Mars symbolizes direct energy and getting what we want. It is associated with the head, and with iron and steel (Bruce-Mitford 113).

Ares, the Greek god of war, is tall and handsome, but vain and as cruel as his brother Hephaestus was kind. His sister Eris, thegoddess of strife, is his constant companion, but he is also attended by his sons Deimos and Phobos, as well as Enyo, an oldwar-goddess. When Ares heard the clashing of arms, he grinned with glee, put on his gleaming helmet, and leapt into his war chariot. Brandishing his sword, he rushed into the thick of battle, not caring who won or lost as long as blood was shed. A vicious crowd followed at his heels, carrying with them Pain, Panic, Famine and Oblivion. Once in a while, Ares was wounded. He was immortal but whenever he would get hurt he would run back to his father, Zeus and was healed. Needless to say, Zeus was very disgusted with his son. Ares was mainly worshipped in Thracia, aregion known for its fierce people (Green et al "Mythology of Mars").

Ares had no wife, but had three children by Aphrodite, the Goddess of Love. The twins, Phobos, panic, and Deimos, fear, always accompanied him on the battlefield (Green et al "Mythology of Mars").

The early Greeks identified Mars as one of the five "wandering" stars, or planets, which move relative to the "fixed" stars. Two of the planets---Mercury and Venus---always remain close to the Sun in the sky; their distances never exceed 28° and 47°, respectively, and they may pass between the Earth and the Sun (inferior conjunction) or behind the Sun (superior conjunction). This behavior, as we now know, is due to the fact that their orbits lie inside that of the Earth (Gazelle "Mars").

The planet Mars, called Mangala, is identified with the war god Karttikeya. Karttikeya was the son of the supreme god Siva and his wife Parvati. He was depicted with six heads and twelve arms riding a peacock. Karttikeya was created to defeat the rival of the gods, the monster Taraka (Sheinkopf).

Mayans were sophisticated observers of the sky used their astronomical knowledge to predict future human events. They were aware of the movements of Mars. In one of the ancient Mayan books, the Dresden Codex, Mars is represented by a series of pictures of a long-nosed beast shown descending to varying depths from a sky band, the segmented body of a sky serpent that hangs over the scene (Sheinkopf).

Mars is the god of War The Roman god Mars was a god of agriculture before becoming associated with the Greek Ares. Being a military state, the Romans revered Mars and one of the chief gods (Gazelle "Mars").

Mars was always acting and thinking like a warrior. Mars was driven by rage and a strong desire for violence. He enjoyed the great noise of battle, and he loved bloody warfare. Conflict and mindless killing was how he liked to spend the day (Gazelle "Mars").