On Sunday and Monday, the waxing crescent Moon will sweep past a dramatic encounter of ancient rivals in the evening sky: the red planet Mars; and the red supergiant Antares, the star at the heart of the Scorpion.
There’s no distinct mythology regarding this rivalry, but the star-name “Antares” means, “anti-Ares.” “Ares” is the Greek name for the Roman god Mars, god of war. The region of the Scorpion, on the other hand, is always related to the Underworld.
The dearth of stories about this rivalry may stem from the reluctance of Ancient artists and scholars to over-represent a being like Ares/Mars, with all of his overwhelming physical strength, and especially this in relation to the Underworld, the king of which whose name was scarcely spoken aloud.
The ancient Greek poet Hesiod of the 7th century BC described the god of war like this: ‘Ares, insatiable in battle, blazing like the light of burning fire in his armor and standing in his chariots, and his running horses trampled and dented the ground with their hooves…and all the grove and the altar…were lighted up by the dread god, Ares, himself and his armor, and the shining from his eyes was like fire…”
Looking southwest an hour after sunset this weekend, Mars will appear this unmistakable fiery orange-red color, and so will Antares. They are this close to one another only every two years.
When you go out to view this marvelous apparition, also note, that Antares, as a fixed star, was regarded as much more enduring than the god of war, and was known as one of the four Royal stars of Persia, the most sacred stars belonging to that Ancient culture.