Question: Do you guys treat the Aeneid as mythological 'canon' in your games? Or do you put it as a story the mortals came up with after the gods left?
The Aeneid is one of the most entertaining epics of classical myth; it's definitely and definingly Roman, of course, but that doesn't make it any less an awesome story of gods, demigods and heroes rolling around the world, changing it with their badassness. As a direct sequel to the Iliad and Odyssey, it continues the grand tradition of classical mythology's stories, and we see no reason not to include it in the myths available to Scion. Sure, Virgil wrote it later, and he probably did so with certain goals in mind - but that's almost certainly true of Homer as well, and we don't bat an eye at using him as source material. We just know less about him.
Basically, the Aeneid is awesome and we don't see any reason not to include it in Scion; it's full of grand deeds, epic prophecies and divine misbehavior, and we like there to be more awesome stories about gods doing things, not fewer. If you're going to consider that the Dodekatheon and the major gods of Rome are the same figures (and, with a few exceptions, it's almost inevitable that you should), then Roman myths of their exploits must be considered just as valid for source material as Greek ones; the fact that the Greeks didn't mention Hera's crusade to blow up Aeneas and everything he loves doesn't make it any less of a compelling myth, and we know that Roman worship of those gods was widespread and strong for centuries after the rise of the Empire. (Plus, if you booted the Aeneid, you'd lose out on all the awesomely politically contentious possibilities between the Dodekatheon and Elohim when Aeneas starts getting all up in Carthage's business!)
All mythology comes down to us from mortal chroniclers who wrote down the stories of their people; some did it as historians, others as storytellers, still others as court poets or prophets. It's impossible to know where they might have added embellishments or changed events, and attempting to classify one writer of myths as more legitimate than another is rarely a worthwhile endeavor. This does mean that every game's Storyteller has to make choices about which versions of conflicting myths to use, but that's always going to be the case, no matter which mythology or sources you're using; no pantheon is clear-cut and agreed on across the board by all sources.
You can certainly leave the Aeneid by the wayside in your games dealing with the Greco-Roman gods if you want to, but we would never recommend it. There's too much excellent material in it to lose just because we happen to know more of Virgil's biography than we do of Homer's; the epic stories of history and myth are Scion's basis, and we never want to throw some of them away without a really excellent reason.
and considering even the core books make Aeneas a birthright guide to Adonis Rhodes doesn't hurt it's case to be used as source material.
ReplyDeleteAnd when Aphrodite's only got one true-blue famous Scion, we certainly don't want to sell him short!
DeleteOn a mostly unrelated topic, inspired by the title of the post, any idea what Pantheon the Trojans themselves would have worshipped and had Scions of on their side of the War?
ReplyDeleteDifficult to say, considering Troy's semi-mythic status. Certainly they had some Greek Scions on their side, Aeneas being the most notable, so the gods of the Dodekatheon were obviously involved over there, and that portion of Turkey was heavily Hellenized; but at the same time, they're presented as Officially Not Greek, so considering them just another land under Greek dominion doesn't quite jibe. Besides, it's more interesting (and makes more sense!) if the Greek gods chose a "neutral" land that none of them were in charge of to go make the staging ground for the war none of them were supposed to be messing around in but totally were anyway.
DeleteGeographically, Troy (or at least the places that most people now agree were most likely to have been the historic Troy) was located in Turkey, which means that if you don't consider it a territory of the Greek gods, it would belong to their crochety neighbors the Hittites. The time period fits, too, as the Trojan war would theoretically have been happening about a century or two after the height of the Hittite empire, when they were still a major world power but also on the way out. Some scholars even believe Paris (aka Alexandros) to be the same figure as the king Alaksandu, who was basically the leader of a fragmented kingdom that had split off from the Hittite Empire and was trying to oppose it (though other scholars think that connection's pretty specious, so take it with a grain of salt).
So obviously this is the time for me and anyone who shares my obsession with Hannahannah and Teshub to rejoice.