Once Mars was returning from a victorious battle in Etruria when a great hunger overtook him. Seeing a flock, the son of Jove began eating the sheep. Their shepherd, Perioche, overcome by the sight of the blood-covered god, went to King Tarquin the Flamboyant, who advised him to pray for intervention. Some say that the king advised that votives be offered to Ceres, who, with the ancient procedures having been satisfied, caused an almond tree to spring up by which Mars’s hunger might be sated. From this came the term bread of Mars, or Martis panis. But most hold that the shepherd prayed to Pan, who transformed the sheep into almonds, which were referred to as the almonds of Pan for Mars, or Marti Panis. In accordance with this, the people of Rome prepare, shape, and consume marzipan.
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Today’s word: Marzapane