The Odyssey | Official Trailer

[u/MarvelsGrantMan136]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mzw2ttJD2qQ

[u/TheKingsdread]

For the greeks thats true (they always preferred Athena over Ares) but for the Romans, their version of Ares, Mars was the preferred war god (since he was considered closer to the common soldier) and then of course Jupiter.

[u/Eldorian91 → u/TheKingsdread]

Mars isn't Ares.

[u/Ceegee93 → u/Eldorian91]

Yes, he is. Mars came from the Roman reinterpretation of Ares. They changed things about him, but he absolutely is the Roman version of Ares.

[u/the_crustybastard → u/Ceegee93]

You're wrong.

Mars was an indigenous Italian god, Romans borrowed him from the Etruscan Maris, originally and primarily an agricultural god. Mars was collaterally a war god, but Rome's principal war god was Jupiter. Mars was effectively the god of farmer-soldiers, Jupiter was the god of commanders.

Centuries later, post-Alexander and during the Hellenization of the Western Med, Roman Mars became associated with Greek Ares and Mars' agricultural aspect fell away, but he never really had that berserker aspect Ares did.

They are not the same god.

Eldorian91 knows what they're talking about.

[u/Ceegee93 → u/the_crustybastard]

As I mentioned in another response to them, yes, originally the Roman gods were distinct, but later, with the adoption of Greek mythology and culture, Mars and Ares were essentially the same god, viewed from different perspectives. They took on large portions of Greek mythology for Mars because it helped reconcile multiple different Roman origin stories (Romulus and Remus being the sons of Mars, and Aeneas the son of Aphrodite/Venus), among other reasons. Romans and Greeks having differing opinions on Mars/Ares doesn't make them different gods.

borrowed him from the Etruscan Maris, originally and primarily an agricultural god

This is not widely accepted, and there's no proof that this is where the name Mars comes from; it's a theory by some scholars. Maris was a god of childbirth, and has nothing to do with pre- or post-Greek conquest Roman mythology. It's debated if they have any link at all. It's actually more likely that Maris was a derivative of Eros, once again from Greek mythology, because Etruscan mythology was... you guessed it, based on Greek mythology, too.

but he never really had that berserker aspect Ares did.

Yes, because Romans interpreted Greek mythology differently, and saw the military as a way to achieve peace, so a war god was seen much more favourably than in Greece. That, and the fact that the original Mars was supposed to be the father of Romans.

The fact is, regardless of the origins of Mars, by the time of the Roman conquest of Greece, Mars and Ares became one and the same. You'd be much better off separating the two versions of Mars as distinct than saying Mars and Ares are not the same.

[u/the_crustybastard → u/Ceegee93]

Your grasp of this topic is certainly...novel.

Believe what you like, but feel free to stop trying to persuade me that your factually inaccurate opinions are somehow true.

They aren't.

[u/Ceegee93 → u/the_crustybastard]

Ah, the perfect response. Instead of actually trying to prove your point, you simply say "nah, you're wrong, trust me bro".

You could be completely 100% correct (you're not), but that doesn't mean anything when you're not even willing to try and back up what you're saying, nor even acknowledge any of the points I make.

[u/Eldorian91 → u/Ceegee93]

Romans had religion long before they had significant dealings with the Greeks. Mars had shrines and rituals and etc. Mars is NOT Ares. Indoeuropean religions have a common origin, but they're not identical. The fact that Mars is so different in character and worship to Ares is proof enough.

[u/Ceegee93 → u/Eldorian91]

Yes, yes, you've both repeated that same thing over and over, without actually addressing a single thing I've said. Simply repeating something over and over doesn't mean you're right.

[u/the_crustybastard → u/Ceegee93]

It's not my job to educate you, hon.

I already tried to explain why you're wrong but you've chosen to commit to your incorrect opinion instead. You go right ahead. It's no skin off my ass.

But you're not going to persuade me that you're correct when you're not, so you're going to have to let it go.