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 9.69 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
Steven Paul Turner worked as a history instructor in Tokyo for many years, after which he completed a PhD at Lampeter in archaeology, history, and anthropology. It was that thesis which formed the basis for this book. He previously worked in publishing and the health service in an IT role, and so is interested in research that requires a multidisciplinary approach. He spends his spare time painting miniature historical armies and researching family trees.
- 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
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Other Titles in this Series
Roman Military Tribunes (First Century BC to Third Century AD): A Historical and Prosopographical Study. Volume I
Prosopographical Catalogue, Part 1: Roman Military Tribunes (tribuni militum in exercitu) and in the Garrison of the Roman Capital (tribuni militum in praetorio)
Late Roman Dorset Black-Burnished Ware (BB1)
A Corpus of Forms and Their Distribution in Southern Britain, on the Continent and in the Channel Islands
Ländliche Siedlungsstrukturen im römischen Spanien
Das Becken von Vera und das Camp de Tarragona –zwei Mikroregionen im Vergleich
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
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
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