Representations of Jupiter and the Sky-Deity in the Iconography of Roman Britain.

Abstract

A study of the god Jupiter in his various incarnations in iconography in Roman Britain is long overdue. As the Roman state deity, understanding his depictions can establish the level, nature and extent of Roman religious culture in the most northerly province of the Empire. This thesis establishes that current theoretical approaches, including Romanization, Creolization and Globalization, are each ill-suited to Romano-British Jupiter iconography. A full exploration of the syncretic process of Jupiter types in Roman Britain needs to be carried out to uncover new aspects. This thesis uses Fragmentation Theory in Art as a framework to observe, analyse and interpret depictions in a variety of materials for varying purposes. The application of the theory is supported by a gazetteer of 140 artefacts assembled without discriminating any subgroups. Existing scholarship establishes the etymological connections between Zeus, Jupiter and the Germanic sky-deity Tiwaz. This thesis supports those connections through iconographic evidence, proposing their shared prehistoric origin as a celestial Sky-God and god of thunder, alongside an examination of Jupiter's attributes including the lightning bolt and trident. A quantitative analysis of the full corpus addresses object material, object form, origin category, tribal distribution, social distribution and religious and watery contexts. It has found new types of Jupiters including syncretism with a one-eyed god, a horned or antlered god, and alignment with the emperors. There are new features found in depictions of Jupiter Dolichenus and conflations with Smith deities. Furthermore, the study has identified traits of re-modelling in metalwork figurines of Jupiter. The research has also offered new interpretations of the social and political roles within depictions of the Eagle and Ganymede, opening further avenues for research into mythological scenes in Romano-British iconography. The thesis opens up the study of Jupiter in Britain to new and exciting possibilities for depictions in this cult.

Date of Award	17 Jul 2026
Original language	English
Awarding Institution	University of Winchester
Supervisor	Carey Fleiner (Supervisor), Nick Thorpe (Supervisor) & Tony King (Supervisor)