First things first: Roman politics! This is every thirty-year-old white man's favorite topic. With the founding of Rome as we know it by the Trojans, there are remnants of Hellenistic politics. For example, Romans hated kings! If you also hate King Charles III, you'd fit right in. In the Aeneid, we have someone in charge of the wayward band of Trojans, Aeneas, but he wasn't a dictator. He was just the guy fated to found Rome and start a bloodline of some pretty famous people. Rome ran with a Senate. There was a big group of people that made the laws and constitution of the Roman Republic. The Romans weren't always pleased with their leadership, though. The triumvirate, or group of three men, was an informal group that somehow manipulated Rome's politics for their gain. The First Triumvirate consisted of Julius Caesar, Pompey the Great, and Crassus and was founded in 59 BCE. Cicero wrote to his friend Atticus that while he was friends with Pompey, he thought Pompey had "ruined his own reputation" (CMSB, p. 58). Even after Caesar's assassination, his laws were still in place, so Cicero called the job "half done" (CMSB, 62). 

And if you subscribe to Roman politics now for more information, we'll even throw in some wartime honor for free! Dying on the battlefield and fighting for your country was considered the best way for a man to go out. Rome was the motherland or the fatherland (which are two different things, surprisingly), and to die for the country in battle against someone you were conquering was ideal. You showed that you were no coward, loved your country, and were willing to die so the country could keep gaining territory. The founding of Rome itself was based on a lot of warfare. In the Aeneid, we see the Trojan War and the Etruscans versus the land's original inhabitants, the Latiums (Latinus, Latins, Latinus's people?). These are some incredibly bloody battles that the survivors share at many turns. Everyone loves a good war story. In book 9 of the Aeneid, we get a break from our regular main characters to witness a tragic love story of two soldiers who are 'friends' dying in the battle that the Etruscans have undertaken against Rutulians. It ends with a small passage about "never shall you be blotted from memory" (Book 9, line 534). 

Romans also had the potential to be a bit dramatic... like Cicero writing that "[he] cannot endure, and accordingly [he is] thinking of wandering away" after hearing praise for Caesar (CMSB, p. 61). Also, the whole "Et tu Brute" thing with Caesar? It's like they knew that history would be obsessed with them. In a summary before his letters, Cicero is referred to as having a "peevish personality," which sounds like a really backhanded insult. However, in his letters, we see his personality and his tendency to lean towards hyperbole. We even see this sort of humanness in the portrayal of the Roman gods in the Aeneid. The range of emotions we see, from sorrow to vengeful fury, seems reminiscent of humans or Romans at the time. Venus is seen as a loving mother, trying to protect her son and her grandson, which is interesting because oftentimes, the gods have so many kids they don't bother keeping up. Juno is called jealous because of the outcome of the Trojan War. In line 347 of Book 7, Juno is referred to as a ferocious wife. In the same book, Juno recognizes that she has immense power, but yet she's still feeling emotions one might say are mortal. She even said, "If I cannot sway Heaven, I will awaken Hell!" you can't say that it is not one of the most dramatic lines you've ever heard (Book 7, line 361, p. 111). She and Cicero need to have a roast battle immediately. 

So yes, the key to being Roman consists of three things: loving some good ol' politics, dying tragically in war and leaving your mother to weep, and being the most petty person possible.