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Hadrian's Wall

Gods of Hadrian's Wall

The people living along Hadrian's Wall worshipped a bewildering variety of gods. Alongside well-known Roman ones, such as Jupiter and Mars, there were native gods and foreign ones, introduced by soldiers and merchants from other parts of the empire. Romans were always willing to welcome new gods into their religion. They believed that the more gods their empire had to protect it, the stronger it would be.

Jupiter Best and Greatest

The most powerful god was Jupiter Optimus Maximus (Best and Greatest), the sky and thunder god, who was seen as the protector of the whole empire. His sacred bird was the eagle, and it was in honour of Jupiter that Roman soldiers marched into battle following standards topped with gold eagles. These were sacred objects, kept in a shrine in the centre of every fort. Altars to Jupiter also stood in the parade grounds outside the forts of Hadrian's Wall, where the soldiers gathered to worship him. You can see one altar to Jupiter, found at Maryport in Cumbria, here

Emperor Worship

Soldiers also worshipped Roman emperors. Many emperors and members of the imperial family were declared to have become real gods after death, and soldiers also offered prayers and sacrifices to the "genius" (life force) of the living emperor. Yet they did not believe that their emperor was a god in the way that Jupiter was. Emperor worship was really a way of showing loyalty to the Roman state.


British and Roman gods

When the Romans conquered Britain, they adopted the local gods, often identifying them with existing Roman ones. So Mars, Roman god of war, fused with various native war gods, becoming Mars Toutatis, Mars Rigasamus, Mars Alator and Mars Coriaticus. There was also a German version of the god, Mars Thinsicus, worshipped by the soldiers at Housesteads. Purely British gods mentioned on altars from Hadrian's Wall include Beda, Fimmilina, Maponus and Sattada, though nothing but their names is known of them.

Temple to Antenociticus

Bust of Antenociticus
The head of Antenociticus, from the statue found at Benwell
©TopFoto.co.uk
In 1862, archaeologists at Benwell, outside Newcastle, discovered a small temple dedicated to a British god called Antenociticus, who was such a local god that his name appears nowhere else in the whole empire. Three altars were found naming the god, as well as the head, arms and legs from his statue. The soldiers had a very practical attitude to Antenociticus, offering him worship in return for favours. In an inscription on one of the altars, an officer called Tineius Longus thanks Antenociticus for helping him get a promotion.

See the altars to Antenociticus here

Mithras

Temple of Mithras
An artist's impression of an initiation rite inside one of the temples
©Museum of London /HIP/TopFoto.co.uk
Much more popular than Antenociticus was Mithras, originally a Persian god of light. Unlike other Roman gods, Mithras was worshipped exclusively by men. There were several temples, called Mithraea, along the wall, though only one now stands, at Carrawburgh. Mithras was the embodiment of goodness and light, who triumphed over darkness and evil. In myth, he caught and killed a bull in a dark cave, releasing its life-giving blood. Each Mithraeum was a recreation of the sacred cave, and had a sculpture of the bull-killing at one end.

Marble Head of Mithras
This Roman marble head of Mithras can be found in the Museum of London
©TopFoto.co.uk/Woodmansterne
Mithras worship was a "mystery religion", with ceremonies performed in secret, by people who had to be initiated into the faith. Like modern freemasons, Mithras worshippers underwent a series of ritual ordeals, progressing from grade to grade. The names of the Mithraic grades were Raven, Bride, Soldier, Lion, Perseus, Sun Runner and Father.

You can visit a reconstruction of the Carrawburgh Mithraeum in the Museum of Antiquities at Newcastle.