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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====
