While the many prominent grooves and streaks that cover much of Phobos’ length was initially thought to be result of the impact that had created Stickney, later studies have shown that the features do not radiate from the crater, but are centred on the apex of Phobos’ leading apex. One of the main functions of the shield every Greek soldier held was to inspire fear. When this happens, it is likely that Phobos’ remains will form into a ring of dust around Mars that is expected to endure for up to one hundred million years. While Deimos can sometimes be seen in large amateur telescopes, spotting Phobos, on the other hand, is another matter entirely, although the chances of doing so improve somewhat when Mars is closest to Earth. This material comprises a large percentage of the surface of Mars, and the fact that Phobos’ spectrum is distinctly different from all other classes of chondritic meteorites appears to support the hypothesis that Phobos was created from ejected material as a second-generation solar system body after an impact had occurred on Mars. Outside of battle, however, the Spartans also embraced Phobos and Deimos in their day to day lives. When an army of Amazons invaded the city of Athens, it looked as though the battle would be locked in a stalemate. Rouse). The story of Cycnis was probably an invention, but more accurately documented as the worship of Phobos in Sparta. While Phobos is also one of the least luminous objects in the solar system, with an albedo (reflectivity) of only 0.071, studies of its surface in thermal infrared frequencies have revealed the presence of phyllosilicates on its surface. Deimos is the namesake for the smaller of Mars’ two moons, which was named by Asaph Hall. While Deimos and Phobos were most closely associated with their warrior father, they were also sons of Aphrodite. Ares interrupts the childhood training of Kratos and Deimos, Athena at his side, and kidnapped Deimos due to his strange birthmarks. In Volume 9 of the new printing, they take on human form as twin sisters to give Rei the Mars crystal, allowing her to transform into Super Sailor Mars. However, since the moon’s Sun-synodic orbital period of 30.4 hours is slightly longer than a Martian day (“sol”), which is 24.7 hours long, 2.7 Martian days would elapse between each successive rising and setting of the moon for an observer on Mars’ equator. Deimos was the personification of dread and terror. Deimos and his brother Phobos (God of Terror and Fear), are the half-brothers of Clarisse La Rue, a demigod child of Ares. Often only an inscription differentiates them from common soldiers. Deimos Kiriakis is a fictional character on Days of Our Lives. As twins the two were very alike and almost inseparable. Phobus was represented on the shield of Agamemnon, on the chest of Cypsellus, with the head of a lion. In fact, most artwork shows them as looking remarkably ordinary. One other hypothesis holds that both moons were created when a body with about one third the mass of Mars collided with it, which seems probable given that the crust in parts of Mars’ northern hemisphere is markedly thinner than in the southern hemisphere. Deimos and Phobos both appear in the English version of the Sailor Moon manga. Solar System For an observer on Phobos, however, Mars would fill about 25% of the celestial hemisphere sphere, and appear at least 6,400 times bigger, and 2,500 times brighter than the full Moon when seen from Earth. The Aegis of Athena – While the head of Medusa was always the central part of Athena’s famous shield, Homer described “hanging about it like a garland” because the aegis was imbued with the god’s power. If you have a feeling of dread in the pit of your stomach or the urge to run away and hide, you might be under the influence of Deimos and Phobos, the twin gods of terror and panic! In terms of its composition, Deimos is made from rock that is rich in carbonaceous material, and while it is heavily cratered, most of its surface irregularities have been smoothed over by a thick layer of highly porous regolith. Investigations are, however, continuing. Deimos and his brother Phobos appear as sons of Ares with their names translated into English, Fear and Terror, in the Hercules (1998 TV series). Deimos appears in The Demigod Files by Rick Riordan. The seven military leaders in the famous tale known as the Seven Against Thebes, for example, were said in the works of Aeschylus to have made grim sacrifices to attract the favor of Phobos and Deimos in battle. Occasionally, however, they were also companions of their mother. Two of these personifications were inescapable to any man who went to war, though. They then ran their hands through the gore while swearing an oath to the gods of war, including Phobos and Deimos, that if they did not conquer Thebes their own blood would be the next sacrifice to stain the ground. (Paus. [2] He mainly appears in an assistant role to his father who causes disorder in armies and does not appear as an independent figure in mythology. 37, xiii. An unlucky lover could find themselves overwhelmed with the dread that they would one day lose the one they loved, whether to another person or to death. In the game Eve Online the Cruiser class ship Thorax has two advanced variations. The twin sons of Aphrodite and Ares embodied two different types of fear. He is killed by Xena after she is given the power to kill Gods by the Archangel Michael. Depicting a monster, for example, would not only give the bearer a portion of that monster’s strength but would also display his ferocity to those he faced on the field of battle. Courage, good training, and self-restraint were needed to keep the gods of fear from holding too much power. Fear of rejection, for example, could inspire a panic that kept a person from ever expressing their love for another. February 1, 2018 Around the end of July and early August 2018, Phobos glimmers at magnitude +11, while Deimos is a magnitude fainter at +12. Plutarch described one of the more unusual facets of Spartan culture with their temples to gods who were shunned elsewhere in the region. He mainly appears in an assistant role to his father who causes disorder in armies and does not appear as an independent figure in mythology. The origin of both of Mars’ moons is still unknown, although there are two controversial hypotheses that could help explain how they came about. Phobos and Deimos were inscribed upon it to aid the king in battle. The twin gods always chose sides in a battle, and soldiers would make bloody sacrifices to win their favor. Both moons were discovered a few days apart in 1877 by American astronomer Asaph Hall from the U.S. Phobos could stop a person from pursuing love altogether. Roman writers expanded this list to include a host of warlike abstractions. The warrior culture of Sparta often went against the norms of the rest of the Greek world in their values and in the gods they held in highest esteem. As the embodiment’s of fear, most people hoped to avoid their influence in their lives. They would often decorate their shields with images of their favored god or goddess to ask for that deity’s protection. Deimos is the title given to the player character's sibling in Assassin's Creed: Odyssey. In Guild Wars 2, the last boss of the Bastion of the Penitent raid wing, accessible with Guild Wars 2: Heart of Thorns, is named Deimos. Deimos appears in the animated Wonder Woman film. The later Dionysiaca even depicted Deimos and Phobos serving Zeus during his fight against the monstrous giant Typhon. An oracle had foretold that the demise of Olympus would come not by the revenge of the Titans, but by a marked warrior. He sometimes has the mane of a lion or the entire face of one. In Shield of Herakles, Phobos and Deimos accompany Ares into battle and remove him from the field once he is injured by Herakles. The Shield of Heracles – In an epic poem written by Hesiod, the shield of Heracles is described in detail. Dread and panic were closely related but distinct forms of the emotion, either of which could be disastrous in a battle or fight. There was a shrine there not only to Phobos, but to Thanatos (Death) and Gelos (Laughter) as well. The two represented different types of fear. In other depictions, Phobos is shown with leonine features. Moreover, studies have also shown that Phobos is extremely porous, and that large internal cavities (or voids), account for about 25-35% of the moon’s total volume, which argues against an asteroidal origin. Despite their differences, the two deities had one of the most famous love affairs in Greek mythology. Love and battle were closely linked in the Greek imagination, and both could inspire fear. While common soldiers may have had simple shields, the great kings and gods carried shields into battle that were rich works of art in themselves. Spartan culture was harsh and highly regimented. They were most often associated with their father in his role as the god of battle. After Kratos becomes the God of War, he learns from his mother that his brother isn't dead, but trapped and tortured by Thanatos, God of Death. [4] In Nonnus' Dionysiaca, Zeus arms Phobos with lightning and Deimos with thunder to frighten Typhon. In fact, Infrared studies of Phobos have shown that the body is a carbon-poor rubble pile that is only loosely held together by a thin crust of mainly regolith. The leaders of the city-state believed that the only way to keep their society functioning was if the people lived in fear of the consequences of stepping out of line. Although she, too, was associated with war, Athena was rarely if ever pictured with the twins of fear. They believed that fear was an essential component to holding society together. Images of Phobos and Deimos showed the gods’ favor of those who carried them and turned their powers onto the viewer – the enemy. Phobos orbits Mars at a distance of only 5,989 km (3,721 miles), which is below the synchronous orbit radius. The obvious interpretation of such an unusual trio of shrines was that the Spartans had no fear of death, and laughed when fear lead them to victory over their terrified opponents. A few depictions, both written and artistic, show them in a more terrifying light than this. By way of comparison, 0.20 degrees is about one third as wide as the full Moon when viewed from Earth. Now Zeus armed the two grim sons of Enyalios [Ares], his own grandsons, Phobos (Rout) and Deimos (Terror) his servant, the inseparable guardsmen of the sky: Phobos he set up with the lightning, Deimos he made strong with the thunderbolt, terrifying Typhon. In practice, this means that Phobos travels around Mars at a speed that is higher than Mars’ equatorial rotation speed, which produces some interesting effects. -Nonnus, Dionysiaca 2. Poseidon was one of the most venerated gods in all of the Greek world, but who... Like many Greek gods, Poseidon was worshiped under many names that give insight into his importance... Is the Story of Shennong Myth or History? Some investigators are of the opinion that these grooves and streaks were caused by collisions with material that was blasted off the surface of Mars after violent impacts, which appears to be supported by the fact that all the resulting crater chains fade out towards the moon’s trailing apex. People in love could feel dread over the prospect of loss, or panic at the thought of rejection. Naval Observatory in Washington DC, who subsequently named them after the offspring of the deities Aphrodite (Venus) and Ares (Mars). The exception, of course, was when a person wished to inspire fear in another. Generally, though, Phobos cannot be spotted with modest or even medium-sized amateur equipment. He could cause soldiers to flee a battle in fear. Shields served as a type of psychological warfare among Greek armies, and many famous examples showed that the Greeks often invoked Phobos and Deimos to inspire fear in their enemies during battle. They appear with her throughout the manga series. Only when Theseus, on the advice of an oracle, made sacrifices to Phobos did his armies find the strength to fight harder. He appears in the fantasy novel Devil May Cry by Sherrilyn Kenyon. They are the two ravens that accompany Sailor Mars. Deimos /ˈdaɪmɒs/ is the personification of terror in Greek mythology. Their children were often more closely associated with one or another of their parents, but most had one thing in common. 5 Bizarre Paradoxes Of Time Travel Explained, 10 Most Popular Universities to Study Astronomy, Water Discovered on Sunlit Surface of the Moon, Dwarf Planet Ceres Found to Be an Ocean World, Astronomers Verify Proxima Centauri Hosts Earth-Sized Planet, Chinese Tianwen-1 Mars Mission On Track For Its July Launch. 934.) More immediate than their physical appearance, however, were the feelings that the twins inspired in all who encountered them. The first hypothesis holds that both moons were captured by Mars after their orbits in the main asteroid bet were disturbed by a mechanism that is yet to be explained. Sometimes their identities can only be inferred from their proximity to their father, Ares, or the other terrible gods and goddesses of war. Deimos appears in God of War: Ghost of Sparta, although here he is the brother of Kratos. The Greeks believed that the images on their shields helped to protect them and give them strength in battle. The Greek daimones, or spirits, served as personifications for nearly every aspect of the world and the experiences of mankind. While the composition of Deimos (but not that of Phobos) shows remarkable similarities to C and D-type asteroids that inhabit the main asteroid belt, both moons nevertheless have masses that would have made it impossible for the thin atmosphere of Mars to slow the objects down sufficiently for the planet’s gravity to have captured them. Ares was the Olympian god of war, battlelust and manliness. (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}). Deimos and Phobos were twin brothers, the sons of Ares and Aphrodite. The Shield of Agamemnon – Like Athena’s aegis, the famous king’s shield featured Medusa encircled by a pattern of bronze, tin, and cobalt. Those in love had reason to be wary of the arrival of the twins almost as much as those who faced an attacking army. Naval Observatory in Washington DC, who subsequently named them after the offspring of the deities Aphrodite (Venus) and Ares (Mars). In Nonnus' Dionysiaca, Zeusarms Phobos with lightning an… The twin gods, along with their aunt Enyo, were most often shown accompanying their father to battle. Here, he is sent by Ares to kill Wonder Woman, but is defeated by her in battle. Phobos is named after the Greek god of horror and fear, while his twin brother Deimos is named after the the god of terror, both of whom accompanied their father the war god Ares into battle alongside his sisters the war goddess Enyo, and Eris, the goddess of discord. Thus, together with his twin, they are ‘dread’ and ‘fear’, making them harbingers of terror. Both love and war gave rise to strong, overpowering emotions. 414 ff (trans. One is called the Deimos, along with the modified version called Phobos. For other uses of the Roman equivalent "Formido", see, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Deimos_(deity)&oldid=984551317, Articles containing Ancient Greek (to 1453)-language text, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, This page was last edited on 20 October 2020, at 18:10. While many geological features on Phobos have been given names, the same can be said of just two of the many craters on Deimos, namely Swift and Voltaire, which were named after these famous writers, both of whom had first proposed the existence of Martian moons before they were actually discovered. These findings have prompted some investigators to suggest that the cavities in Phobos may contain large volumes of various ices, but this is difficult to demonstrate since no evidence of hydration of Phobos’ outer layers has been found. He was a son of Ares and Aphrodite, and the twin brother of Phobos. This was exceptionally true for the Helots, the slave caste of Spartan society. Phobos embodied panic and the urge to run away. Terror and panic were two of the strongest emotions a man could face on the field of battle. In addition, since Phobos’ orbit is so low, a Martian observer would also see Phobos’ angular diameter change between rising and setting. v. 19. Held by Wonder Woman's lasso which forces men to tell the truth, and asked where Ares is, he commits suicide rather than reveal his master's location. In the computer space simulator game FreeSpace 2, Deimos is the name of the GTCv Class space vessel. Some were famous gods like Eros, but most were more obscure. They embodied variations of the same emotion and were almost always seen together, affecting the same side of a battle to lead to a total breakdown of morale and discipline. In those cases, Deimos and Phobos were invoked to give aid. Kratos goes out to rescue his brother but when he frees him, Deimos is enraged that he was taken in Kratos' place and they end up fighting. As much as the different forms of fear could affect men in war, those in love could also see their aspirations cut short by Aphrodite’s terrible sons. The single biggest crater on Phobos is the 9 km (5.6 mile) wide crater Stickney, which covers a significant percentage of the moon’s surface. Source: Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology. According to this proposed scenario, the collision could very well have created a ring of debris around Mars, which subsequently coalesced into the two moons we observe today. The implication was that the human king was strong enough to have power over fear, both to keep it from affecting himself and to inflict it in his enemies. For instance, an observer on the Martian surface would see Phobos rising in the west, and set in the east, as opposed to rising in the east and setting in the west. Some people supposedly went to terrible lengths in their appeals to the twin brothers. There, they could lead armies to utter destruction. My work has also been published on Buzzfeed and most recently in Time magazine. Deimos and Phobos were often shown as their father’s charioteers. Against one of the more fearsome enemies the gods would ever face, only the twin forms of fear could help Zeus win a victory. Their role was not to inspire greatness or bring renown to brave warriors. In the most recent printing, they first appear in Volume 1 and are addressed by name after they attack Sailor Moon. This page describes the divine attendants of the god, the most notable of which were his warrior-companion Eris-Enyo (Strife) and twin sons Phobos (Fear) and Deimos (Terror). Please like and share this article if you found it useful. Phobos was the personification of panic. Theog. Hesiod said that Phobos had eyes that glowed like fire and a gleaming row of viscous-looking bright white teeth. Deimos brought the sense of dread and terror a soldier might face as a battle began. Several of these exceptional shields described by ancient writers featured Deimos and Phobos as proof that those who carried the shield had the favor of those gods and could inspire their fear in anyone who challenged them. They sacrificed a bull over a pure black shield, letting its blood and entrails spill onto the surface. Deimos served to represent the feelings of dread and apprehension that befell those before a battle, while Phobos personified feelings of fear and panic in the midst of battle. The leaders and great generals she inspired may have hoped to cause fear in the opposing army, but the relied on reason and discipline to win their battles instead of raw emotion. Those affected by him might be too afraid to fight. 0. They were typically described accompanying their father into battle, where they could make armies too afraid to fight or too panicked to remain on the field of battle. Aphrodite was the goddess of beauty and love. Nike (Victory) lifted her shield and held it before Zeus: Enyo countered with a shout, and Ares made a din. On the modern monument to the battle of Thermopylae, as well as the one at the city of Sparta, Leonidas' shield has a representation of Deimos. They caused disorder and chaos in battle, often leading to more deaths as soldiers let their fear overcome their judgment and training. Only the bravest, or the most devoted, warriors completely resisted panic and terror in the face of battle. Both are tiny — the larger, Phobos, is only 14 miles across (22 kilometers), while the smaller, Deimos, is only 8 miles (13 km), making them some of the smallest moons in the solar system. § 1.) Deimos appears in season 5 of Hercules: The Legendary Journeys and in the final episode of season 5 of Xena: Warrior Princess. He is one of the main characters in the manga Bride of Deimos. Despite their associations with overwhelming forms of fear, Deimos and Phobos were typically not represented as particularly terrifying in their appearance. As such, their powers could be felt off the battlefield as well. In at least one story, the twins carried their father to safety when he was injured in battle. They were minor spirits, but Deimos and Phobos had a power that could fell entire armies. Aphrodite was the goddess of beauty and love, while Ares embodied the brutality of war. More often, however, the Greeks used their shields to inspire fear in their enemies. It could be used to strike out at an enemy, but it had an even more important function as a psychological weapon. Furthermore, these values are bound to increase, since the orbit of Phobos decays by about 2 meters per century; at this rate, Phobos is expected to collide with Mars sometime between 30 million and 50 million years from now. Her role was as a strategist and leader, valuing discipline and planning over chaotic emotions of the battlefield. Peter Christoforou They were the personifications of fear. Deimos’ orbit is progressively getting bigger, since at its distance from Mars, the planet’s gravitational influence is not strong enough to prevent tidal acceleration of the moon, and most investigators believe that Deimos will eventually escape Mars’ gravity altogether. A warrior’s shield was so important that many poems and epics describe them in great detail. [5] Later in the work, Phobos and Deimos act as Ares' charioteers to battle Dionysus during his war against the Indians.[6]. Investigations are continuing. In some ways, the type of war overseen by Athena was the antithesis of the battles Deimos and Phobos delighted in. Deimos was the god of terror and dread. When Deimos and Phobos took control of the battlefield, however, the tight lines of the Greek phalanx fell apart, leaving the entire army open to slaughter. Deimos served to represent the feelings of dread that befell those in the midst of battle, while Phobos personified feelings of fear and panic. The brothers were known to take sides in battle, granting assistance to one side while ignoring the prayers of the other, so it was important to win the gods’ favor before one’s enemies were able to. According to one story Cycnis, a son of Ares who lived in Thessaly, murdered any strangers who passed through his land so he could use their skulls to construct a temple to Phobos there. Finding Phobos and Deimos Given their diminutive size, the Martian moons are only accessible to large backyard telescopes when the Red Planet is particularly close. The Helots outnumbered the Spartans, and the rulers of the city used fear to keep their workers from rising up against them. Despite their differences, the two deities had one of the most famous love affairs in Greek mythology. They were young men, either nude or dressed as soldiers. While the latter hypothesis appears to be the most likely, it does not explain why the putative ring of debris formed into two bodies, or why they have such disparate distances from Mars. 119; Hes. (Hom. Ares, the god of war, embodied the blood lust of fighting and the vicious side of warfare. Shields served an apotropaic function in Greek warfare. Kratos and Deimos set out to fight Thanatos, Thanatos kills Deimos and is then destroyed by Kratos. xi. Deimos could represent the fear of loss as well as the terror of battle. Phobos was the son of Ares and Aphrodite. Deimos and Phobos were twin sons of Aphrodite and Ares. Nevertheless, Mars outshines its closest moon by at least 200,000 times, making it necessary to construct an occulting bar (to mask out Mars’ light) on a very large telescope under very dark skies in order to have even a small chance of spotting Phobos even at maximum elongation (maximum possible distance away) from Mars. Deimos is a playable character in the Korean iOS game Fantasy War Tactics. In the harsh warrior society there, fear was necessary both in battle and to keep the populace from rising up against the oppressive demands of their culture. Furthermore, Deimos appears in Call of Duty: Black Ops III as the main antagonist in the nightmares mode. Phobos was the god of panic and rout. No battle could happen without Deimos and Phobos being present. Among the many images engraved on it were several of Phobos and Deimos. Aphrodite was the goddess of beauty and love, while Ares embodied the brutality of war. The Greeks were pioneers in warfare, using careful planning and training to keep their soldiers from breaking ranks. The twin gods of fear accompanied their father to battle. He was a son of Ares and Aphrodite, and the twin brother of Phobos. PHOBUS (Phobos), Latin Metus, the personification of fear, is described as a son of Ares and Cvthereia, a brother of Deimos, and is one of the ordinary companions of Ares. The Shield of Achilles – The hero’s shield was inscribed with images of many wars and included Deimos, Phonos, Enyo, and Eris at the center. I have been in love with all things related to Mythology. Deimos closely resembles C or D-type asteroids in terms of its spectrum, albedo (reflectivity), and overall geometry in the sense that it is highly non-spherical having dimensions of 15 × 12.2 × 11 km. [3] In Shield of Herakles, Phobos and Deimos accompany Ares into battle and remove him from the field once he is injured by Herakles. Deimos and Phobos were not often the focus of worship. Although Phobos is substantially bigger than Mar’s other moon, Deimos, it is not massive enough for its own gravity to form into a spherical shape, or for its gravity to hold onto an atmosphere of any sort. 299, xv. Mars mentions that Phobos and Deimos hardly ever attacked humans. Deimos and Phobos were popular images on shields, as illustrated in the descriptions of the great kings and gods of legend. However, since Deimos’ orbits is very close to Mars, and has a very small inclination with respect to Mars’ equatorial plane, an observer on Mars would not be able to see Deimos from Martian latitudes greater than 82.7 degrees. Both moons were discovered a few days apart in 1877 by American astronomer Asaph Hall from the U.S. In Greek warfare, a soldier’s shield was as much of a weapon as his sword or spear. I am the owner and chief researcher at this site. Deimos /ˈdaɪmɒs/ (Ancient Greek: Δεῖμος, pronounced [dêːmos], meaning “dread”) is the personification of dread and terror in Greek mythology. Deimos’ name translates into English as ‘dread’. As seen from the surface of Mars, Deimos rises in the east, and sets in the west. In the real-time strategy game Age of Mythology, players who worship Ares can obtain "Deimos's Sword of Dread", which strengthens Greek swordsmen. [1], Deimos was the son of Ares and Aphrodite. Deimos was the twin brother of Phobos, both born to Ares and Aphrodite, and grandson to the Olympian god Zeus, and the goddesses Dione and Hera. In the Iliad, he accompanied his father, Ares, into battle along with the Goddess of Discord Eris and his twin brother Phobos (fear). Deimos and Phobos were twin brothers, the sons of Ares and Aphrodite. In the Iliad, he accompanied his father Ares into battle along with the Goddess of Discord Eris and his twin brother Deimos (terror). Moreover, while atmospheric drag or tidal forces could have circularized the orbits of both moons, several studies suggest that the solar system is not old enough for this to have happened. The god’s Roman equivalent was Formido or Metus. Phobos is the larger and nearest of Mars’ two natural satellites, the other being Deimos. Nearly every soldier would at some point feel the power of Deimos and Phobos. Note, however, that Phobos cannot be seen from the Martian surface at Martian latitudes greater than 70.4 degrees.