Mars: Panic will leave and Fear will be destroyed

While rearranging shelves recently, I came across a stack of old National Geographic magazines and astronomy books. They were the same ones my son used to pore over when he was little, fascinated by the mysteries of the night sky. As I flipped through their pages, one of those delightful moments of connection struck me: how mythology and astronomy often speak the same language. One of the most striking examples is found in the story of Mars and its moons, Phobos and Deimos.

Ares and His Companions of War
In Greek mythology, Ares was the god of war—not the noble strategist or defender of cities, but the raw embodiment of battle’s fury and bloodlust. Unlike Athena, who represented wisdom and tactical warfare, Ares was chaos incarnate, a figure often feared even by his fellow gods. His presence meant the clashing of swords, the cries of the wounded, and the terror that overtakes armies in the thick of combat.

Beside him, legends say, rode his sons Phobos and Deimos. Their very names translate to “Fear” and “Panic.” Imagine the battlefield as the Greeks saw it: when Ares charged in, Phobos and Deimos accompanied him, spreading dread through the hearts of soldiers. No wonder they became enduring symbols of the psychological toll of war.

When the Romans absorbed Greek mythology into their own, they gave Ares a new name: Mars. Unlike his Greek counterpart, Mars took on a more balanced role. He was still a god of war, but also a protector of Rome, a father of the Roman people through his sons Romulus and Remus, the city’s legendary founders. Thus, Mars became not only the god of conflict but also of strength, vitality, and civic pride.

From Gods to Planets and Moons
Centuries later, when humans began naming the planets, the fiery red world in the night sky seemed a natural fit for Mars, the god of war. Its ruddy glow, caused by iron oxide dust, mirrored the blood-stained fields of battle.

And as if myth and astronomy were conspiring together, Mars turned out to have not one but two small moons—discovered in 1877 by American astronomer Asaph Hall. He named them after Ares’ legendary sons: Phobos and Deimos. Fear and Panic still circled the god of war, this time not on a battlefield, but in the silent theater of the cosmos.

Lumpy Little Moons
Unlike Earth’s Moon, which dominates our skies as a near-perfect sphere, Phobos and Deimos are oddly shaped, resembling cosmic potatoes more than majestic orbs. The reason lies in their size: Phobos is only about 22 kilometers across, while Deimos measures around 13 kilometers. Objects need to be far more massive—at least 400 kilometers in radius—for their gravity to pull them into a spherical form.

This makes Phobos and Deimos among the smallest moons in the solar system. Their surfaces are heavily cratered, scarred from countless collisions with other rocks over billions of years. Scientists believe they may not have formed alongside Mars at all. Instead, they could be captured asteroids from the nearby asteroid belt, drawn into orbit by Mars’ gravity long ago. If true, then these moons are ancient wanderers—veterans of the solar system—now bound to their fiery red master.

The Strange Futures of Phobos and Deimos
What makes Mars’ moons even more fascinating is their fate. Unlike Earth’s Moon, which is gradually drifting away from us, Phobos and Deimos are on very different paths.

• Deimos, the smaller of the two, is slowly edging farther from Mars. One day, millions of years from now, it will escape Mars’ pull entirely, drifting off into the void. Panic will literally flee the god of war.

• Phobos, in contrast, is inching closer to Mars—about two centimeters each year. In roughly 50 million years, it will either crash into the Martian surface or, more dramatically, break apart. If it crosses Mars’ Roche limit—an invisible boundary where tidal forces overwhelm a moon’s structure—it could shatter into pieces, forming a ring of debris around Mars. For a time, Mars might wear a ring like Saturn, created from the ruins of Fear itself.

The symbolism feels almost too perfect. Panic retreats; Fear is destroyed. Even in celestial mechanics, myth seems to echo.

Mythology Written in the Stars
It’s easy to dismiss mythology as fanciful storytelling from long ago. But moments like this remind us how deeply it still colors our world. When astronomers christened Mars’ moons Phobos and Deimos, they weren’t just naming rocks in space. They were acknowledging the timelessness of human imagination—the way fear and panic are as much a part of human experience as the stars overhead.

And so we look up at Mars, glowing red in the night sky, and know it is not alone. Around it circle two tiny moons, companions of fear and panic, destined for very different fates. A cosmic reminder that mythology and science, past and future, often dance together.

Perhaps this is the enduring gift of astronomy: not just the data and equations, but the stories we find among the stars. For in every orbit, in every crater, in every name, we glimpse both the cold mechanics of the universe and the warm pulse of human imagination.

So for Mars, Panic will leave, and Fear will be destroyed!

Bibliography & References:

1. Edith Hamilton’s Mythology (75th Anniversary Illustrated Edition): Timeless Tales of Gods and Heroes
2. Stephen Fry’s Mythos: Modern Telling of Classical Greek Myths Book
3. Stephen Fry’s Heroes: The Greek Myths Reimagined
4. National Geographic Backyard Guide to the Night Sky
5. 13 Planets: The Latest View of the Solar System (National Geographic Kids)
6. National Geographic Kids Space Encyclopedia
7. National Geographic Kids – Planets

This blog is inspired by a moment six years ago when my son told me about Mars, its moons Phobos and Deimos, and the mystery of Roche limits. And I was telling him about the Mythology. Revisiting it now, through the lens of mythology and astronomy, has been fascinating.

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