Mars

October 5th, 2020
Mars
Mars (mythology)

Not to be confused with the planet Mars.

In ancient Roman mythology, religion and myth, Mars was the god of war and also an agricultural guardian, a combination characteristic of early Rome. He was the son of Jupiter and he was the most prominent of the military gods in the religion of the Roman army. Most of his festivals were held in March, the month named for him (Martius), and in October, which began the season for military campaigning and end the season for farming.

Under the influence of Greek culture, Mars was identified with the god Ares, whose myths were reinterpreted in Roman literature and art under the name of Mars. But the character and dignity of Mars differed in fundamental ways from that of his Greek counterpart, who is often treated with contempt and revulsion in Greek literature. Mars’s altar in the Campus Martius, the area of Rome that took its name from him, was supposed to have been dedicated by Numa, the peace-loving semi-legendary second king of Rome. Although the centre of Mars’s worship was originally located outside the sacred boundary of Roma (pomerium), Augustus made the god a renewed focus of Roman religion by establishing the Temple of Mars Ultra in his new forum.

Although Ares was viewed primarily as a destructive and destabilising force, Mars represented military power as a way to secure peace, and was a father (pater) of the Roman people. In the mythic genealogy and founding myths of Rome, Mars was the father of Romulus and Remus with Rhea Silvia. His love affair with Venus symbolically reconciled the two different traditions of Rome’s founding; Venus was the divine mother of the hero Aeneas, celebrated as the Trojan refugee who “founded” Rome several generations before Romulus laid out the city walls.

The importance of Mars in establishing religious and cultural identity within the Roman Empire is indicated by the vast number of inscriptions identifying him with a local deity, particularly in the Western provinces.

Mars (chocolate bar)

Mars (sometimes known as a Mars Bar) is a variety of chocolate bar produced by Mars, Incorporated. It was first manufactured in Slough, England by Forrest Mars, Sr. The bar was sold in two different formulations. In its original British version the bar consists of caramel and nougat coated with milk chocolate. An American version of the Mars Bar was produced which had nougat and toasted almonds covered in milk chocolate; later, caramel was added to the recipe as well. The American version was discontinued in 2002, and then revived the following year under the name “Snickers Almond”.

Limited editions

Mars Almonds, sold as Almondites in Australia during the ‘90s
Mars King Size
Mars Dark and Light
Mars Delight
Mars Eggs (1995)
Mars Midnight
Mars Gold
Mars Maple
Mars Mini Eggs
Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest Mars bar
Mars Triple Chocolate
Mars Lite
Mars Lava
Mars Fling
Mars Miniatures
Mars XXX
Mars Chill
Mars Rocks
Mars Red
Mars World Cup
Mars 100% Caramel
Mars Vanilla
Mars Honeycomb
Mars Loaded
Mars Caramel Sundae

Maxis from mars
Mars macht mobil bei Arbeit, Sport und Spiel
A Mars a day helps you work, rest and play
Out of this world!
Earth —what you’d eat if you lived on Mars
Another way to make your day
Feels good to be back!
An almond in every bite!
Un Mars, et ça repart
Mars, que du bonheur
Mars, haal eruit wat erin zit!
Who knows? In 1,000 years we could all be sitting on Mars eating Earth bars.
Mars, pleasure you can’t measure
Un coup de barre? Mars et ça repart!
Nimm Mars, gib Gas
Mars, moment di vero godimento
Mars, geeft je energie
Work-Rest-Play
Turn Up the Heat!

Mars

This article is about the planet. For the deity, see Mars (mythology). For other uses, see Mars (disambiguation).

Mars is the fourth planet form the Sun and the second-smallest planet in the Solar System, being larger only than Mercury. In English, Mars carries the name the Roman god of war and is often referred to as the “Red Planet”. The latter refers to the effect of the iron oxide prevalent on Mars’ surface, which gives it a reddish appearance distinctive among the astronomical bodies visible to the naked eye. Mars is a terrestrial planet with a thin atmosphere, with surface features reminiscent of the impact craters of the moon and the valleys, deserts and polar ice caps of Earth.

The days and seasons are comparable to those of Earth, because the rotational period as well as the tilt of the rotational axis relative to the ecliptic plane are similar. Mars is the site of Olympus Mons, the largest volcano and highest known mountain on any planet in the Solar System, and of Valles Marineris, one of the largest canyons in the Solar System. The smooth Borealis basin in the northern hemisphere covers 40% of the planet and may be a giant impact feature. Mars has two moons, Phobos and Deimos, which are small and irregularly shaped. These may be captured asteroids, similar to 5261 Eureka, a Mars trojan.

Mars has been explored by several un-crewed spacecraft. Mariner 4, launched by NASA on 28 November 1964, was the first such craft to visit Mars, making its closest approach to the planet on 15 July 1965. Mariner 4 detected the weak Martian radiation belt, measured at about 0.1% that of Earth, and captured the first images of another planet from deep space. The Soviet Mars 3 mission included a lander, which achieved a soft landing in December 1971; however, contact was lost seconds after touchdown. On 20 July 1976, Viking 1 performed the first successful landing on the Martian surface. On 4 July 1997, the Mars Pathfinder spacecraft landed on mars and on 5 July released its rover, Sojourner, the first robotic rover to operate on Mars.

There are investigations assessing the past habitability of Mars, as well as the possibility of extant life. Astrobiology missions are planned, including the Perseverance and Rosalind Franklin rovers.

Mars is cat.