What are we willing to sacrifice for the rule of Law, for peace? An arm?
Each civilization has both progenitor and protector. In Norse mythology, Tyr, sacrificed his arm to the wolf Fenrir "and with his sacrifice...not only procures the safety of the Gods, he regularizes it; he renders legal that which without him would have been pure fraud." (Georges Duméznil)
For the ancient Germanic peoples, war and law were profoundly related to each other – even indissolubly intertwined. In the words of philologist Jan de Vries,
It should be noted that, from the Germanic point of view, there is no contradiction between the concepts ‘god of War’ and ‘god of Law.’ War is in fact not only the bloody mingling of combat, but no less a decision obtained between the two combatants and secured by precise rules of law. That is why the day and place of battle are frequently fixed in advance… So is explained, also, how combat between two armies can be replaced by a legal duel, in which the gods grant victory to the party whose right they recognize. Words like Schwertding [“the meeting of swords,” a kenning for battle], or Old Norse vápndómr [“judgment of arms”] are not poetic figures, but correspond exactly to ancient practice.[9]
Furthermore, the law could be used to gain victory over an opponent just like war could, which made the legal assembly a metaphorical battle.[10]
In ancient Rome, Mars was both the progenitor of Romulus and Remus, founders of the Eternal City, as well as its protector.