendary father of its founder, Romulus, it was believed that all Romans were descended from Mars.
[edit] Names and epithets
Mars was called Mavors in some poetry (Virgil VIII, 630), and Mamers was his Oscan name. He was also known as Marmor, Marmar and Maris, the latter from the Etruscan deity Maris.
Like other major Roman deities, Mars had a large number of epithets representing his different roles and aspects. Many of Mars' epithets resulted from mythological syncretism between Mars and foreign gods. The most common and significant of these included:
- Mars Alator, a fusion of Mars with the Celtic deity Alator (possibly meaning "Huntsman" or "Cherisher"), known from inscription found in England, on an altar at South Shields and a silver-gilt votive plaque at Barkway, Hertfordshire. [1][2]
- Mars Albiorix, a fusion of Mars with the ancient Celtic deity Toutatis, using the epithet Albiorix ("King of the World"). Mars Albiorix was worshiped as protector of the Albici tribe of southern France, and was regarded as a mountain god. Another epithet of Toutatis, Caturix ("King of Combat"), was used in the combination Mars Caturix, which was worshiped in Gaul, possibly as the tribal god of the Caturiges.[3]
- Mars Balearicus, statues of a warrior discovered in the Mallorca Island, associated by the archeologists to the Roman god Mars [1].
- Mars Barrex, from Barrex or Barrecis (probably meaning "Supreme One"), a Celtic god known only from a dedicatory inscription found at Carlisle, England.[2]
- Mars Belatucadrus, an epithet found in five inscriptions in the area of Hadrian's Wall in England, based on equating the Celtic deity Belatu-Cadros with Mars.
- Mars Braciaca, a synthesis of Mars with the Celtic god Braciaca. This deity is only known from a single inscription at Bakewell, England.[2]
- Mars Camulos, from the Celtic war god Camulus.
- Mars Capriociegus, from an Iberian god who was linked to Mars. He is invoked in two inscriptions in the Pontevedra region of northwest Spain.
- Mars Cocidius, a combination of Mars with the Celtic woodland hunting god Cocidius. He is referenced around northwest Cumbria and Hadrian's Wall, and was chiefly a war god only in instances where he was equated with Mars.
- Mars Condatis, from the Celtic god of the confluence of rivers, Condatis. Mars Condatis, who oversaw water and healing, is known from inscriptions near Hadrian's Wall, at Piercebridge, Bowes and Chester-le-Street.[2][4]
- Mars Corotiacus. A local British version of Mars from Martlesham in Suffolk. He appears on a bronze statuette as a cavalryman, armed and riding a horse which tramples a prostrate enemy beneath its hooves. [5]
- Mars Gradivus, God of War.
- Mars Lenus. A fusion of Mars with the Celtic healer-god Lenus. In the main cult centre of the god, the indigenous name always comes first (Lenus Mars), an indication that Lenus was an established god, with whom Mars was later equated. [6]
- Mars Loucetius. A fusion of Mars with the Celtic god Loucetius.
- Mars Mullo. A fusion of Mars with the Celtic god Mullo
- Mars Nodens. A fusion of Mars with the Celtic god Nodens.
- Mars Ocelus. A fusion of Mars with the Celtic god Ocelus.
- Mars Olloudius. A fusion of Mars with the Celtic god Olloudius.
- Mars Rigisamus. Mars was given this title (which means 'Greatest King' or 'King of Kings') in at West Coker in Somerset, where a bronze figurine and inscribed plaque dedicated to the god were found in a field, along with the remains of a building, perhaps a shrine. The figurine depicts a standing naked male figure with a close-fitting helmet; his right hand once held a shield, and he probably originally also had a shield (both are now lost). The same epithet for a god is recoded from Bourges in Gaul. The use of this epithet implies that Mars had an extremely high status, over and above his warrior function. [7]
- Mars Rigonemetis ("King of the Sacred Grove"). A dedication to Rigonemetis and the numen (spirit) of the Emperor inscribed on a stone was discovered at Nettleham (Lincolnshire) in 1961. Rigonemetis is only known from this site, and it seems as if he was a god belonging to the tribe of the Corieltauvi. [8]
- Mars Segomo. A fusion of Mars with the Celtic god Segomo.
- Mars Teutates. A fusion of Mars with the Celtic god Teutates (Toutatis).
- Mars Thinesus. A form of Mars invoked at Homesteads at Hadrian's Wall, where his name is linked with two goddesses called the Alaisiagae. Anne Ross associated Thinesus with a sculpture, also from the fort, which sows a god flanked by goddesses and accompanied by a goose - a frequent companion of war gods. [9]
- Mars Visucius. A fusion of Mars with the Celtic god Visucius.
- Mars Vorocius. A Celtic healer-god invoked at the curative spring shrine at Vichy (Allier) as a curer of eye afflictions. On images, the god is depicted as a Celtic warrior. [10]
[edit] See also
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[edit] References
- ^ Phillips, E.J. (1977). Corpus Signorum Imperii Romani, Great Britain, Volume I, Fascicule 1. Hadrian's Wall East of the North Tyne (p. 66). Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-725954-5.
- ^ a b c d Ross, Anne (1967). Pagan Celtic Britain. Routledge & Kegan Paul. ISBN 0-902357-03-4.
- ^
- ^ Jones, Barri & Mattingly, David (1990). An Atlas of Roman Britain (p. 275). Oxford: Basil Blackwell. ISBN 1-84217-067-8.
- ^ Miranda J. Green. "Dictionary of Celtic Myth and Legend" (p. 142.) Thames and Hudson Ltd. 1997
- ^ Miranda J. Green. "Dictionary of Celtic Myth and Legend" (p. 142.) Thames and Hudson Ltd. 1997
- ^ Miranda J. Green. "Dictionary of Celtic Myth and Legend" (p. 142.) Thames and Hudson Ltd. 1997
- ^ Miranda J. Green. "Dictionary of Celtic Myth and Legend" (p. 142.) Thames and Hudson Ltd. 1997
- ^ Miranda J. Green. "Dictionary of Celtic Myth and Legend" (p. 142.) Thames and Hudson Ltd. 1997
- ^ Miranda J. Green. "Dictionary of Celtic Myth and Legend" (p. 142.) Thames and Hudson Ltd. 1997
