Mercury
( Mercurius )
Roman messenger god and god of merchants and travellers. Equated with the Greek Hermes. Son of Jupiter and Maia. He had a temple on the Aventine Hill in Rome, said to date from 495 BC, as well as a shrine in the Circus Maximus. His festival was the Mercuralia,observed on May 15. Mercury is depicted as holding a purse,symbolic of his association with commerce, as well as the winged sandals (talaria), winged cap (petasus) and staff (caduceus) taken over from the Greek Hermes. According to Juvenal, posts topped by marble heads of Mercury were placed at the intersections of Roman roads.
Mars
(Marspiter, Mamers, Marmar, Mavors )
Roman god of war and, at least in early Roman history, a god of agriculture. Equated with the Greek Ares. Son of Jupiter and Juno. He was the father of Romulus and Remus by the vestal Ilia. As a result, Romans styled themselves 'sons of Mars'. He was typically depicted as a warrior in full battle regalia wearing a crested helmet and bearing a shield (the sacred Ancile) and lance. He was often linked with the goddess Bellona, who drove his chariot. The main sanctuaries of Mars were the temple in the Campus Martius ("Field of Mars") in Rome and the temple of Mars Ultor ("Mars the Avenger") built under Augustus. The month of March was named after him, and he had a festival on March 1 called the Feriae Marti, which was the New Year's Day in the old Roman calendar. Another festival at which Mars was honoured was the Armilustrium on October 19, when military arms were ritually purified and put in storage for winter.In Gaul it was sometimes called Gallicus Mars.
Back to mythology
Back to Angels of the Moon
