Religion 211
Dr. Maclean
12-7-01
Cult Of Mars in Rome
One
of the central state cults of Rome was that of Mars. He has pre-republican
origins and multiple attributes that push him deep into the Roman social
order. Mars as a deity borrowed some mythology from the Greek god Ares,
specifically parentage. However, his most important characteristics and
duties are purely Roman in nature. Mars is the most Roman of all the gods
as: father, farmer and fighter. Three major points support Mars in this
position. First point is his unique role in Roman mythology as the father
of Rome. Second point, his oldest attributes are as a traditional agricultural
deity, and the third point is his evolution into a warring deity.
Mars’
borrowed mythology form Ares is as the son of the gods, Zeus and Hera,
or Hera aided by a flower. Romans identified this as Jupiter and Juno,
or Juno and a flower. Ares’ paternity was not clear; therefore, Mars’ was
not defined.Mars’ connection to
Roman mythology is as the father of Romulus and Remus, the twins who founded
Rome. It is said that Mars forcefully conquered the virgin Ilia, sometimes
referred to Rhea Silvia. She became pregnant and gave birth to Romulus
and Remus. All Roman’s look to Mars as the father of the city and consider
themselves son’s of Mars.
Mars’
oldest characteristics are agricultural. He was identified with spring,
growth of crops, nature, protector of cattle, fertility and protector of
the Roman land. As protector of the Roman land Mars’ duty was twofold:
first he was to keep the land fertile for crops and second he was to protect
land boundaries.
The
Salii, or Salian priests, are primary cult worshipers of Mars. They are
pre-republican in origin and worshiped Mars as an agricultural deity. However,
their practices are connected innately to warfare. During certain festivals
and on sacred days the Salii would process through the streets of Rome
performing ritual practices to invoke Mars and honor him. During the procession
the Salii would wear a tunica picta, which is an archaic foot soldier
cloak, a breastplate covered by the trabea, a military cloak and
an apex, which is a helmet or hat. Presumably on a belt they wore
a sword. In their left hand they carried an ancile, or sacred shield
shaped like a figure 8. The ancile have mythical origins. It is
said that Jupiter made the first ancile as a gift to king Numa.
He ordered 11 identical shields be made to protect the original from thieves.
In their right hand they carried a spear or staff, in which Mars was present.
During the procession and ritual all the objects were used to honor and
invoke Mars. The Salii performed a ritual three step called a tripudium,
during which they chanted hymns in Latin and beat the ancile with the sword,
or staff. One particular chant of the Salii was Mars Vigila, or
Mars Awake.
The
New Year celebration on March 1st was called the Feriae Marti.
This was the first festival day of Mars and the beginning of spring. Farming
and warring seasons would be officially opened on this day. It was at this
time when the land was awakened from winters sleep. The Salian chant Mars
Vigila, Mars Awake, was representative of the fertility god brining
life back to the land. In the wintertime when the land went to sleep, wars
were postponed or ended. In the spring wars were resumed or begun. The
connection between these two aspects of Rome’s springtime calendar aided
the evolution of Mars’ duties. The other festivals of Mars were clear in
their purposes. They were originally agricultural in nature, but contained
war attributes also. The Equirria was a series of horse and chariot racing.
The dates of the festival vary but three common dates are February 27th,
March 14th and October 15th. They were held on the
Campus Martius a sacred place to Mars. It originally represented the fertile
lands of Rome and evolved to the meeting place and training ground of the
legions. The races in February marked the end of the old calendar year-
this time was crammed with preparation for the coming New Year. The races
of March were simply in his honor and part of his festivals during his
namesake month. The races in October were interesting. At the races end
the best horse of the winning team was sacrificed to Mars on the Campus
Martius. The blood of its tail was dripped on the king’s former residence
the Regia. At a later point the ashes were mixed with those of unborn
claves and were used in cleansing rites of Rome’s birthday. The horse’s
blood may have been used to ward off barrenness and the calves remains
used to promote fertility. The Quinquatrus March 19th and the Tubilustrium
March 23rd were festivals that were used for cleansing of farming utensils
and weapons of war. This is related to the calendar of Rome during the
spring beginning the farming and warring seasons. Another festival of mars
was the Armilustrium held on October 19th. It was named for the square
on the Avantine Hill, which contained an altar and is where the Salii danced
on the festival day. This festival day was significant for purifying the
farming utensils and war weapons in preparation of the coming winter.It
is said that there was a sacrifice performed on this day called the Souvetarurilia.
This is the sacrifice of a pig, ram and bull. These three animals are the
most valuable in Roman society and implicate the importance of the ritual
and Mars’ greatness.Some sources
say the sacrifice was annual as the Armilustrium was, some say it was every
five years. Regardless of the actual frequency of the Souevtarurilia the
presence of an altar at the Avantine Hill location supports a sacrifice
occurring at some point. These examples of Mars’ festivals are both agricultural
and martial in nature. They are totally conducive for the evolution of
Mars from primarily agricultural to primarily martial.
The
Greek god Ares personified war and violence. Some sources claim that the
Romans adopted these attributes and assigned them to Mars. However the
Romans associated Mars as the God of war independent of Ares’ mythology.
The
traditional role of Mars was as protector of the Roman farm land and boundaries.The
rites of the Salians are in honor of Mars. Their rites were clearly linked
to the fertility and protection of the land. And, when the shift of land
ownership moved from common people to upper classes the land was no longer
sole support of a family. The men were no longer farmers. They became members
in the Roman empires growing legions. Thus, it is clear that as the emphasis
of the Roman mans duties evolved from farmer to fighter, so the duties
of the gods changed as well.
Bibliography
Adkins,
Lesley., Roy A. Adkins. Dictionary of Roman Religion.
Facts
On File, Inc. New York. 1996.
Encyclopedia
of World Mythology
Galahad
Books: New York. 1975