Myths on the Edge of Empire: How Classical Mythology Spread throughout Roman Britain
By (author) Steven Paul Turner
Paperback (Published)
(November 2025)
ISBN: 9781805831433
6.85 x 9.65 inches
Price: $63.00
In stock
Myths on the Edge of Empire explores how classical mythology spread across Roman Britain, analyzing key deities, artefacts, and cultural contexts. Through case studies and thematic chapters, it reveals patterns of myth use and transmission at the empire’s edge.
Myths on the Edge of Empire presents the findings of an extensive investigation into how classical mythology spread across Roman Britain, revealing which characters and deities were the most prevalent, in which contexts, and within which physical media. The reader is initially guided through a series of case studies that use individual mythical entities (Minerva, Mars, Medusa, Hercules, Mercury, and Cupid) to introduce key concepts and observations, as well as drawing attention to the pitfalls of the terminology often employed in explaining complex cultural interchanges. Building upon these findings, more complex patterns are then discussed in thematic chapters that focus on military deities, how myths were combined or displayed together, and the extent to which urban environments were fertile ground for their employment, as well as a typological breakdown and discussion of material culture. As a reference, this book presents a series of graphical displays, one per myth, that show quantities of artefacts, locations, find contexts, and prevalence over time. Finally, the book classifies and explains the vectors that were used in the cultural transmission of mythology throughout a province that was at the very edge of the Roman Empire.
Abbreviations
Introduction
Minerva Case Study
Mars Case Study
Medusa Case Study
Hercules Case Study
Mercury Case Study
Cupid Case Study
Martial Mythology
Pantheons
Urban Myths
Myth, Material, Meaning
Routes of Transmission
Conclusion
Appendix 1: Data for Each Myth
Bibliography
,
Abbreviations
Introduction
Minerva Case Study
Mars Case Study
Medusa Case Study
Hercules Case Study
Mercury Case Study
Cupid Case Study
Martial Mythology
Pantheons
Urban Myths
Myth, Material, Meaning
Routes of Transmission
Conclusion
Appendix 1: Data for Each Myth
Bibliography
- By (author) Steven Paul Turner
‘This book explores an important, new aspect of archaeological interpretation that deals with the description and transmission of mythical romanitas… [The book] is likely to present an important milestone in Romano-British studies that will open a door into nuanced interpretations yet to be explored.’ – Miranda Aldhouse-Green (2026), Current Archaeology
—
Other Titles in this Series
Life, Death and Rubbish Disposal in Roman Norton, North Yorkshire
Excavations at Brooklyn House 2015-16
Die Bleifunde der römisch-republikanischen Anlage von Sanisera, Menorca
Archäologische und archäometrische Analyse
Corpus des amphores romaines produites dans les centres de mer Noire
Collections des musées de la côte turque de la mer Noire (Ereğli, Amasra, Sinop, Samsun, Giresun, Ordu, Trabzon et Amasya)
Rus Africum IV: La fattoria Bizantina di Aïn Wassel, Africa Proconsularis (Alto Tell, Tunisia)
Lo scavo stratigrafico e i materiali
Roman Frontier Studies 2009
Proceedings of the XXI International Congress of Roman Frontier Studies (Limes Congress) held at Newcastle upon Tyne in August 2009
The Arverni and Roman Wine
Roman Amphorae from Late Iron Age sites in the Auvergne (Central France): Chronology, fabrics and stamps
La via Aurelia da Roma a Cosa
Biografia di un sistema di comunicazione tra età romana e primo medioevo
Roman Frontier Studies 2009
Proceedings of the XXI International Congress of Roman Frontier Studies (Limes Congress) held at Newcastle upon Tyne in August 2009
Visualising Glocalization
Villas, Architectural Spaces and Pavements in Hispania Baetica (2nd century AD – 4th century AD)
Similar Books
Caesar’s Visions and Impact on the Roman Empire
Revisiting the Archaeological and Historical Record of the 40s BC
Volume 2
Drunk the Potion, No Whit Charmed
The Doctrine of Pure and Perfect Souls from Iamblichus to Damascius
Etruscan and Roman Hellenistic Anatomical ex votos
Reassessing Popular Religious Expressions in Central Italy
Volume 8
Invisible Labour in Antiquity
Visualizing Obscure Work in the Ancient Mediterannean and West Asia
Volume 1
Late Antique villae in the Balkans (3rd–7th c. AD): Current Research Questions and Perspectives
HAEMUS Companion to the Late Antique Balkans 1
Volume 4
Nurturing the Elite
Representations of Drinking, Eating, and Religious Vessels in Palmyrene Funerary Iconography
Volume 13
Portraying the Individual in the Roman East
Local–Imperial Entanglements in Sculpture, Mosaics, and Paintings (First–Fourth Centuries AD)
Volume 18
After Life in Roman Paganism. L’Égypte des astrologues. Les Mages hellénisés
Introductions historiographiques
Volume 7
Althochdeutsche Stabreimdichtungen
Hildebrandslied, Muspilli und kleinere Denkmaler. Von Grund auf neu ediert, mit Erschliessungshilfen versehen, ubersetzt und eingeleitet von Frank Schafer
Auf Gedeih und Verderb
Die Pestiziddebatte seit dem Kaiserreich zwischen Hunger, Profit und Massenmord
Credit Default Swap-Aktivismus
Eine ökonomische Analyse und rechtliche Bewertung der Einflussnahme von Credit Default Swap-Investoren auf Unternehmen
Die Konjunkturkomponente des Grundgesetzes
Die konjunkturbedingte Kreditaufnahme im System der Kreditermächtigungen, europarechtlichen und gesamtwirtschaftlichen Verpflichtungen der Finanzverfassung
Die Pfingstbewegung in Deutschland während der Zeit des Nationalsozialismus
Kontinuitäten und Diskontinuitäten von der Weimarer Republik bis zur frühen Bundesrepublik
Kollektivismus und Individualismus im Aktienrecht
Zum Einfluss aktienrechtlicher Paradigmen auf die Rechtsentwicklung in Deutschland und den USA
Mehrdimensionale Diskriminierungen
Rechtliche Erfassung von Intersektionalität und Benachteiligungsstrukturen am Beispiel von Art. 3 Abs. 3 GG
Protestantische Identitäten und evangelische Texte um 1900
Schriften und Biografica der Pfarrer Julius Antonius, Julius Ergenzinger, Alfred Formey, Cornelius Wilkens und Paul von Zimmermann. Unter Mitarbeit von Teresa Emich
Rechtssubjektivität für Künstliche Intelligenz
Eine Untersuchung von Zuerkennungsgründen für die "ePerson"