# Victory and Defeat explained — The Gods of Mars

> Chapter companion for The Gods of Mars by Edgar Rice Burroughs.

## What happens

John Carter and his allies storm the temple of Issus, capturing the false goddess and learning that Dejah Thoris, Thuvia, and Phaidor have been condemned to the Temple of the Sun. Despite a desperate race to reach them, the chamber's mechanism cannot be stopped in time, and Carter is forced to hide Dejah Thoris in the pits before rejoining the battle against the First Born.

## Themes in this chapter

### Deception and Manipulation

Issus's long-standing fraud as a goddess is exposed, and her manipulative control over the First Born collapses.

### Love and Sacrifice

John Carter risks everything to save Dejah Thoris, and she urges him to fulfill his duty despite her fear of being alone.

### Religion and Blasphemy

The high priest's call for Issus to strike down the blasphemers highlights the clash between faith and reality as the goddess is proven powerless.

## Character check-ins

### John Carter

Leads the assault on Issus's throne room, captures the goddess, and races to save Dejah Thoris from the Temple of the Sun.

### Carthoris

Guides John Carter to Issus's apartments and participates in the battle within the temple.

### Issus

Captured by John Carter, she reveals the fate of Dejah Thoris and goes mad before being handed over to her vengeful people.

### Dejah Thoris

Imprisoned in the Temple of the Sun, she speaks with John Carter through the bars and is hidden in the pits for safety.

### Thuvia

Present in the Temple of the Sun with Dejah Thoris and Phaidor, she withdraws to give the couple privacy.

### Phaidor

Also imprisoned in the Temple of the Sun, she speaks to John Carter as the chamber revolves.

### Xodar

Leads John Carter to the Temple of the Sun and attempts to find a way to stop its mechanism.

### Kantos Kan

Arrives with a thousand red men to support John Carter in the throne room.

## Key lines

> Issus, Goddess of Death, and of Life Eternal, arise in the might of thy righteous wrath and with one single wave of thy omnipotent hand strike dead thy blasphemers!

The high priest calls upon Issus to use her divine power to destroy those who defy her.

_Highlights the religious fervor and the irony of Issus's impotence._

> Together for a year they will meditate within the Temple of the Sun, but ere the year is quite gone there will be no more food for them. Ho-oh! what divine entertainment, and she licked the froth from her cruel lips.

Issus gleefully describes the slow starvation and potential cannibalism awaiting the prisoners in the Temple of the Sun.

_Reveals the horrific fate planned for Dejah Thoris and the others._

> I cannot bear to be parted from you now, even for a moment, John Carter. I shudder at the thought of being alone again where that terrible creature might discover me.

Dejah Thoris expresses her fear of separation and the trauma of her imprisonment under Issus.

_Shows the emotional toll of captivity on Dejah Thoris._

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_gods_of_mars_se/chapters/xxii-victory-and-defeat
- Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_gods_of_mars_se
- All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_gods_of_mars_se/chapters