Mars and Quirin
The cult of Mars was one of the most common throughout Italy. Many tribes called it after the first month of spring, and in antiquity and the first month of the new year. Initially, Mars was not built temples, and made sacrifices in sacred groves, in the holidays of Mars it was customary to clean the house of the laurel. Scientists interpret the image of Mars as a patron god of the tribe, to be more precise, we can say that each community, which chose him as its protector, had its own Mars.
A very interesting custom is associated with the veneration of Mars - "sacred spring". If the tribe was in danger, Mars was asked to take her away and swore to sacrifice to him children and cattle born in the near spring. In practice, children were spared and not killed, but when they reached maturity, they were evicted outside the tribal territory. As a result of these expulsions, the young people founded new communities - not without reason the wolf, the sacred animal of Mars, was considered to be the patron saint of all those seeking new places of settlement. Other animals of Mars were called woodpeckers.
It should be noted that the ideas of the ancients about Mars are very contradictory. They can be divided into two areas: Mars was revered as a deity of nature and agriculture, on the one hand, and as a deity of war, on the other. His second personage is better known.
In the sanctuary of Mars in Regia, the "royal house" at the foot of the Palatine, kept spears of Mars. If they moved by themselves, it was considered a sign of war. There were also shields of Mars, according to legend, forged in the time of Numa Pompilius. According to the ancient custom, the commander, who spoke in the campaign, first touched the shield, and then the spears with a crying out: "Wake up, Mars!
Mars was sacrificed and prayed before and after each battle. On his behalf, they awarded awards to distinguished soldiers. The highest award was due to the commander, who saved his legion or an entire army, for example, led him out of his entourage. It was called corona graminea, and it was woven from grass and flowers torn directly at the battlefield.
Since time immemorial, Mars has been dedicated to meadows on the banks of the Tiber, Mars Field. Once in five years, armed Roman citizens gathered there for the feast of religious cleansing: sacrificed animals and practiced in the art of war. However, Mars was not just a god of war, both his functions are equally important. Probably, being a tribal deity, Mars became a god of war or agriculture, depending on who and when appealed to him for help. For the peasants he was the patron of nature, for the soldiers he was the protector of the settlement.
Kvirin was a tribal deity of the Sabinets. Just as Mars was considered the father of Romulus, so was Kvirin, the father of the founder of the Sabinsk community Modius Fofidius. His name comes either from the name of the Sabinsk city of Kura or from the word quiris, a spear. The cult of Kvirin is connected with the hill Kvirinalom, where there was an ancient Sabinsk settlement and the oldest sanctuary of Kvirin.
Like Mars, Kvirin had two hypostases: military and agricultural. There were two symmetrical colleges of saline priests who performed rituals in honor of Mars and Kvirin. Initially, before the appearance of images of the gods, Quirin, like Mars, was revered as a spear. Over time, Quirin began to consider the deified Romulus, who, according to legend, did not die, but became the patron of his city.
There is nothing strange about this transformation. Romulus, of course, was considered the son of Mars, but the Roman community was formed of different tribes, and above all - the Latins and Sabinets. One could call Mars and Quirin twin gods, but they were revered as two different gods and had their own flame-priests. Together with Jupiter, Mars and Quirin constituted the archaic triad of the most powerful Roman gods.