in Roman Mythology, the goddess of war, and the companion of Mars. Some, however, describe her as his sister or his wife. She is commonly represented in an attitude expressive of fury and distraction, with her hair composed of snakes clotted with gore, and her garments stained with blood; sometimes she is depicted driving the chariot of Mars, with a bloody whip in her hand, sometimes with a lighted torch or brand, and a trumpet. Bellona had a temple at Rome near the Circus Flaminius. Her priests, called Bellonarii, used to mangle their bodies with knives in order to pacify the deity, offering their own blood in sacrifice.