Can you name the two moons of Mars, or if we ask this more sophisticatedly, the two natural satellites of the Earth’s twin Mars?If your answer was Phobos- Deimos, congratulations! But did you know that there is much more assigned to the names Phobos and Deimos than just being the names of the moons of Mars?American astronomer Asaph Hall discovered the two natural satellites of Mars and named them Phobos and Deimos with Phobos being the larger of the two. This discovery was made in the year 1877 when naming a moon after a Greek god or goddess was common. But the interesting fact is that the two names have been known to exist since the eighth century BC in ancient Greek times.Phobos according to ancient Greek mythology, is the God of fear and panic and its personification of terror and panic. He was the twin brother of Deimos, who himself was known as the Greek god of terror. Their father was the Greek god Ares while their mother was goddess Aphrodite. While Phobos played a major role in Greek mythology under his father, Deimos was rarely mentioned other than being present as terror in every war. Both the two brothers were present with their own known qualities at every warfield and brought fear along with terror. In Roman mythology, the phenomenon of fear has been given the name of Pavor. Phobos played a role often assistant to his father and was a major cause of disorganization in battles. According to the Iliad, Phobos used to accompany his father along with his mother and brother Deimos to battlefields.The two sons of Ares, Phobos, and Deimos, were worshipped in Sparta particularly for their inheritance from the god of war. The Greek meaning of Phobos is fear, according to the ancient Greek script. The soldiers of Sparta used to idolize Phobos for his qualities of discipline and consistency while being a part of the army. The two brothers, Phobos And Deimos were known as the predominant mythological characters of war. For the same reason, war heroes of the time used to offer sacrifices to the two in order to please them, in the battlefield or places where the war took place.In Dionysiaca written by Nonnus, Zeus armed Phobos and Deimos with lightning and thunder respectively to frighten typhoons. The work also depicts the two brothers Phobos and Deimos as the charioteers of Ares in his battle against Dionysus during a war with Indians. The work of Aeschylus named ‘Seven Against Thebes’, mentions seven warriors shown slaughtering a bull over a black shield touching its gore with their hands and swearing an oath in the name of Ares. In another work by Stesichorus, Kyknos, the son of Ares, used to be head strangers to use their skills in order to build a temple for Phobos.In Greek mythology, Phobos is also depicted on the shield of Heracles, as shown by Hesiod with his eyes glowing in fire staring backward and hundreds of teeth in his mouth, giving him a daunting and fearful appearance. In some instances, Phobos is even shown with a head like that of a lion.Read on to know more about the importance of Greek gods and goddesses in Greek mythology.Origin Of PhobosPhobos, as already mentioned, was the God of fear according to Greek mythology. This is the reason that most Greeks associate his name with feelings of panic and fear. Here are some interesting facts related to one of the most feared Greek gods:Murderous Ares was known as the Greek god for war and courage. His name was amongst the 12 Olympians and was the son of Hera and Zeus. The Greek gods loved him for his physical strength needed for success in times of war along with his sheer brutality and thirst for blood in other times. His sister Athena was the goddess of military strategy, wisdom, and leadership.Phobos’s mother Aphrodite was the goddess of love, lust, pleasure, beauty, passion, and procreation, and was syncretized with Venus, the Roman goddess. Also, Phobos had many siblings with Deimos being the god of terror, fear, and panic, Harmonia for harmony, Eros for love along with Anteros, Pothos, and Humerus. The followers of Phobos made a number of bloody sacrifices in his name. Apart from this, Phobos was also depicted in the shields of these followers in his furious and fearful appearance.The Twins Deimos And PhobosHere are some interesting aspects related to Phobos and his twin brother Deimos that will tell you more about the two fearsome Greek gods:Deimos, as already mentioned, was the Greek god of terror and dread, with his name literally meaning dread in the ancient Greek language. Deimos represented the feelings of terror and dread that went through one’s mind before entering a war field.It was for the same reason that warriors prayed to him so that they could escape their terror. With his brother Phobos signifying fear and panic of a battlefield, the two brothers had somewhat similar characteristics mainly associated with war, the God of which was their father Ares. As Aris took his place as the God of war in the battlefields of Greek mythology, his two sons Phobos and Deimos are shown to ride along with their father while being his charioteers.Phobos and Deimos, also known as the terrifying twins, had known counterparts, the first being Eris, the goddess of strife, and the second being Enyo, the goddess of bloodshed and war. Also, Enyo was the sister of Aris. The quad used to attend the battlefield with Ares, just to enhance the Warfield experience and to strike at competence, thereby increasing the thrill and bloodshed.While Phobos is mentioned quite a few times in ancient Greek mythology, his brother Deimos was a lesser-known God. However, both the gods of fear and terror used to maintain their influence on a battlefield by controlling the emotions of those on the war front.The most important thing to mention about the two brothers is that either of them is accompanied by the other wherever they go. While Deimos terrorizes the individuals, Phobos uses his strength to develop a feeling of fear amongst those individuals. The combination of these two forces (fear and panic) the individuals to act unreasonably which further degrades the situation on a war field.Shields Of Deimos And PhobosPhobos and Deimos have been mentioned a number of times in the ‘Iliad’, an epic Ancient Greek poem written during the eighth century BC and known to be one of the oldest works of western literature.Phobos is depicted by Hesiod in the shield of Heracles with his eyes glowing in fire, staring backwards with his mouth studded with countless knife-like teeth. In some instances and descriptions, Phobos is often depicted as a human-like figure with a lion’s head. In the words of Pausanias, ‘On the shield of Agamemnon is Phobos (Fear), who[se] head is a lion‘s.‘In the work ‘Shield of Herakles’ by Hesiod, Ares is accompanied by his two sons Phobos and Deimos into the war and then rescued after getting injured by Herakles. The tale of warriors slaughtering a bull to please Phobos and Kyknos beheading strangers to get a temple made of skulls for Phobos in his fear.The Fear Of Deimos And PhobosThe two sons of Ares, Phobos, and Deimos are the Roman gods that dominate the war fields.Phobos and Deimos are shown riding the chariot of their father Ares into a battlefield. The trio is occasionally accompanied by the Goddess of discord, Eris. According to classical Greek literature, Phobos and Deimos are considered as personifications of fear and terror rather than being characters in myths. Being the sons of Aphrodite, Phobos and Deimos are also associated with the fear of loss.The worship of the two brothers was often bloody as their worshippers were accustomed to making sacrifices in their name. These sacrifices not only included animals but also humans and warriors. Phobos is depicted on the shields of warriors as a finger with the head of a lion.Great kings like Heracles and Agamemnon, had Phobos on their respective shields. There is even a tale that showed an incident when Alexander the Great prayed to Phobos for his victory in a war. His prayers were so pleasing that Alexander’s enemy fled the battleground making him victorious without even shedding a drop of blood.The name Phobos has left its impression on the modern world too. In the modern English language, the word ‘phobia’ is derived from Phobos, the god of fear. Moreover, the two moons of Mars, discovered in the 19th century by Asap Hall, an American astronomer, were named after the two sons of Ares, Phobos, and Deimos with Deimos being the larger of the two. The name of Mars is also related to the Roman god of war.The Worship Of Deimos And PhobosThe worship of Phobos and Deimos was generally full of sacrifices. Their worshippers believed that to overcome the fear and terror they face during times of war, they must worship the powers that control these feelings.Sacrificing animals and even humans was the thing for worshippers of Phobos and Deimos. These worshippers also carried shields with the depiction of the two, especially Phobos, to the war fields. Herakles and Agamemnon are some of the few examples of such warriors who did this.According to a write-up by Plutarch, Alexander the Great was accustomed to offering sacrifices to Phobos before he went on the war field to get his blessings in being victorious.
Can you name the two moons of Mars, or if we ask this more sophisticatedly, the two natural satellites of the Earth’s twin Mars?
