GLOSSARY
Comprising people, places, and things referenced in the first five novels of the John Carter of Mars series: A Princess of Mars, The Gods of Mars, The Warlord of Mars, Thuvia, Maid of Mars, and The Chessmen of Mars.
PEOPLE and TITLES
A-Kor: Prince of Manator; son of O-Tar and Haja of Gathol; dwar of the Towers of Jetan and later Jeddak.
A-Sor: Tasor’s name in Manator.
Astok: Prince of Dusar.
Bar Comas: Jeddak of Warhoon.
Black Pirates: The First Born of Barsoom. They are more than six-feet tall with handsome features and dark, ebony skin.
Carthoris: John Carter’s son by Dejah Thoris; Prince of Helium.
Dak Kova: A Warhoon Jed who later becomes Jeddak.
Dator: Title bestowed on a Black Pirate prince or chief.
Dejah Thoris: Daughter of Mors Kajak; Princess of Helium; wife of John Carter; mother of Carthoris and Tara of Helium.
Djor Kantos: Son of Kantos Kan; padwar in the Fifth Utan.
Dotar Sojat: John Carter’s Tharkish name, from the names of the first two warriors he killed. (See John Carter.)
Dwar: Captain.
E-Med: A Manator warrior who becomes dwar of the Towers of Jetan after A-Kor.
E-Thas: Major-domo of the palace of Manator.
Father of Therns: Title of the High Priest and ruler of the Therns; also known as Hekkador.
First Born: The Black Pirates.
Floran: A Gatholian warrior enslaved in Manator.
Gahan: Jed of Gathol; Husband of Tara of Helium.
Ghek: A kaldane; the third foreman of the fields of Luud.
Gozava: Wife of Tars Tarkas who was killed by order of Tal Hajus.
Green Men (Martians): Six-limbed, fifteen-foot tall nomads. Enemy to all other Martian races.
Gur Tus: An officer in the Helium navy; dwar of the Tenth Utan.
Haja: Princess of Gathol who was enslaved in Manator; mother of A-Kor.
Hal Vas: Son of Vas Kor the Dusarian noble.
Hekkador: Title of the High Priest and king of Therns. (See Father of Therns.)
Holy Therns: Members of the primary religious cult of Barsoom.
Hortan Gur: Jeddak of Torquas.
Hor Vastus: A padwar in the Helium navy.
I-Gos: A taxidermist in Manator.
I-Mal: Dead chief of Manator.
I-Zav: A warrior of Manator
Issus: Goddess of Life Eternal and Death. Her temple is on the banks of the Lost Sea of Korus.
James K. Powell: John Carter’s companion while prospecting in Arizona. Killed by Apache Indians.
Jav: A Lotharian.
Jed: Prince or king.
Jeddak: Emperor.
Jeddara: Empress.
John Carter: A human from post-Civil War U.S. who is transported to Mars where he becomes Prince of Helium, Warlord of Mars, and eventually, Jeddak of Jeddaks.
John A. Shea: Edgar Rice Burroughs’s secretary.
Kab Kadja: Jeddak of the Warhoons of the South.
Kadar: Guard.
Kaldanes: Beings that resemble human heads with six spiderlike legs and two stout chelae that grow in front of the legs.
Kantos Kan: An officer in the Helium navy.
Kar Komak: Odwar of the bowmen of Lothar.
Kulan Tith: Jeddak of Kaol.
Lakor: A Holy Thern in the guard of Matai Shang.
Lan-O: A slave girl of Manator; Princess of Gathol.
Larok: A warrior of Dusar.
Lorquas Ptomel: A Jed among the Tharks.
Luud: A Kaldanes community.
Matai Shang: The Father of Therns.
Moak: A Kaldanes community.
Mors Kajak: Crown Prince of Helium, Jed of Lesser Helium, and father of Dejah Thoris.
Ninth Cycle: A Thern that’s one rank below the Holy Therns.
Nolach: A Kaldanes community; also a Kaldanes leader.
Notan: The Royal Psychologist of Zodanga.
Nutus: The Jeddak of Dusar.
Odwar: A commander or general.
Olvia Marthis: Daughter of the Jed of Hastor.
O-Mai the Cruel: Jeddak of Manator 5,000 years ago.
O-Tar: Jeddak of Manator.
O-Zar: A warrior from Manataj.
Padwar: Lieutenant.
Panthan: A soldier of fortune.
Parthak: A Zodangan who brought food to John Carter in the pits of Zat Arras.
Phaidor: Daughter of Matai Shang.
Plant Men: A manlike race that inhabits the Valley of Dor. They are around twelve feet tall with arms resembling elephant trunks, a single eye, a long tail, hairless bodies, and thick black hair (that writhes) on their heads.
Ptor: Family name of three Zodangan brothers.
Red Men: The dominant, human-like race on Mars. Their skin is reddish copper.
Sab Than: Prince of Zodanga.
Salensus Oll: Jeddak of Okar.
San Tothis: An officer of Gathol.
Saran Tal: Carthoris’s major-domo.
Sarkoja: An older Thark woman who was one of Tars Tarkas’s attendants.
Sator Throg: A Holy Thern of the Tenth Cycle.
Sept: A Kaldane of Luud.
Sola: Daughter of Tars Tarkas.
Solan: A master swordsman and operator of the great magnet in Kadabra.
Sorav: Commander of Salensus Oll’s palace force.
Sovan: Prince of the Ptarth navy.
Tal Hajus: Jeddak of Thark; killed by Tars Tarkas.
Talu: Rebel prince of Marentina and nephew of Salensus Oll; Jeddak of Okar; later Jeddak of Jeddaks of the North.
Tan Gama: A Warhoon warrior.
Tanus: Warrior of Gathol.
Tara of Helium: Daughter of John Carter and Dejah Thoris; wife of Gahan.
Tardos Mors: Jeddak of Helium; grandfather of Dejah Thoris.
Tario: Jeddak of Lothar.
Tars Tarkas: A Thark warrior; later Jeddak of Thark.
Tasor: A noble of Gathol, known as A-Sor in Manator.
Tenth Cycle: A rank among the Holy Therns.
Thabis: Issus’s chief.
Than Kosis: Jeddak of Zodanga.
Thar Ban: A Jed among the hordes of Torquas.
Tharks: The green men of Thark.
Therns: The remnant of the white race at the South Pole. They are priests who are bald from birth and wear auburn wigs.
Thorian: Chief of the lesser Therns.
Thurds: Green men; enemies to Torquas.
Thurid: A Black Pirate dator.
Thuvan Dihn: Jeddak of Ptarth; father of Thuvia.
Thuvia: Princess of Ptarth; daughter of Thuvan Dihn; wife of Carthoris.
Torith: An officer among the Black Pirates; guard at the submarine pool in Omean.
Torkar Bar: Dwar of the Kaolian Road.
Turan: Gahan’s alias.
Turjun: Carthoris of Helium’s alias.
U-Dor: Dwar of the 8th Utan of O-Tar, Jeddak of Manator.
U-Kal: Gahan’s alias in Manator.
Uncle Ben: The author’s African-American servant; also known as Old Ben.
Uthia: Tara of Helium’s slave girl.
U-Thor: Jed of Manatos.
U-Van: Warrior of Manator.
Val Dor: Warrior of Helium; enslaved in Manator.
Vas Kor: A noble of Dusar.
Warhoon: The green men in the southern hemisphere.
Xodar: A dator among the Black Pirates; later Jeddak of the First Born of the Valley of Dor.
Yersted: Commander of the Black Pirates’ submarine.
Zad: A Thark warrior.
Zat Arras: Jed of Zodanga.
Zithad: A Black pirate; dator of the Guards of Issus.
PLACES
Aaanthor: A dead city of ancient Mars.
Atmosphere Plant: A huge building that is the source of the artificial atmosphere of Mars.
Avenue of Ancestors: A street in Helium that leads from the Gate of Jeddaks to the Temple of Reward.
Avenue of Gates: The street that circles Manator just inside the outer wall.
Avenue of Quays: A street in Aaanthor.
Barsoom: Mars.
Carrion Caves: A series of caverns connecting the cities of the north pole with the outside world.
Cluros (Deimos): The further moon.
Dusar: Martian kingdom of red men.
Fields of Jetan: A court in Manator that’s laid out like a Jetan board.
Forbidden Land: The name by which Okar once was known to the outside world.
Garden of the Jeddaks: A garden in the inner courtyard of the Palace of Kadabra.
Gate of Enemies: A gate in Manator.
Gate of Jeddaks: A gate in Helium.
Gathol: The nation of red men. Known for its ancient and seemingly inexhaustible diamond mines.
Golden Cliffs: The cliffs surrounding the Valley of Dor. The caves of the Therns are found here.
Golden Temple of Issus: The shrine and palace of Issus; on the shore of the Lost Sea of Korus in the Land of the First Born.
Greater Helium: Capital of the Empire of Helium.
Guardian of the North: The great magnet of Kadabra, located at the north magnetic pole.
Hall of Chiefs: The great hall in Manator.
Hastor: A city of the empire of Helium, far to the southwest of Greater Helium.
Helium: The empire of red men in the southeastern quadrant.
Holy Land: Name given by the Black Pirates to their subterranean domain on the shores of Omean.
Horz: An ancient deserted city; where Barsoomian culture first blossomed.
Hotel Raleigh: A hotel in Richmond, Virginia, where the author met with John Carter upon Carter’s second return to Earth.
Illall: A city in Okar.
Iss: The River of Death.
Kadabra: The capital city of Okar.
Kaol: A city and empire of red men that lies along the equator almost halfway around the planet from Helium.
Korad: An ancient, dead city.
Korus: The lost sea in the Valley of Dor. On the shore stands the Golden Temple of Issus.
Lesser Helium: The second city of Helium, situated about seventy-five miles from Greater Helium.
Lothar: The forgotten city; inhabited by a race of auburn-haired, fair- skinned people.
Manataj: The farthest city of Manator.
Manator: The city of red men.
Manatos: Second city of Manator.
Marentina: A city in Okar.
Mountains of Torquas: Mountain range that guards the borders to Torquas.
Okar: Land of the yellow men.
Omean: The buried sea—harbor of the Black Pirates.
Otz Mountains: These surround the inner Valley of Dor and the Lost Sea of Korus.
Otz Valley: Lies in a mighty depression at the south pole, sunk hundreds of feet below the level of the surrounding country.
Pit of Plenty: A torture chamber near the center of the palace in Kadabra.
Polodona: Martian equator.
Ptarth: A kingdom of red men, one of the three major powers of the eastern hemisphere.
Shador: The prison isle in the sea of Omean.
Temple of Beauty: Art gallery in Greater Helium.
Temple of Reward: A giant domed coliseum that acts as the supreme courtroom of Helium.
Thark: The ancient city and empire of the green men.
Throxus (also Throxeus): Mightiest of the five Martian oceans.
Thuria: The nearer of the two moons of Barsoom (Phobos).
Thurian Tower: One of the Towers of Jetan.
Torquas: City of the green men.
Towers of Jetan: Prison buildings in Manator.
Twin Cities: Greater and Lesser Helium.
Valley of Dor: A valley located near the south pole; the Martian heaven.
Valley of Lost Souls: A section of the Otz Valley, around the canyon of the Iss, inhabited by those who turned aside at the last minute from their pilgrimage to the Valley of Dor and cannot return to the outside world.
Warhoon: An ancient city of green men.
Zodanga: The city and empire of red men, 1,900 miles east of Helium.
FLORA and FAUNA
Apt: A huge Arctic monster with six limbs, head and mouth similar to a hippopotamus, and two huge eyes with thousands of ocelli (facets) each.
Banth: A fierce lion-like creature that roams the low hills surrounding the dead seas. It has ten legs and several rows of fangs in its enormous jaws. It is hairless, except for a mane around its neck.
Calot: A dog-like creature about the size of a small pony. It has ten short legs and a frog-like head. Its jaws have three rows of long tusks. It is the fastest animal on Barsoom.
Calot Tree: This carnivorous plant is about the size of a large sagebrush. Each branch ends in a set of strong jaws, which have been known to drag down and devour large beasts.
Corphals: Legendary evil spirits that could allegedly enter the bodies of criminals and gain mastery over them.
Darseen: A chameleon-like creature.
Komal: The Lotharian banth-god.
Man-Flower: A plant whose blooms have eyes and hands with which to see and seize the insects that form its diet.
Orluk: A huge arctic beast that’s hunted for its black-and-yellow striped pelt.
Pimalia: A gorgeous flowering plant.
Rykor: The headless bodies used by the Kaldanes.
Silian: A slimy aquatic reptile inhabiting the lost sea of Korus.
Sith: A six-legged, hornet-like beast about the size of a bull. It has dangerous jaws and a mighty, poisoned stinger. The eyes cover three fourths of the head, permitting the creature to see in all directions at once.
Sompus: A kind of tree.
Sorak: A small, six-legged animal about the size of a hand. It’s kept as a house pet by the red men.
Sorapus: A hardwood tree that bears large nuts, about a foot in diameter.
Thoat: A green-man mount, ten feet high at the shoulder, with four legs on either side and a broad, flat tail.
Ulsio: Martian rat with many legs; comparable in size to a large Airedale terrier.
Usa: Fruit tree that bears tasteless fruit.
White Apes: A manlike creature that’s ten to fifteen feet tall with an intermediary set of arms or legs midway between its upper and lower limbs. It is white and hairless except for an enormous shock of bristly hair on the head.
Woola: John Carter’s calot.
Zitidar: A heavy draught animal that produces a low gutteral grunt.
OTHER BARSOOMIAN TERMS
Ad: Unit of measurement equal to 11.694 inches.
Destination Control Compass: A mechanical steering device that keeps a flier pointed toward a set of coordinates (aka Controlling Destination Compass).
Eighth Ray: The ray of propulsion. It is an inherent property of all light.
Ersite: A Martian building stone.
Flier: What John Carter calls any small Barsoomian aircraft.
Great Games: Contests in which men fight until the death. The survivor of each battle fights new contestants until ultimately, only one survivor is left.
Ground Flier: A vehicle with wide tires. It is filled with the Eight Ray, giving it just enough buoyancy to give traction for steering. Used only on the streets in the cities of Okar.
Haad: Unit of measurement equal to 2,000 ads.
Jetan: Martian game that’s similar to chess; played on a board with 100 alternating black and orange squares.
Kalksus: Cruiser; transport commanded by Vas Kor.
Kaor: A Martian greeting.
Karad: Unit of measurement equal to 100 haads.
Ninth Ray: Ray used in manufacturing the artificial atmosphere of Barsoom.
Radium Bulb: Glass bowl filled with radium powder, which gives a clear light that lasts nearly indefinitely. The major means of artificial lighting on Barsoom.
Sak: Martian word for “jump.”
Sofad: Unit of measurement equal to 1/10 of an ad.
Tal: A unit of time. 1/200 of a xat, or a little less than one second.
Utan: A military unit of 100 men, commanded by a dwar.
Vanator: Gahan’s cruiser.
Xat: A Martian unit of time, equal to 1/50 of a zode, or about three minutes.
Xavarian: A Helium battleship.
Zode: A Martian unit of time, equal to 1/10 of a day, or about two hours and twenty-eight minutes.