God Mars In Book Six Of The Aeneid

As legend has it, the precursor to the Roman state was initially founded by exiled Trojans, fleeing the Greeks after the destruction of Troy. As time passed and the Roman nation grew, aspects of daily life and other areas of the state begun to take on an original and distinct nature, specific to the Romans. However, there were aspects of the Roman life and way of living that are noticeably Trojan in origin or rather influenced by Trojan customs. Specifically, in the ways in which Romans depended on their gods to guide and bless their efforts in important undertakings, the ways in which valor was perceived by both groups of people, and the ways in which warfare was approached and conducted. While perusing the readings that form the basis of

We can see an example in this by reference to the god Mars in Book Six of the Aeneid (777-807) and the same reference by Livy in the History of Rome (1.4). The similarity in the function and names of the Roman and Trojan deities actually display the Grecian influence into the religion in this particular geographical area. Another aspect in which the Trojans and Roman were similar was in the way that they sought the council and approval of their gods. It seems that the seeing of the will of the gods was an important step in embarking on any type of important undertaking. We see this in the sacrifices that the Trojans made before bringing the Trojan Horse inside their walls (Aeneid BK II, 195-227) and with the Romans, in Romulus and Remus waiting to name their new city until an augury was received by one of them from the gods (Livey,

Aeneas tells the readers in Book Two of the Aeneid of his part in the defense of Troy, as it was being destroyed by the Greeks "…my spirit burns to gather men for battle and race to the citadel with my friends: madness and anger hurl my mind headlong, and I think it beautiful to die fighting (298-354)." On the Romans side, we see an appreciation for this same type of valor and admiration for a man who was a mighty warrior. In the fact, Tullus Hostilius was appointed king by the people and approved by the Senate on the basis of his fighting skill (Livey, 1.22). We see the immortalization of great fighting men throughout Roman history and we can see that this characteristic of Roman thinking did originate with the Romans but was a characteristic of their father civilization from Troy. The Romans even decided the fate of their empire by the single combat of three of their most brave and able soldiers (Livy, 1.25) and we see Aeneas make sure to explain to his readers that he did not desert Troy from fear of conflict, but by the will of the gods (Aeneid BK II, 624-670). These instances show just how important that skill-at-arms and the warrior spirit were in both ancient