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In English, the planet Mars is named after Mars, the Roman god of war, [1] an association made because of its red color, which suggests blood. [2] The adjectival form of Latin Mars is Martius, [3] from which the English word Martian derives, used as an adjective or for a putative inhabitant of Mars, and Martial, used as an adjective corresponding to Terrestrial for Earth. [4]
Mars gave his name to the third month in the Roman calendar, Martius, from which English March derives. In the most ancient Roman calendar, Martius was the first month. The planet Mars was named for him, and in some allegorical and philosophical writings, the planet and the god are endowed with shared characteristics. [194]
Mars is named after the Roman god of war (Greek Ares), but was also associated with the demi-god Heracles (Roman Hercules) by ancient Greek astronomers, as detailed by Aristotle. [275] This association between Mars and war dates back at least to Babylonian astronomy, in which the planet was named for the god Nergal, deity of war and destruction.
The planet Mars is named after the Roman god of war Mars. In Babylonian astronomy, the planet was named after Nergal, their deity of fire, war, and destruction, most likely due to the planet's reddish appearance. [2] Whether the Greeks equated Nergal with their god of war, Ares, or whether both drew from a more ancient association is unclear. [3]
Articles relating to the god Mars, the god of war and also an agricultural guardian, a combination characteristic of early Rome.Most of his festivals were held in March, the month named for him (Latin Martius), and in October, which began the season for military campaigning and ended the season for farming.
After that time, it was the third month, following Februarius and preceding Aprilis . Martius was one of the few Roman months named for a deity, Mars, who was regarded as an ancestor of the Roman people through his sons Romulus and Remus. March marked a return to the active life of farming, military campaigning, and sailing.
Named after the Roman god of war, it is often referred to as the "Red Planet" [1] [2] because the iron oxide prevalent on its surface gives it a reddish appearance. Mars is a terrestrial planet with a thin atmosphere, having surface features reminiscent both of the impact craters of the Moon and the valleys, deserts, and polar ice caps of Earth.
Thus, the Babylonians associated Mars with Nergal, their god of war and pestilence, and the Greeks connected the planet with their god of war, Ares. [10] During this period, the motions of the planets were of little interest to the Greeks; Hesiod's Works and Days (c. 650 BCE) makes no mention of the planets. [11]