Tiberios Klaudios Kaisar, Bretannia

March 22, 2021

Tiberios Klaudios Kaisar, Bretannia - 1st C. CE

"And Britain, we are told, is inhabited by tribes which are autochthonous (indigenous) and preserve in their ways of living the ancient manner of life. They use chariots, for instance, in their wars, even as tradition tells us the old Greek heroes did in the Trojan War, and their dwellings are humble, being built for the most part out of reeds or logs. The method they employ of harvesting their grain crops is to cut off no more than the heads and store them away in roofed granges, and then each day they pick out the ripened heads and grind them, getting in this way their food. As for their habits, they are simple and far removed from the shrewdness and vice which characterize the men of our day. Their way of living is modest, since they are well clear of the luxury which is begotten of wealth. The island is also thickly populated, and its climate is extremely cold, as one would expect, since it actually lies under the Great Bear. It is held by many kings and potentates, who for the most part live at peace among themselves."

-Diodorus Siculus, Library of History, Book 5.21

"The naked warrior Claudius is about to deliver a death blow to a slumped figure of Britannia. He wears helmet, cloak, and sword belt with scabbard. Britannia wears a tunic with one breast bare -- like the Amazon figures on which she was modelled. The subject of the relief is identified by the inscribed base and the imperial portrait. The inscription reads: Tiberios Klaudios Kaisar -- Bretannia. The invasion of Britain in AD 43 was the ‘signature’ conquest of Claudius’ regime." -taken from aphrodisias link below