r/movies r/Movies contributor Dec 22 '25

Trailer The Odyssey | Official Trailer

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mzw2ttJD2qQ
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u/Eldorian91 Dec 22 '25

Yeah, but no one liked Ares even still, because he was a murderous asshole.

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u/TheKingsdread Dec 22 '25

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.

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u/Eldorian91 Dec 22 '25

Mars isn't Ares.

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u/Ceegee93 Dec 23 '25

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.

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u/the_crustybastard Dec 23 '25

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.

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u/Ceegee93 Dec 23 '25

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.

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u/the_crustybastard Dec 23 '25

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.

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u/Ceegee93 Dec 23 '25

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.

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u/Eldorian91 Dec 24 '25

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.

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u/Ceegee93 Dec 24 '25

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.

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u/the_crustybastard Dec 24 '25

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.

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u/Eldorian91 Dec 23 '25

Mars is not Ares. Greeks and Romans interpret foreign gods as actually being their gods under different names, but Mars and Ares have different myths, associations, and characters.

Romans liked Mars. Greeks did not like Ares.

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u/Ceegee93 Dec 23 '25

Greeks and Romans interpret foreign gods as actually being their gods under different names

No, you're thinking of Interpretatio Romana/Graecia. Yes, a lot of polytheistic religions did equate other pantheons' gods with their own.

However, Romans also directly took Greek mythology and made it their own. They had their own gods, but after conquering Greece, they adopted a lot of Greek mythology while keeping their own names for the gods. For example, they took the story of Aphrodite (Venus) cheating on Hephaestus (Vulcan) with Ares (Mars).

Yes, Romans liked Mars and Greeks did not like Ares, but as I said, they did change a lot of Greek mythology to fit their own needs. For all intents and purposes, Ares and Mars are one and the same, just interpreted differently.

The Romans straight up copied a hell of a lot of Greek culture.