When flattering a lady, Lucas says that he does not want to provoke the anger of "'...great Jove...'" (p. 112) or of any other god. This reminds us that a literary pantheon can differ from the official pantheon, e.g.:
see the role of the Olympians in the Lusiads;
Lucretius opens De Rerum Natura by invoking Venus, then argues that gods do not intervene in human affairs!;
there are probably other examples but these will suffice.
Lucas places himself in a long and illustrious literary tradition. Poul Anderson's works connect with everything else.
3 comments:
Kaor, Paul!
Anderson also made use of opposing views, as with that educated Roman in THE GOLDEN SLAVE who dismissed the Olympians as "those children."
Ad astra! Sean
In fact, most Romans were notoriously superstitious.
Kaor, Mr. Stirling!
Hence their addiction to divination, auguries, or seeking for omens.
Ad astra! Sean
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