Mars in culture

See also: Mars in fiction

There once was a mission to Mars
That fell with a bounce from the stars
To study the mystery of life's early history
Preserved in the rocks & sand bars.

P. Smith, University of Arizona,
on Mars Pathfinder, 1997[1]

Martian geological features can trigger facial pareidolia, such as the "Face on Mars".

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] In the age of Plato, the Greeks called the planet Ἄρεως ἀστἡρ (Areos aster), or "star of Ares".[4] Following the identification of Ares and Mars, it was translated into Latin as stella Martis, or "star of Mars", or simply Mars. The Hellenistic Greeks also called the planet Πυρόεις Pyroeis, meaning "fiery".[3]

In the Skanda Purana, a Hindu religious text, Mars is known as the deity Mangala (मंगल) and was born from the sweat of Shiva.[5] The planet is called Angaraka in Sanskrit,[6] after the celibate god of war who possesses the signs of Aries and Scorpio, and teaches the occult sciences. The planet was known by the ancient Egyptians as "Horus of the Horizon",[7] then later Her Deshur[8] ("Ḥr Dšr"[citation needed]), or "Horus the Red".[9] The Hebrews named it Ma'adim (מאדים) — "the one who blushes"; this is where one of the largest canyons on Mars, the Ma'adim Vallis, gets its name.[8] The Sinosphere cultures refer to the planet as 火星, or the fire star, a name based on the ancient Chinese mythological cycle of Five elements.[10][11][12] In ancient China, the advent of Mars was taken as a portent for "bane, grief, war and murder".[13]

Its symbol, derived from Roman mythology, is a circle with a small arrow pointing out from behind. It is a stylized representation of a shield and spear used by the Roman God Mars.[14] The modern symbol was first found to be written in Byzantine Greek manuscripts dated from the late Middle Ages.[15] Mars in Roman mythology was the God of War and patron of warriors. This symbol is also used in biology to describe the male sex, and in alchemy to symbolise the element iron which was considered to be dominated by Mars whose characteristic red colour is coincidentally due to iron oxide.[16] ♂ occupies Unicode position U+2642.

  1. ^ NASA - Mars Pathfinder Images - November 1997
  2. ^ Sheehan, William (February 2, 1997). "Motions of Mars". The Planet Mars: A History of Observation and Discovery. Retrieved 2006-06-13.
  3. ^ a b Cochrane, Ev (1997). Martian Metamorphoses: The Planet Mars in Ancient Myth & Religion. Aeon Press. pp. 25–35. ISBN 0-9656229-0-8.
  4. ^ Huffington, A. S.; Gilot, F. (1993). The Gods of Greece. Grove Press. p. 28. ISBN 0-87113-554-X.
  5. ^ Williams, George Mason (2003). Handbook of Hindu Mythology. ABC-CLIO. p. 209. ISBN 1-57607-106-5. {{cite book}}: |work= ignored (help)
  6. ^ Falk, Michael (2004). "Astronomical Names for the Days of the Week". Journal of the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada. 93: 122–133. arXiv:astro-ph/0307398. Bibcode:1999JRASC..93..122F. doi:10.1016/j.newast.2003.07.002. S2CID 118954190.
  7. ^ Gurshtein, Alex A. (1997). "The evolution of the zodiac in the context of ancient oriental history". Vistas in Astronomy. 41 (4): 507–525. Bibcode:1997VA.....41..507G. doi:10.1016/S0083-6656(98)00002-6.
  8. ^ a b Greeley, Ronald; Batson, Raymond M. (2007). Planetary Mapping. Vol. 6. Cambridge University Press. pp. 97, 107. ISBN 978-0-521-03373-2.
  9. ^ Krupp, Edwin C. (2003). Echoes of the Ancient Skies: The Astronomy of Lost Civilizations. Courier Dover Publications. p. 70. ISBN 0-486-42882-6. {{cite book}}: |work= ignored (help)
  10. ^ De Groot, Jan Jakob Maria (1912). Religion in China: universism. a key to the study of Taoism and Confucianism. Vol. 10. G. P. Putnam's Sons. p. 300. Retrieved 2010-01-08. {{cite book}}: |work= ignored (help)
  11. ^ Crump, Thomas (1992). The Japanese numbers game: the use and understanding of numbers in modern Japan. Routledge. pp. 39–40. ISBN 0415056098.
  12. ^ Hulbert, Homer Bezaleel (1909). The passing of Korea. Doubleday, Page & company. p. 426. Retrieved 2010-01-08.
  13. ^ Cochrane, Ev (1997). Martian Metamorphoses: The Planet Mars in Ancient Myth & Religion. Aeon Press. p. 74. ISBN 0-9656229-0-8.
  14. ^ Maunder, A. S. D. (August 1934). "The origin of the symbols of the planets". The Observatory. 57: 238–247. Bibcode:1934Obs....57..238M.
  15. ^ Evans, James (1998). The History & Practice of Ancient Astronomy. Oxford University Press US. p. 350. ISBN 0-19-509539-1.
  16. ^ "Planet Symbols". NASA solar system exploration. Archived from the original on 2003-12-16. Retrieved 2006-06-13.