De Penates and their relation to Roman mythology

by Ok_Complaint_7581

In the Aeneid Juno says: "gens inimica mihi Tyrrhenum navigat aequor, Ilium in Italiam portans victosque Penates" which got me wondering about the Pentates relation with Roman mythos in general. Did some gods have a disdain for them? Were they seen as heretical?

XenophonTheAthenian

Uh no, it looks like you've misinterpreted the passage. The Penates were a feature of Roman households, and one of the elements of Roman religion that the Romans themselves upheld as a distinctly unique Roman (or at least Latin) phenomenon. In the Aeneid they represent the Roman future of the Trojans under Aeneas, the failure of the Greeks even with the help of Juno and others to wipe out the Trojan identity, and the dutifulness of Aeneas and his family. Juno's expressing frustration that the Trojans, despite being defeated (victos is a transferred epithet), are not only going to survive in Italy, but are maintaining their Trojan identity.