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.
ARES, Ar e th (Ἄρης),
in Greek mythology, the god of war, treacherous, treacherous, war for the sake of war,
in contrast to Pallas Athena, the goddess of fair and just war. Initially, Ares was simply identified with war and deadly weapons (traces of this identification in Homer, Hom. Il. XIII 444, in Aeschylus, Agam. 78). The oldest myth about Ares testifies to his non-Greek, Thracian origin (Hom. Od. VIII 361; Ovid. Fast. V 257). Sophocles (O.R. 190-215) calls Ares a “despicable” god and calls on Zeus, Apollo, Artemis and Bacchus to strike him with lightning, arrows and fire. The ancient chthonic features of Ares were reflected in the myth about the birth of the Theban dragon together with one of the Erinyes (Schol. Soph. Ant. 128), who was killed by Cadmus. Even the children of Ares - the heroes - show traits of unbridledness, savagery and cruelty (Meleager, Ascalaphus and Ialmenes, Phlegius, Oenomaus, the Thracian Diomedes). Ares' companions were the goddess of discord Eris and the bloodthirsty Enyo. His horses (children of Boreas and one of the Erinyes) bore the names: Shine, Flame, Noise, Terror; his attributes are a spear, a burning torch, dogs, a kite. His very birth was initially thought of purely chthonically: Hera gave birth to Ares without the participation of Zeus from touching a magic flower (Ovid. Fast. V 229-260). In Olympian mythology, Ares has great difficulty getting along with its plastic and artistic images and laws, although now he is considered the son of Zeus himself (Hom. Il. V 896) and settles on Olympus. In Homer, Ares is a violent deity, who at the same time possesses previously unusual traits of romantic love. He screams like nine or ten thousand warriors (V 859-861); wounded by Athena, he stretches across the earth for seven acres (XXI 403-407). His epithets: “strong”, “huge”, “fast”, “furious”, “harmful”, “treacherous”, “destroyer of people”, “destroyer of cities”, “stained with blood”. Zeus calls him the most hated of the gods, and if Ares had not been his son, he would have sent him to Tartarus, even deeper than all the descendants of Uranus (V 889-898). But at the same time, Ares is already so weak that he is wounded not only by Athena, but also by the mortal hero Diomedes. He falls in love with the most beautiful and tender goddess Aphrodite (Hom. Od. VIII 264-366). The love of Ares and Aphrodite's violation of marital fidelity is often mentioned in ancient literature, and even the children from this relationship are named: Eros and Anteros (Schol. Apoll. Rhod. III 26), Deimos (“horror”), Phobos (“fear”) and Harmony (Hes. Theog. 934 seq.). The Orphic hymn (88th) glorifies Ares as an Olympian high deity (although the 65th hymn still paints him in the light of complete immorality). The violent and immoral Ares had great difficulty assimilating with the Olympian gods, and his image retained numerous layers of different eras. In Rome, Ares is identified with the Italic god Mars, and in later art and literature he is known primarily under the name Mars.
Lit.: Losev A.F., Olympic mythology in its socio-historical development, “Scientific notes of the Moscow State Pedagogical Institute named after. IN AND. Lenin", 1953, t. 72, v. 3; Schwenn F., Der Krieg in der griechischen Religion, “Archiv für Religionswissenschaft”, 1920-22, No. 20-21; by him, Ares, ibid., 1923-24, No. 22.
The most significant of the ancient statues that have come down to us are “Ares Borghese” and “Ares Ludovisi” (Roman copies). Ares was depicted in scenes of gigantomachy (reliefs of the eastern frieze of the Parthenon and the treasury of the Siphnians at Delphi, works of vase painting). The plot of “Ares and Aphrodite” was embodied in several Pompeian frescoes. In medieval book illustrations, Ares is depicted as the god of war and as a symbol of the planet Mars. In the art of the Renaissance and especially the Baroque - mainly due to the influence of Ovid - subjects related to the love of Ares and Aphrodite became widespread in painting (paintings by S. Botticelli, Piero di Cosimo, Giulio Romano, J. Tintoretto, P. Veronese, B. Spranger, M. Caravaggio, P. P. Rubens, N. Poussin, C. Lebrun); sometimes Ares was depicted in chains put on him by Aphrodite (fresco by F. Cossa) or Eros, which symbolized the victory of love over belligerence and savagery. Another plot - “Ares and Aphrodite, caught by Hephaestus” (works by J. Tintoretto, H. Goltzius, Rembrandt, L. Giordano, F. Boucher, etc.) has not lost popularity in modern times (L. Corinth “Mars in the Networks of Vulcan "). Works were created whose symbolism was based on the ancient mythological tradition: in them, Athena confronted Ares (“Minerva and Mars” by J. Tintoretto, P. Veronese, etc.), and sometimes entered into single combat with him (“The Duel of Minerva and Mars” by J. L. David). The first statues of Ares were created in the 2nd half of the 16th century. (Giambologna, I. Sansovino). As a monument to A.V. Suvorov statue of the god of war by M.I. Kozlovsky was erected in 1801 in St. Petersburg on the Field of Mars.
MARS
The wife of Mars was considered to be Nerio or Neriene, identified with Venus and Minerva, originally “The Valor of Mars” (Aul. Gell. XIII 23).
IN 366 BC The temple at the Capena Gate was dedicated to Mars, from where the army went to war, and the horsemen to the annual parade (Liv. VII 23, 8; Dion. Halic. VI 13). In the center of the forum, Augustus dedicated a luxurious temple to the avenger Mars in gratitude for the victory over the assassins of Caesar. During the era of the empire, Mars was often depicted on coins, enjoyed wide popularity in the army, often, together with Honor and Virtus, was endowed with the epithets “victor”, “fighter”, “expanding the empire”, “companion of Augustus”, “guardian”, “pacifier”. In the western provinces, the main gods of tribal and territorial communities were often identified with Mars and he was endowed with epithets derived from the names of tribes and settlements (for example, Mars Latobius - from the Latobikov tribe in Norica), as well as “king of light”, “wise” in Gaul , “king of the community” in Britain, Mars Things (i.e. god of the Thing - the people’s assembly) on the Rhine, etc. This suggests that early Roman ideas about Mars as the supreme god of the community continued to exist in popular beliefs.
Lit.: Dumézil G., Juppiter, Mars, Quirinus. ; Hermansen G., Studien über den italishen und den römischen Mars, Kbh., 1940 (Diss.); Thevenot E., Sur les traces des Mars céltique, Brugge, 1955.
Shtaerman
Unexpected conclusions
Peoples in the era of tribal organization worshiped various forces of nature - earth, fire, water, etc. In those days (for Roman history this is VIII - VI centuries BC BC) people believed that the whole world around, all natural phenomena, all types of economic activity, all feelings and states of people themselves havespirits-patrons or special deities.Gradually, these spirits were given names, united in pairs, or placed at the head of a tribe.
To put it in sophisticated words, the Gods are a manifestation of the archetype of the people.
As the tribe unites on the Apennine Peninsula, a spiritual mutual enrichment of peoples occurs, including as a basis - an “exchange” of deities (or the perception of someone else’s archetype).
Ares and Mars are presented in “educational” literature as one and the same god.
However, even with the most superficial comparison, it is striking that Ares was not perceived by the Greeks as their own god, they did not even recognize him as the son of Zeus (the father of the gods), but then they still accepted him as an “unloved” son.
It is likely that Ares, who certainly possessed the data of God, aggressively came to Greece from the outside (as a result of the infusion of the people (or peoples) who worship Ares into the Greek community).
Ares is strong, dexterous, but does not inspire respect among the Greeks; they contrast his military art with the military art of Athens, and seem to even rejoice at his defeat at Troy.
It is likely that the Greeks, as warriors, had their own skills in warfare, and the power of Ares frightens them, they seek protection from it from “their” gods.
The Romans have a completely different attitude towards this god. Here Mars is in the trinity of great gods. One of the most revered gods and the father of the founder of Rome (remember that Rome (Mir) was founded by the Proto-Slavs - the Aryans). This is their native god - the God of the Aryans. They are not afraid of his formidable manifestations; for them he is a parent.
It turns out that the Romans were Aryans. Also Aryans were the tribes of the Gauls, the British, and the inhabitants of the banks of the Rhine! But the Greeks do not. That is why they did not love the god Ares.
PS: I found interesting confirmation of my conclusions .
What about the Slavs? The Slavs have one of the riding gods - Description of the same characteristics as Mars (Areus). By the way, a victim of the truncated Russian language, since it should have been written using iotirated A, i.e. YArilo.
Mars (as the Romans called him, and the Greeks called him Apec) is the bloodthirsty god of war. In Ancient Greece, he was not particularly revered and only in warlike Sparta had some significance. However, the Romans established a solemn cult of him. The type of Pallas Athena was more suitable for the character and soft peaceful morals of the Hellenes. This goddess personifies the right war, waged for a just cause or in defense of the oppressed. Mars is the embodiment of bloodthirstiness and the horrors of war: it does not distinguish on whose side justice is, and only tries to increase the number of victims and increase confusion.
Myths of Ancient Greece. Ares (Mars)
By a strange coincidence, the ancient arts never depicted this god fighting, but always in a peaceful pose, as if resting after battles. Sometimes, like Athena-Minerva, he holds a statue on his arm Nicky(Victory) and an olive branch. Most often, Mars is depicted with a shiny helmet on his head and with a sword or spear in his hand. The Greeks very rarely found individual statues of Mars, and only the sculptor Alcmene of Athens finally sculpted a real type of god of war, which later served as the prototype for all subsequent images of Mars. He is depicted on the statue of Alcmene as a stately, strong man, with short curly hair and a gloomy thought on his brow. The distinctive features of this god are a shield, a spear, an olive branch, a wolf and a woodpecker.
Many art monuments have been preserved depicting the union of Mars and the goddess of love Venus, who in ancient times were considered spouses. Rubens painted two beautiful paintings on this theme; one of them is in a museum in Florence.
Bathing Venus and Mars. Artist Giulio Romano, 1526-1528
Mars took an active part in the war of the gods with the giants, he defeated several of them, but in turn was captured by the giants Otus and Ephialtes, who kept him in chains for thirteen months. The group of sculptor Flaxman depicts a chained god guarded by giants.
Rough Mars could only be defeated by the goddess of beauty, Venus. The union of war with love, strength with beauty fully corresponded to the Greek spirit, and from the union of Mars with Venus the daughter Harmony and Eros(among the Romans – Cupid), god of love.
Roman artists most often and most willingly depicted Mars, succumbing to the charm of the goddess of beauty. In many paintings, these gods are given the features of the Caesars and their wives who reigned at that time. Among the newest works, the painting is very famous Poussin in the Louvre.
Mars, who was, according to myth, an enemy of the Greeks during the Trojan War, was wounded on the battlefield there Diomedes. The dart launched by this Greek hero was directed by Athena at Mars. Feeling great pain, the god of war let out a cry like the war cry of thousands of fighting warriors and went to Jupiter to complain about Athena. But the ruler of the gods received him very unkindly, saying: “Fickle and bloodthirsty god, stop bothering me with your complaints; Of all the inhabitants of Olympus, I hate you alone, you love only strife, war and murder. You have inherited the obstinate and quarrelsome character of your mother Hera, whom I cannot always force to obey my will. The suffering you are experiencing now is only the fruits of her advice.” There is a small painting in the Louvre David, depicting Diomedes, who has just thrown a javelin, and Mars, wounded and covered in blood.
The cult of Mars was very widespread among the Romans. Generals, going to war, went to the temple of this god to ask for his help against their enemies; they touched his shield and spear, hung above the sacrificial altar, and loudly said “Awake, Mars!” Special priests - saliya(“dancers” or “dancers”), established by Numa Pompilius, performed various rituals in these temples, guarded the ancilia (shields) and organized solemn processions around the city, accompanied by dancing and singing. According to legend, during a terrible plague that devastated Rome, a shield fell from the sky, and the plague stopped after this shield (ancilia) was solemnly surrounded around the city. Then, based on his model, 11 more shields were made, which once a year, during holidays in honor of Mars, were carried around the city by the Salian priests.
An ordinary satellite of Mars was Bellona- the personification of a bloody battle, she drove the chariot of God. She was accompanied by a whole retinue: Fear ( Phobos), Flight, Horror ( Deimos) and Strife, which contributed to the death of Troy by throwing the golden apple (apple of discord) among the goddesses. Images of Bellona are very rare in ancient art, and only in recent times has she been often depicted in battle and decorative paintings.
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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Mythology, like nothing else, expresses what priorities a particular people has in its spiritual life. For example, among the Scandinavians, the god of war is not only the most important among all gods, but also the most highly moral among all higher beings. He even donated his eye to keep the world standing. The god of agriculture and traders is a cunning man and a spinning top. Constantly finds himself in ambiguous situations and refuses to fight.
Mirror of priorities
Mars, the war, does not in any way have the potential to be the most important among the heavenly divine pantheon, because it is too cruel and does not know how to forgive anyone. The Romans subtly noticed how personalities change when they begin to professionally kill their own kind. Fury is the most important character trait of their god of war. Maybe that’s why the consciousness of the people married him to the goddess of love Venus, frivolous and flighty. These are two extremes that complement each other. The Roman people honored him, but not very zealously, because the war never brought anything life-giving. It was as if it was out of order to turn to the mighty Jupiter for help, so they turned to the lame-legged Pan. And he understood them, because he cultivated life and was friends with the Lares and Penates.
There are only enemies around him
The top divine family of the Roman people were quite a grumpy bunch. Mercury today is friendly with Hephaestus, and tomorrow he will find a mere mortal - and let’s egg him on so that he says something insolent to the blacksmith god of underground fire. And similar stories happened with each of the gods, even with Jupiter. But it's so clear! It's so human...
And only the god Mars is immersed in one persistent thought - with whom to fight and shed blood. He doesn’t even exchange love with Venus. His hardened heart is not subject to the arrows of Cupid, the playful god. It's scary. But wisdom can stop the god of war, Mars. At Troy, when he was still called Ares, Athena stopped him by pointing a spear at his chest with the hand of Achilles. And divine blood was shed at the hand of the hero. But the war continued, because the wounded man was immediately invited to Jupiter’s table to drink nectar. They brought a bowl with it. humanity - to shed human blood.
The people who subjugated half of the ancient world to the Roman eagle and constantly sent copper legions to all directions of the world did not even offer sacrifices to the deity. It was believed that Mars (the god of war) finds victims for himself in sufficient quantities. It is Pan who needs to please and bring a piece of unleavened bread and goat’s milk to his stump, so that he does not send his forest kingdom to the cultivated fields.
Not very ancient antiquity
But the ancient god of war is not so ancient! It is no more than 5 thousand years old. The ancient Sumerians and Egyptians did not have it. Among the even more ancient Tripoli Aryans, the formidable Thunderer put on a helmet only when his face darkened and Resentment fluttered with wings. Then he called his daughter Slava and told her: “I am going to do the right thing in murder” (from an ancient warrior’s hymn). That is, most ancient peoples did not see much valor in war.
Mars was singled out as a separate divine entity when government structures began to form. But the initial understanding of the essence of war was never completely banished from the minds of the people by the forces of “state necessity.” And even the Archangel Michael, a remake of the ancient image of Svetogor (highest light), is not a professional warrior.
Without any special valor
The ancient Greeks and Romans singled out Mars as the god of war, but did not endow him with any attractive character traits or special virtues. Only among some peoples did the god Mars seem to be the top of the mysterious hierarchies that rule the world. These peoples can be listed on the fingers of one hand - Mongols, ancient Jews, Papuans from Papua New Guinea, Scandinavians. Even the warlike Dogon, whose men either slept or fought, kept their god of war in the form of the Serpent away from their homes - in a cave, so that he would not see the white light and devour him.
God Mars tries to quarrel with God Phoebus
She appears to be telling how Mars saw the world. Roman mythology gives a clear idea of how war begins and by what means it must be prevented. There is no truth in a quarrel or war. She disappears in the war. And a warrior is only worthy of his high name when he is not a soulless instrument of Evil.
At one of the feasts of the gods, the bright Phoebus began to surprise everyone with his creative abilities. He revived the staff of Jupiter, decorating it with myrtle leaves, and gave it to his wife Juno instead of a golden crown, which was made by Hephaestus in the form of two intertwined snakes with ruby eyes, and instead of snakes, two living birds. The divine blacksmith himself, the lord of the underground fires, was delighted and began to praise the creative abilities of the bright sun god, recognizing that the underground forces are powerful, but they do not have living beauty.
Only one god, Mars, remained gloomy at the merry feast, over which peace and tranquility reigned. And suddenly he rose from his place - wide and powerful, and obscured the graceful figure of Phoebus in front of Jupiter. He said: “Is he able to protect all the beauties he has created from me?” and took out a heavy sword. Everyone became quiet. But bright Phoebus laughed. There was a lyre in his hand, he came out from behind the back of the formidable god and began to play. The menacing clouds of quarrel instantly dissipated, and the heavy sword of Mars from the sounds of music turned into. The ancient god of war threw his staff onto the floor, but it, clanking like iron, stopped at the feet of the bright Phoebus playing the lyre.
The moral of this mythological parable is simple and does not need explanation.
How should you greet Mars?
When war knocks on the door, good people open the doors so that war itself does not open them. That's what they said and they were right. The Romans put it even harsher and more precisely: “Whoever wants peace is preparing for war.” Good or bad, these are the realities of our lives.
Those who pray to the god of war suffer from the inability to create their own worlds. This comes from poverty of imagination and lack of hard work. But even in war they remain as incapable as in peace. And their frenzy is scary only to those who are not armed. No wonder Scipio, the ancient Roman commander, said: “The best soldiers are peasants, because they are persistent. But I don’t need militants in the war.”
