A timely and up-to-date account of religion in Roman Britain
See InsideTwo thousand years ago, the Romans sought conquer a remote, almost mythical island at the very edge of the known world – Britain. The expeditions of Julius Caesar in 55 and 54 BC and the Claudian invasion of AD 43 brought with them a pantheon of new classical deities along with a clutch of exotic eastern cults, including Christianity. But what of Britannia and her own homegrown deities? What cults and cosmologies did the Romans encounter, and how did they react to them?
Miranda Aldhouse-Green balances literary, archaeological and iconographic evidence to illuminate the two-way traffic of cultural exchange and interplay between imported and indigenous cults in Roman Britian. Despite the remoteness of this period, many of the forces, tensions, ideologies and issues of identity at work are still relevant today.
'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
Format: Paperback
Size: 19.8 x 12.9 cm
Extent: 256 pp
Illustrations: 125
Publication date: 6 July 2023
ISBN: 9780500297261