Access Denied
IMPORTANT! If you’re a store owner, please make sure you have Customer accounts enabled in your Store Admin, as you have customer based locks set up with EasyLockdown app. Enable Customer Accounts
Sacred Britannia
The Gods & Rituals of Roman Britain
- Regular price
- $32.99
- Sale price
- $32.99
- Regular price
-
- Unit price
- / per
A timely and up-to-date account of religion in Roman Britain
A timely and up-to-date account of religion in Roman Britain.
Two thousand years ago, the Romans sought to absorb into their Empire what they regarded as a remote, almost mythical island on the very edge of the known world - Britain. The expeditions of Julius Caesar and the Claudian invasion of AD 43, and the continuing Roman presence up to the 5th century AD, brought fundamental and lasting changes to the island. Not least among these was the introduction of a new pantheon of Classical deities and religious systems, along with a clutch of exotic Eastern cults including Christianity. But what of Britannia and her own home-grown deities? What cults and cosmologies did the Romans encounter, and how did they react to them? Under Roman rule, the old gods and their adherents were challenged, adopted, adapted, absorbed and reconfigured.
In Britain no inscriptions predate the Roman period, apart from brief coin-legends, and the divine imagery that adorned temples in the Roman world was largely lacking. But with the Romans, religion becomes much more visible. In this fresh and innovative new account Miranda Aldhouse-Green balances literary, archaeological and iconographic evidence (and scrutinizes their shortcomings) to illuminate the complexity of religion and belief in Roman Britain, and the two-way traffic of cultural exchange and interplay between imported and indigenous cults.
Despite the remoteness of this period, on the cusp between prehistory and history, many of the forces, tensions, ideologies and issues of identity at work are still relevant today, as Sacred Britannia skilfully reveals.
Two thousand years ago, the Romans sought to absorb into their Empire what they regarded as a remote, almost mythical island on the very edge of the known world - Britain. The expeditions of Julius Caesar and the Claudian invasion of AD 43, and the continuing Roman presence up to the 5th century AD, brought fundamental and lasting changes to the island. Not least among these was the introduction of a new pantheon of Classical deities and religious systems, along with a clutch of exotic Eastern cults including Christianity. But what of Britannia and her own home-grown deities? What cults and cosmologies did the Romans encounter, and how did they react to them? Under Roman rule, the old gods and their adherents were challenged, adopted, adapted, absorbed and reconfigured.
In Britain no inscriptions predate the Roman period, apart from brief coin-legends, and the divine imagery that adorned temples in the Roman world was largely lacking. But with the Romans, religion becomes much more visible. In this fresh and innovative new account Miranda Aldhouse-Green balances literary, archaeological and iconographic evidence (and scrutinizes their shortcomings) to illuminate the complexity of religion and belief in Roman Britain, and the two-way traffic of cultural exchange and interplay between imported and indigenous cults.
Despite the remoteness of this period, on the cusp between prehistory and history, many of the forces, tensions, ideologies and issues of identity at work are still relevant today, as Sacred Britannia skilfully reveals.
Extent: 256 pp
Format: Paperback
Illustrations: 125 illustrations, 20 in full colour
Publication date: 2023-09-06
Size: 19.7 x 12.8 cm
ISBN: 9780500297261
Praise for Sacred Britannia
A treasure-house of learning and a pleasure to read
History Today
Lively and engaging as ever, Miranda Aldhouse-Green provides a completely fresh picture of the variety of religious life in Roman Britain ... this welcome book has a strong contemporary resonance in its challenging insights about cultural identity and religious diversity
Rowan Williams
Rarely has a book about the ancient world felt as relevant to our present times
Current Archaeology
A very good overview of religion in the province of Britain
Archaeological Journal
About the Authors
Miranda Aldhouse-Green is Emeritus Professor in the Department of Archaeology at Cardiff University. She is the author of numerous books, including Exploring the World of the Druids, The Quest for the Shaman, The Celtic Myths and Bog Bodies Uncovered, which won the Society for American Archaeology's Popular Book Award in 2016 and the Archaeological Institute of America's Felicia A. Holton Book Award in 2017.
You May Also Like
View more
This product currently has no recommended items.
Sign up to our Newsletter
Our weekly newsletter is a curated collection of interviews, articles, stunning images and books we think you’ll love. Sign up to get 20% off.
In accordance with our privacy policy, you may unsubscribe at any time.
Invalid password
Enter
- Choosing a selection results in a full page refresh.