# Mars — Metamorphoses character guide

> Mars in Metamorphoses by Ovid.

**Role:** supporting

**Also known as:** warrior Mars

**First appearance:** 0150-latian-line

## Snapshot

Warrior god whose martial lineage and Roman paternity frame the poem's movement from Greek myth toward the founding of Rome.

## Who they are

Mars stands behind the poem's grandest genealogies, father to Romulus and ancestor of the Roman line that Ovid's epic quietly steers toward. His presence shadows the transformation of Cadmus and Harmonia into serpents, a fate that closes one mythic dynasty even as it opens the way for another. Where Venus softens, Mars hardens; together they map the twin forces of desire and violence that drive the Metamorphoses.

## In the story

### [Story of Cadmus](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/metamorphoses_se/chapters/story-of-cadmus)

The dragon is sacred to Mars, dwelling in a den dedicated to him.

### [Story of Leucothoe and the Sun](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/metamorphoses_se/chapters/story-of-leucothoe-and-the-sun)

Mentioned in the context of his affair with Venus being spied by the Sun.

### [Fate of Marsyas](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/metamorphoses_se/chapters/fate-of-marsyas)

The satyr Marsyas is flayed alive by Apollo after losing the musical contest.

### [Assumption of Romulus](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/metamorphoses_se/chapters/assumption-of-romulus)

Petitions Jove to deify Romulus, then drives his chariot to the Palatine to carry Romulus to the skies.

### [Reign of Augustus, in Which Ovid Flourished](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/metamorphoses_se/chapters/reign-of-augustus-in-which-ovid-flourished)

Invoked as the parent of Quirinus, founder of Rome.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/metamorphoses_se/characters/mars
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/metamorphoses_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/metamorphoses_se/characters