Mars
Mars names 4 different subjects across the 6 encyclopedias on this shelf. Each is set out below. 1 of them is described by more than one encyclopedia.
Mars one of the superior planets situated between the earth
Described by 2 of the 6 encyclopedias.
Collier's New Encyclopedia (1921)
one of the superior planets situated between the earth on the one side and the vast cluster of asteroids on the other. Its mean distance from the sun is 141,500,000 miles, and at times it is only 36,000,000 miles from the earth. It revolves around the sun a few minutes under 687 days, and rotates upon its axis in 24 hours, 37 minutes, 22.67 seconds. Its equatorial diameter is about 4,200 miles, its polar about 40 less. Its mass is about one-eighth that of the earth. When at its greatest distance from the earth its telescopic di diameter is less than four seconds of are, but when nearest this is increased to 24 seconds, hence the planet varies greatly in brightness. Viewed by the naked eye, Mars appears of a uniformly red and fiery tint; but looked at through a powerful telescope the ruddy color is found to be confined to certain definite areas. In 1877, Hall, of the Observatory at Washington, by the aid of the great Washington refracting telescope, discovered that Mars has two satellites. The outer moon, named of " Frank Deimos, is estimated to be from 5 to 6 by " The miles in diameter, and revolves around , " " Jacob the planet, at a distance of 12,500 miles, of a Fa- in 30 hours, 18 minutes. Phobos, the in- Midshipman ner moon, is but 3,700 miles from the Tales, " " The planet, and completes its revolution " Snarley- around Mars in 7 hours, 39 minutes. This " Percival is much less than the period of rotation , " " Poor of Mars itself, and constitutes a unique Langham, fact in the solar system, which has furnished forcible corroboration of Darwin's theory of the tides. Certain markings on the surface, known as "Canals," have caused much speculation among astronomers. A certain similarity with earth conditions has created a theory that Mars might be inhabited, and serious efforts have been made, notably in 1920, to communicate with the planet by wireless telegraphy.
Aiton's Encyclopedia (1910)
the planet next outside of the earth in the solar system . Its mean distance from the sun is one and one-half times that of the earth. As the distance from the earth is anywhere from 35,000,000 to 250,000,000 miles, Mars is fifty times as bright one time as at another. It is conspicuously red or fiery in color, and moves in an apparently lawless, vigorous way,-- qualities which led the ancients to give it the name of their god of war. Many have argued that conditions in Mars warrant a belief that it is inhabited. Its day is longer than ours by half an hour. Its year consists of 687 of our days, giving longer seasons. Its surface is about two-sevenths and its volume one-seventh of that of the earth. A body weighing 100 pounds on the earth would weigh about 38 pounds on Mars. With the same strength one could leap three times as high on Mars as on the earth. Mars has an atmosphere. White caps at the poles grow larger and smaller with the change of season, suggesting fields of polar snow. The surface of the planet is furrowed with apparent canals which are conjectured by some to be irrigating canals. Changes in the color of large areas are attributed to alternating seasons of vegetation and drought. All these speculations are without much foundation in the presence of a strong probability that the planet is frigidly cold. Mars has two small moons with months of eight days and thirty days. Their recent discovery (1877) has turned the laugh on Swift who, in apparent derision of astronomers, wrote in Gulliver's Travels , "They have discovered two lesser stars, or satellites, which revolve about Mars, whereof the innermost revolves in the space of ten hours, the outermost in twenty-one and one-half."
Mars the Roman god of war
Collier's New Encyclopedia (1921)
the Roman god of war, at an early period identified with the Greek Ares, a deity of similar attributes. Like Jupiter he was designated "father," and was regarded in particular as the father of the Roman people, Romulus and Remus being the fruit of his intercourse with Rhea Sylvia. Several temples at Rome were dedicated to him. His service was celebrated not only by particular flamens devoted to him, but by the College of the Salii, or priests of Mars. The month of March, the firs first month of the Roman year, was sacred to him. As the tutelary deity of Rome he was called Quirinus, in his character as the god of war Gradivus (the striding). Ares, the Greek god of war, was the son of Zeus (Jupiter) and Hera (Juno). He is repin Lon - resented as terrible in battle, but not as invulnerable, since he was wounded at various times by Heracles, Diomedes, and Athena. He is represented as a youthful warrior of strong frame, either naked or clothed with the chlamys. The chief seats of the worship of Ares were in Thrace and Scythia.
Mars Known to the Greeks as Ares
1000 Classical Characters (1900)
Known to the Greeks as Ares . The god of war, was the son of Jupiter and Juno , or of Juno alone, according to Ovid. The loves of Mars and Venus are greatly celebrated. On one occasion, while in each other's company, Vulcan spread a net round them, from which they could not escape without assistance. They were thus exposed to the ridicule of the gods till Neptune induced Vulcan to set them at liberty. During the Trojan war, Mars interested himself on the side of the Trojans, and defended the favorites of Venus with great determination.
Mars the Roman god of war
Aiton's Encyclopedia (1910)
the Roman god of war, whence such expressions as martial, or warlike, and a follower of Mars, or soldier. He was regarded also as a patron of husbandry. In art Mars is represented as a powerful, eager youth, with helmet, spear, and shield, ready for conquest. The great parade ground in Rome was called the Campus Martius , or Field of Mars. Mars is the Greek Ares.
What Has Changed in the Last Century
The orbital arithmetic in these entries still holds — Collier's rotation figure of 24 hours 37 minutes 22 seconds is essentially the modern value, and Aiton's note that a 100-pound body would weigh about 38 pounds on Mars is right. What has gone is the rest. When Mariner 4 flew past in July 1965 and returned the first close photographs, the "canals" that had "caused much speculation" proved to be an optical illusion over a cratered desert; the atmosphere Aiton's credits the planet with turns out to be thin carbon dioxide at well under one per cent of Earth's surface pressure, and Aiton's cautious guess that Mars is "frigidly cold" was the closest thing to the truth on this page. The wireless attempts of 1920 have been replaced by machines on the ground — Viking in 1976, then rovers from Sojourner in 1997 to Perseverance in 2021 — which have found ancient riverbeds and lake sediments but no life, while the poles hold real water ice as well as the seasonal frost the old accounts noticed. The mythological entries on Mars and Ares need no correction at all.
Written for this edition, 2026.