Mars
Roman god of war and agriculture, second in importance only to Jupiter, far more honoured than his Greek counterpart Ares
The Myth of Mars
Mars was one of the most important Roman gods, fundamentally different in character from the Greek Ares. While Ares was despised even by the other Olympians, Mars was a dignified guardian deity — the father of Romulus and Remus and therefore the divine father of Rome itself. Before becoming purely a war god, Mars was worshipped as a protector of fields and livestock. His month, Martius (March), originally began the Roman year, and his priests, the Salii, danced through the streets carrying sacred shields. The Campus Martius, the Field of Mars, was Rome's great military training ground that later became the civic heart of the city.
Parents
Jupiter and Juno
Children
Romulus, Remus
Symbols
Fun Fact
Mars was originally an agricultural god — Roman farmers prayed to him for good harvests before he became the god of war
Words We Inherited
English words and phrases that trace back to this myth. See our full guide to English words from Greek mythology.
Explore Further
Minerva
⚡ godWisdom, strategy, crafts, education
Roman goddess of wisdom, strategic warfare, and the arts, equated with the Greek Athena
Jupiter
⚡ godKing of gods, sky, thunder
Supreme deity of the Roman pantheon, equivalent to the Greek Zeus, ruling over gods and mortals from the heavens
Ceres
⚡ godAgriculture, grain, harvest, fertility
Roman goddess of agriculture and grain, identified with the Greek Demeter
Demeter Thesmophoros
⚡ godlaw, agriculture
An epithet of Demeter as bringer of divine law and civilised customs, honoured at the Thesmophoria, the most widespread festival in the Greek world.
Faunus
⚡ godForests, fields, flocks, prophecy
Roman god of the wild, forests, and flocks, equivalent to the Greek Pan
Athena
⚡ godGoddess of wisdom, craft, and strategic warfare
Athena was the goddess of wisdom, strategic war, and craftsmanship — born fully armoured from Zeus's head, she was the most respected and feared Olympian after Zeus himself.
Saturn
⚡ godTime, agriculture, abundance, dissolution
Ancient Roman god of agriculture and time, identified with the Greek Kronos, ruler of a lost golden age
Ares
⚡ godGod of brutal, bloodthirsty warfare
The god of the savage violence of battle — feared, hated, and necessary, embodying the bloodlust that the Greeks recognised but did not admire.
Ares
⚡ godGod of war, violence, bloodshed
God of the brutal, savage side of war. Unlike Athena's strategic warfare, Ares represented the raw violence and chaos of battle.
Phobos
⚡ godGod of fear and panic in battle
Phobos was the god of fear who accompanied his father Ares into battle, spreading terror before the armies.
Athena
⚡ godGoddess of wisdom and strategic warfare
The warrior-goddess born from Zeus's head who embodied strategic intelligence, craft, and the civilising arts of the city.
Bellona
⚡ godWar, destruction, battlefield fury
Roman goddess of war and destruction, companion or sister of Mars, equivalent to the Greek Enyo