Mars Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun. It is also known as the "Red Planet", because of its orange-red appearance. Mars is a desert-like rocky planet with a tenuous carbon dioxide () atmosphere. At the average surface level the atmosph ...

Iovantucarus was a Celtic god who was associated with the Treveran healer-god Lenus Mars at his sanctuary at

Trier Trier ( , ; ), formerly and traditionally known in English as Trèves ( , ) and Triers (see also Names of Trier in different languages, names in other languages), is a city on the banks of the Moselle (river), Moselle in Germany. It lies in a v ...

. The name reflects the deity's function as a protector of youth, and the temple was visited by pilgrims who often brought with them images of children, often depicting as holding pet birds as offerings to the god. At

Tholey Tholey () is a municipality in the Sankt Wendel (district), district of Sankt Wendel, in Saarland, Germany. It is situated approximately west of Sankt Wendel, and north of Saarbrücken. History Local history The first traces of settlement in t ...

, also in Treveran territory, ‘Iovantucarus’ was also used as an epithet of Mercury.Miranda Green (1997). ''Dictionary of Celtic Myth and Legend.'' Thames and Hudson Ltd. London.

References

{{celt-myth-stub Gaulish gods Health gods Childhood gods Treveri Mercurian deities Martian deities