Introduction
The Romans spread their influence through the Mediterranean world and encountered a wide range of different cultures, which they amalgamated into their own: new ideas, technologies and religions. This paper will discuss the absorption of native British religions by the Roman army in Cumbria, particularly Belatucadrus and Cocidius and the role they played in the religious life of Roman Britain. The Romans were a polytheistic culture and worshipped a wide range of deities, i.e., Jupiter, Minerva, Bellona, Baal, Mithras. The army worshipped these deities and dedicated an altar to Jupiter Optimus Maximus each New Year when they swore their oath to the emperor. The Roman army was the main worshipper of classical deities, accepting local deities into the Roman pantheon and throughout the Roman army. The mix of local and standard Roman deities showed the interaction between the locals and Romans in their religious practices as well as the local recruitment effects on the army. Focusing on several native deities, Belatucadrus, Cocidius, Isis, and Mithras looking at the Roman standard deities, Mars, Jupiter, and Juno, one can start to understand the impact the Romans had on Britain especially in the north.
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