Roman Gods

Roman Gods

Rome have always captured the minds and imaginations of archaeologists, historians, writers, poets, actors etc. However, the deities of Celtic Britain have often been overlooked since there is less information regarding them. It is my aim to look, discuss and evaluate the archaeological remains from temples, shrines and other artefacts, of native Celtic deities in order to understand more about how, when and why they were worshipped. Once the Romans invaded and conquered Britannia, it can be somewhat difficult to find evidence of the native Celtic deities before the Roman occupation within the archaeological record. The Celtic British had an oral traditional, in which stories, legends and myths were told instead of written down. In fact, because of this, there is little evidence to find. We only become aware of these deities due to the Roman soldiers making dedications and having inscriptions copied onto them. Because of this, some deities were intertwined or associated with gods and goddesses from all around the Roman Empire.

The first Celtic deity that I wish to look at are the Genii Cucullati, otherwise known as the Hooded Spirits, since they are usually depicted as three figures (sometimes unclear to whether these figures are male or female) wearing hooded cloaks. Throughout Britain, stone reliefs have depicted these figures who are believed to be lesser deities of fertility and the afterlife. Excavations in 1989 at the town of Sandy in Bedfordshire in the UK, revealed a large stone relief depicting, what could be, the Genii Cucullati “even though they are dressed in everyday clothes” (Appleton & Dawson, p.306). We can identify that these figures are of divine origin, since Roman art often portrays female figures with billowing veils (Appleton & Dawson, p. 305). Although this relief can be seen as Roman in origin, we can clearly see native characteristics through the large oval face and the large rounded eyes.The next deity that is of significance is the god Cocidius. Cocidius was the Celtic god who was associated by the Romans with Mars, the Roman god of war, and Sylvanus, the god of hunting, groves and wild fields. It could be argued that Cocidius was only worshipped in northern Britain since archaeological evidence has only yielded information regarding this deity in that region.