What god was planet Mars named after and why?

The Romans knew of seven bright objects in the sky: the Sun, the Moon, and the five brightest planets. They named them after their most important gods. The Romans were great soldiers and thought Mars, the god of war, was very important. Mars, the red planet, was named after this god of war. read more

The God Mars was named after was Ares, the Greek God of war. Back during Ancient Greek times when people only had primitive telescopes, looking into space was a bit different. Mars just looked like a red ball. Ares was often associated with the colour red. Thus, the connection. read more

Mars is named after the Roman god of war. Many believe that ancient peoples associated Mars with bloodshed and war because of its red color. The Romans were not the only society to associate the planet with bloodshed. read more

The name for the planet Mars comes from the Roman god of war. This planet’s red color led to this name possibly because of the Romans' association of red with bloodshed and their god of war. Mars’ red color is due to the iron oxide found on its surface. read more