The myths of Mars: from its Greek origins to Dan Simmon’s posthuman Ilium-Olympos

Mars has always fascinated humanity due to its proximity, movement, and red color. For ancient civilizations, it symbolized blood and war, and for Greeks and Romans, it was considered the living place of Ares/Mars, the god of war. The discovery of straight lines on the planet’s surface by 19th-century astronomers led to the popular belief that it could be inhabited by intelligent creatures. Since then, Mars has become a kind of mythic double onto which we have projected our Earthly hopes and fears. In the Ilium-Olympos series by Dan Simmons, set on a futuristic Mars, ancient and modern myths are revisited and recontextualized to explore our deepest desires as human beings. Its hero, Harman-Prometheus, represents those who still read the ancient epics convinced that their narratives and myths provide the wisdom to understand our profoundest desires.