Hey Butterfly! I was wondering ... do you think "Valyrian exceptionalism" was active & always visible amongst the population of Valyria beyond just being "blood of the dragon"? In actual book time we see people look back on Valyria & it's culture in many ways with one similarity: always admiring it's departure from common people, kingdoms & humanity. How deeply do you think Martin was inspired by Rome & even my own United States of America? Most Americans don't even knowingly participate in it.
I don’t think the people of the books always admire Valyria for its departure from common humanity? “In Valyria before the Doom, wise men wrote, a thousand gods were honored, but none were feared, so few dared to speak against [the custom of incest]” is not exactly a sentence with a positive connotation. Nor is “like their dragons the Targaryens answered to neither gods nor men,” again in reference to incest – which is not remotely admired just because the Targaryens did it, but rather something that they got away with because they had dragons (at least to start). Furthermore, the Valyrian practice of slavery is considered deplorable, as is their massacres of the Rhoynar and Ghiscari, not to mention the horrors of Gogossos. Yes, Valyria is admired for its high technology and magic, but there’s always an undertone whispering about the terrible things they did to acquire them, like the child sacrifice practiced by the Qohorik in their attempts to replicate the secrets of Valyrian steel.
The Doom of Valyria was inspired by the legends of Atlantis, and the fall of Rome. Valyria in general bears many parallels to the history of Rome: the wars with Ghis resemble the Punic Wars; the rule of land-owning great noble families with occasionally elected archons resembles the politics of the Roman Republic; the advanced architecture (made with dragon-melted stone rather than Rome’s concrete), the great roads (magical in Valyria’s case), etc.
As for “Valyrian exceptionalism”, certainly the Valyrians believed they were special and chosen – they claimed to be descended from dragons, conquered the western half of the continent, explored still further always looking for resources, etc. And their mastery of dragons, unique at that time, would definitely have helped them in that feeling. But exceptionalism is not at all rare in history, many other countries and societies besides Rome and the U.S. have perceived themselves like that. I very much doubt GRRM was inspired by America for ASOIAF in general (he says he’s mostly borrowed from medieval England and France, and the waves of conquest of Westeros resemble the history of England far more than it does North America), and definitely not at all for Valyria.Hope that helps!
