God · Roman
Mars
Mars, a god of the Roman world, and the gods ancient sources said were the same.
Tradition: roman
Documented identifications
| Link | Who said so | Note |
|---|---|---|
| identified as Ares | Roman lectisternium of the twelve gods, 217 BCE (Livy 22.10) | Mars and Venus lay together on the third couch, as Ares and Aphrodite were lovers in Greek myth. |
| identified as Týr | Altar to Mars Thincsus, Housesteads, 3rd c. CE; Tuesday | Frisian soldiers on Hadrian's Wall honoured "Mars Thincsus", the Germanic god of the assembly, and Tuesday translates dies Martis. |
| identified as Odin | Adam of Bremen, Gesta 4.26, c. 1075 | At the temple of Uppsala, Adam writes, Wodan is shown armed, "as our people depict Mars". |
| identified as Teutates | Inscriptions MARTI TOUTATI, Barkway, Britain, 2nd-3rd c. CE | Mars is the only Roman god paired with Teutates on inscriptions. |
| identified as Esus | Berne scholia on Lucan 1.445, late antiquity | All three commentaries make Esus Mars, though one notes others say Mercury. |
| identified as Nodens | Inscriptions at Lydney Park, Gloucestershire, Roman Britain | Most inscriptions equate the healer Nodens with Mars; his name is cognate with Irish Nuada. |