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Mars



Sandro Botticelli: "Venus and Mars." The painting shows Venus resting contentedly. Little satyrs honk horns and play about Mars, as he sleeps.
Click on image for full size (53.4K GIF)
Image courtesy of the Trustees, The National Gallery, London.
Mars, the Roman god of war, was called Ares in Greece. Because the month of March was named after him, Romans believed that March was the season of wars. Juno, the wife of Jupiter,was the mother of Mars.

Flora, the goddess of flowering and blossoming plants, touched Juno with a magical herb and she became pregnant with Mars. Being the god of war, Mars was often angry and violent.

Mars had two sons, Romulus and Remus. They became the founders of Rome. That is why Mars was considered the ancestor of Romans. He was believed to help Romans in times of crisis.


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