MARS, or MA'VORS, the Latin names of the deity called by the Greeks Ares. He was fabled to be the son of Juno, conceived by means of the virtue of a certain plant ; and was worshipped as the God of War. At Rome he was honored as the progenitor of Romulus, the founder of the city, of which he was held to be the protector; and it was to the honor of this divinity that the Latin husbandmen used to offer up a peculiar sacrifice, called sauvetauritia, which, as the derivation of the word implies, con sisted of a pig, a sheep, and a bull.
MA R'SlIA L, a title of honor in many European countries, applied to various dignities and high offices. The deriva tion of the word, and its early use, are extremely uncertain. The title of Mar shal of England is now hereditary in the family of the Dukes of Norfolk. William Fitz-Osborn and Roger de Montgomery are said to have been marshals to Wil liatn the Conqueror. The earl marshal is eighth in rank among the great officers of state in England. Flo has the same jurisdiction over the court of chivalry which was formerly exercised by the con stable and marshal jointly. Marshal of France is the highest. military rank in the French army This officer :appears first in history under the reign of Philip Augustus, as commander-in-chief of the royal armies. The number of marshals was increased by several successive sove reigns: in the reign of Henry IV. the
states of Blois limited it to four, but this restriction was not observed ; and, in the reign of Louis XIV., there were at one period no less than twenty. After the deposition of Louis XVI the dignity of marshal ceased; but was revived by Na poleon, with the title of Marshal of the Empire.
MA ItTE171.0 TOWERS, the name given to the circular buildings of mason ry which were erected along different parts of the British coasts at he com mencement of the present century, in tended as a defence against the meditated invasion of Napoleon. The origin of the name is usually supposed to be derived from a fort its .1Flortella (Myrtle) Bay, Corsica. which, after a determined resist ance, was at last captured by the British in 1794. These towers were Trc‘: led with vaulted roofs, and consisted of two stories—the lower for the reception of stores, the upper, which was shell-proof, for the easement of troops ; and the wall of the building terminated in a parapet, which secured the men in working the pieces of artillery, which, besides, were constructed on moving pivots, so as to be fired in any direction. In most places of England these towers have been dis mantled; those that remain either serve as stations for the coast blockade force, or, like that near Leith, are not employed for any purpose.