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[[File: Romulus Three.jpg |200px|thumb|left|Statue of Mars 1st century CE]]__NOTOC__
The Romans were a people who were defined by war. They regarded themselves as a warrior people who were entrusted with a divine mission to bring civilization and peace to the world. Mars, the God of War, was essential in Rome. This deity was so much more than a War-God, who granted victory. He was also the guardian of Rome and agriculture and central to the city-state's public religion that eventually conquered much of the known world. The myths and fables surrounding God are crucial for any student of Roman history, especially its social and political history.
Mars was part of the original triad of Gods who were considered to be the most important in the city’s public religion. The God of War, Jupiter and Quirinus, an agricultural and war deity, composed the original triad in Rome.<ref>Hornblower et al, p. 119</ref> This trio was crucial in the public religion of the city on the Tiber. However, this archaic triad was later replaced by a new one, Jupiter, Juno, and Minerva. Over time, the Greek War-God Ares began to influence the conception of the Roman God. However, Mars always remained distinct and an important figure in the Italian city’s state religion.
The Romans had a much higher regard for Mars than the Greeks ever had for Ares. Augustus, as part of his policy of restoring Rome, placed a greater emphasis on Rome. He patronized various cults of Mars and built a new temple to the god, Temple of Mars Ultor in the center of Rome. He ordered its construction inside the sacred boundary of the city and this signified a greater emphasis on the god. Augustus also developed a new aspect of the deity, Mars Ultor. Increasingly Augustus associated the deity with the Imperial Cult. Mars was celebrated throughout the Roman Empire until it was Christianized in the 4th century AD .<ref>Hornblower et al, p 203</ref>.
====The story of Mars====
[[File: Mars Three.jpg |200px|thumb|left|A temple to Mars in Rome]]
This God, sometimes also referred to as Mamers, as Jupiter and Juno's son, who was the King and the Queen of the Roman Pantheon. He became the second most powerful of all the supreme beings in the state religion of the Romans. From an early date, this god was associated with the wolf. This is important when it comes to the foundation myth of Rome. According to most sources, Mars was the father of Romulus and Remus, the two brothers who founded the city on the Seven Hills. The legend states that Mars raped their mother, who was the daughter of the deposed King of Alba Longa.
Their mother abandoned Romulus and Remus in a bid to save their lives. This was because the new king of Alba Longa, a usurper, wanted to kill them based on a prophecy. The twins were rescued and suckled by a she-wolf, which of course was an animal who was sacred to God.<ref>Cornell, Tim J. ‘Aeneas and the twins: the development of the Roman foundation legend’legend. ’ The Cambridge Classical Journal 21 (1975), p 1-32 </ref> The Romans considered the god to be the city's founder and to be it’s especially protector.
There were two stories about Rome's foundation, and the second one was the myth of Aeneas. In this fable, the Trojan hero established the city of Latinium, which was Rome's mother city. Mars' relationship with Venus was, the mother of Aeneas, was developed to reconcile the two foundation myths, and it is recounted in the Aeneid.<Virgil, Aeneid, I </ref> Anytime that the city was in danger, it was believed that Mars would protect it. There are many stories told, about Mars intervening, in battles on the Roman side.
At the Battle of Sentium (295 BC), it was believed that the GodMars, turned the tide of battle in favor of the Romans. The Roman Gods were anthropomorphic deities like the Greeks , and like, them they were notorious for their sex life. In the oldest stories of the GodMars, he is married to Nerio , and she was probably an Ancient Italian war goddess. She was the feminine equivalent of Mars and embodied valor and the life force.
However, Mamers was portrayed as having a long-term affair with Venus, the goddess of love. In later versions of the myth, the two were married. They are often considered to be the parents of Concordia, the goddess of peace, and social harmony. The two opposing forces that represented war and love, are reconciled in their daughter.<ref> Morford, M.P., Lenardon, R.J. and Sham, M., 2011. Classical mythology (Oxford: Oxford University Press), p. 113</ref> In another story, Mars falls in love with Minerva, the virgin goddess of wisdom and practical knowledge, and ultimately derived from the Greek Goddess Athena. The God of War was completely besotted with Minerva, but she was uninterested. Mars asked the goddess of the Old Year, an aged old crone, Anna Perenna , to help him win Minerva's love. However, Anna fell in love with the handsome and manly Mars. She pretended to be Minerva and duped the son of Juno and Jupiter into marrying her.
Mars had many children and included Phobos, who personified ‘Fear’ and Deimos , the personification of ‘Terror’‘Terror. ’ In Roman art, the deity of war and the protector of agriculture are often shown by in Bellona .<ref> Morford et al., p. 115</ref>. She was the personification of the spirit of battle. In many of the stories told about the GodMars, he is portrayed as an argumentative and even brutal character. However, while he was portrayed often with a spear dipped in blood, he was believed to use his power to protect his people and only favored those who fought a just war. Moreover, Mars was also a protector and often promoted peace.
====What he meant to the Romans====
