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Behind the Aegis

(54,898 posts)
Wed Nov 2, 2022, 11:29 PM Nov 2022

Why The God Of War Is Reviled In Greek Mythology But Beloved In Rome

Sometimes Greco-Roman myth can be a bit confusing. Why, for instance, do we lump Greece and Rome together? Why do many -- but not all -- gods have two names? And why are all the gods so awful and cruel? The answers to these questions shed light on the differences between ancient Greece and Rome.


First off, ancient Greece wasn't anything remotely resembling a unified country. It was a bunch of city-states -- Athens and Sparta prominent among them -- which lasted in power across the Aegean and Mediterranean Seas from about 700 to 323 B.C.E., per History. Athens represented the region's cultural highwater mark through the fifth century B.C.E., shortly after the Roman Republic was born in 509 B.C.E., per Live Science. Rome rose as Greece dwindled, and the Roman Republic adopted elements of Greek culture as it conquered its way up the Italic peninsula.

Rome didn't have too many of its own native gods, aside from the twin-faced Janus described on The Conversation. So, Rome straight-up copy-pasted Greek myth; hence the "Greco-Roman" moniker. Most of the gods' names got changed to suit the Latin language, like Zeus to Jupiter, except for certain linguistically-friendly names like Apollo. Greece was also an agrarian society where the gods represented the hardships of daily, human life, as The New York Times outlines. But to the hyper-militant Romans, the Greeks were a bit frilly, even effeminate, per "Jesus and Other Men: Ideal Masculinities in the Synoptic Gospels" (posted at Brill). Hence the shift of certain gods in prominence and role, like Ares, aka Mars.

Let's be clear: ancient Greece was not exactly a docile, antiwar place. Even Athens, wellspring of drama, art, philosophy, and democracy, wasn't full of blubber-faces traipsing about in togas. Athenians drank a lot, argued more, and were constantly at war with their neighbors, as The Atlantic describes. One of those neighbors was Sparta, whose soldiers you might remember from that very ab-laden, loud, 2007 film "300." Sparta's entire society was a state-controlled military monolith where boys were chucked into military service at age 7, required to live in barracks until 30, and stayed a soldier until 60, as History explains. They could do nothing else with their lives.

more...

I have always loved Greek mythology. I have the Greek Pantheon throughout my house. I have statues of Athena in almost every room. It was always interesting to see the similarities, but also, the massive differences in the Greek-Roman divide.

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Why The God Of War Is Reviled In Greek Mythology But Beloved In Rome (Original Post) Behind the Aegis Nov 2022 OP
Note also how differently each people regarded and/or interacted with their pantheon... TygrBright Nov 2022 #1
...why are all the gods so awful and cruel? Mr. Evil Nov 2022 #2
far from "dwindling" in the 5th century bc ..... rampartc Nov 2022 #3
Great stuff, DUers. Thanks! Timeflyer Nov 2022 #4
As a half 2nd Gen Greek-American - this was very interesting. electric_blue68 Dec 2022 #5

TygrBright

(20,987 posts)
1. Note also how differently each people regarded and/or interacted with their pantheon...
Thu Nov 3, 2022, 12:15 AM
Nov 2022

The Greeks, philosophers, regarded the gods as rather dangerous, unpredictable, sometimes-quixotic and sometimes-malicious forces that could upend human lives on a whim. They sacrificed and worshiped in a spirit of propitiation and/or prophylaxis, to hopefully invite helpful divine interventions and/or ward off the most childishly malicious actions - but they always acknowledged it was essentially a crapshoot, as the gods would do what the gods would do for their own divine reasons. They allowed the gods a role in delivering retribution for human evil, folly, etc., but also acknowledged the inherent unreliability of divine justice.

Romans, jurists, ascribed logical, transactional motivations to their gods. They believed the gods had, essentially, a contract with Rome, and as long as Rome did her part in carrying out divine instructions (as revealed by aediles and priests) the gods would deliver victory, prosperity, etc. Even the minor household gods operated on this transactional model. Sacrifice to the Lares, and your children would make worthy marriages, your name be respected, etc. Propitiate the Penates, and your supply of olive oil would never run low. If something did go wrong, it wasn't the capriciousness of the gods but some failing on your part or just possibly the intervention of an unpropitiated god with superior powers.

Even in the developments of early Christianity it is possible to trace the differing influences of Hellenistic thought versus Roman practice, culminating in Constantine's deal with Sylvester I and the Council of Nicaea.

interestedly,
Bright

Mr. Evil

(2,995 posts)
2. ...why are all the gods so awful and cruel?
Thu Nov 3, 2022, 02:38 AM
Nov 2022

Simple answer: because all the people that created them were awful and cruel.

rampartc

(5,835 posts)
3. far from "dwindling" in the 5th century bc .....
Thu Nov 3, 2022, 03:34 AM
Nov 2022

alexander conquered the known world in the 4th century, with his generals ruling hellenistic kingdoms until egypt's ptolemaic queen met caesar and (according to shakespeare) "rolled out the red carpet."

the patricians of rome were taught by greeks and the romans ruled what, in many ways, is still a hellenistic world.

a modern poetic version of greek mythology ls colosso's "the marriage of cadmus and harmony. " i recommend highly as tying the mythology together with beautiful language.

https://writersrebel.com/the-marriage-of-cadmus-and-harmony-roberto-calasso/#:~:text=The%20marriage%20of%20Cadmus%20and%20Harmony%20was%20the,form%20the%20timeless%20tales%20of%20ancient%20Greek%20mythology.

Timeflyer

(2,685 posts)
4. Great stuff, DUers. Thanks!
Thu Nov 3, 2022, 09:04 AM
Nov 2022

It helps to remember that humans have always been...and will continue to be, damnit.

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