March, once the first month of the year in the Roman calendar, is named for Mars, the powerful Roman god of war. As the season turned from winter to spring, it was a time for renewal, for stirring armies, and for invoking divine strength.
The month held a deep connection with Mars, not only as a god of battle, but as a guardian of the city of Rome itself.
Mars: The Warrior God
Mars, son of Jupiter and Juno, was often depicted as a fierce and noble figure clad in shining armor, with a spear in one hand and a shield in the other. His chariot, driven by the war goddess Bellona, stormed across battlefields.
In myth, Mars actively took part in mortal affairs, especially war. During the battle between the gods and giants, Mars was captured and held in chains for over a year, only to be freed in silence by the clever god Mercury. Mars also fought in the Trojan War, where he was wounded in battle.
Despite his fearsome role, Mars was also a lover. He was secretly loved by Venus, the goddess of beauty. Their affair was concealed in the dark of night, but one morning Mars’s servant, Alectryon, failed to warn him of the sunrise. Apollo, the sun god, saw the lovers and informed Vulcan, god of fire. Vulcan set a trap and caught Mars and Venus in a net of steel, exposing them to the laughter of the other gods. As punishment for his failure, Alectryon was turned into a rooster, condemned to announce the dawn forevermore.
The Tragic Tale of Ilia
Mars once fell in love with a mortal woman named Ilia, a priestess of Vesta, goddess of the hearth. Vestal priestesses took a solemn vow never to marry, and Ilia’s secret union with Mars was a serious offense. She gave birth to Romulus and Remus, the legendary founders of Rome, but when her parents discovered her broken vow, Ilia was sentenced to be buried alive. Her newborn sons were cast into the wilderness.
Miraculously, a she-wolf found the abandoned twins and nursed them as her own. Later, a shepherd discovered them and raised them.
As adults, Romulus and Remus sought to build a city, but they argued over what to name it. In the heat of their quarrel, Romulus killed Remus and claimed the new city for himself. He named it Rome, and it would grow to become one of the most powerful empires in history.
Romulus ruled harshly. According to legend, during a solar eclipse he was assassinated by the city’s senators. They told the people that Romulus had been taken up to the gods, and a temple was built in his honor. Mars, as the divine father of Romulus, became the patron of the new city.
Sacred Shields and Roman Ritual
During a time of plague, Mars was said to have sent a sacred shield from heaven to reassure the Romans of his protection. To keep it safe, eleven identical shields were made, so that thieves could not know which one was the original. These were housed in the Temple of Mars and guarded by special priests known as the Salii, or “Leapers.”
Each March, the Salii danced through the streets carrying the shields in a ritual war dance that honored the god and marked the coming of the military season.
Before going to war, Roman generals would touch Mars’s sacred shield with the point of a spear and cry out, “Mars, watch over us!”
The Campus Martius, or Field of Mars, served as the military training ground for Roman soldiers and stood as a reminder of the god’s ever-present hand in their victories.
The Meaning Behind the Month
The Romans named the month after Mars not only because it marked the beginning of the campaign season, but also due to its wild and stormy nature.
The Angles and Saxons had similar ideas. They called it Hlythmonath, meaning the “loud month,” referring to the roaring winds of early spring. Another name for March was Lenctenmonath, or the “lengthening month,” marking the growing daylight hours as the sun reclaimed the sky.
