Britannia

• 1. Roman Goddess And Spear

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  The Roman province of Britannia emerged in 43 AD following the conquest ordered by Emperor Claudius. A frieze discovered at Aphrodisias in 1980 depicts a bare-breasted female warrior labeled BRITANNIA writhing under the heel of that emperor. This figure appeared on coins issued under Hadrian as a more regal-looking female entity. Early portraits showed her as a beautiful young woman wearing a Corinthian helmet and wrapped in white garments with one breast exposed. She sat upon a rock holding a spear and a spiked shield propped beside her. Sometimes she held a standard or leaned against the shield while seated on a globe above waves. The name Britannia derives from the P-Celtic word Pritanā meaning Great Britain. Greek explorer Pytheas used forms like Prettanike or Brettaniai in the 4th century BC to describe islands off North-Western Europe.

• 2. Elizabethan Revival And Union

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  John Dee published General and rare memorials pertayning to the Perfect Arte of Navigation in 1576 featuring Britannia kneeling by the shore. He beseeched Queen Elizabeth I to protect her empire by strengthening her navy. James VI became King James I of England in 1604 proclaiming himself King of Great Brittaine France and Ireland. Anthony Munday described pageants performed on London streets in 1605 where Britannia sat supreme under the shape of a fair nymph. Britannia Depicta served as the title for Britain's first road atlas updated through the early 19th century. The constitutional unification of England with Scotland occurred in 1707 making Britannia an increasingly important symbol among Britons. By Queen Victoria's reign she held Neptune's trident and stood before tall-masted ships representing naval power.

• 3. Trident And Naval Supremacy

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  Britannia's spear transformed into a trident in 1797 to symbolize Royal Navy victories. A helmet was added to coinage designs in 1825 marking further evolution of the figure. William Dyce painted Neptune Resigning to Britannia the Empire of the Sea in 1847 for Queen Victoria's Osborne House. This fresco showed Neptune passing his trident to Britannia symbolically. The image represented British liberties and democracy during times of war becoming more common than before. New Zealanders adopted a similar personification called Zealandia appearing on postage stamps at the turn of the 20th century. Britannia became a potent figure often flanking Mother Russia alongside Marianne in political cartoons like those by James Gillray mourning Horatio Nelson after Trafalgar.

• 4. Coins Stamps And Currency

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  Samuel Pepys claimed Frances Teresa Stuart modeled the Britannia figure who refused to become mistress of Charles II. Her image first appeared on English farthings in 1672 following pattern versions from 1665. She remained on halfpennies throughout the rest of the 17th century until 1936. Britannia also appeared on penny coins between 1797 and 1967 and on 50 pence coins from 1969 to 2008. A five pound note known as the white fiver featured her from 1855 until 1957. Ten shilling notes printed with seated Britannia bearing both spear and olive branch emerged in 1928. High value Great Britain definitive postage stamps issued under George V showed her seated known as seahorses. The Royal Mint unveiled new coin designs in spring 2008 reflecting modern twenty-first century Britain without her image.

• 5. Modern Icons And Namesakes

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  Cool Britannia described fashionable scenes of late-1990s Britain drawn from a humorous version by the Bonzo Dog Band. James Thomson wrote words for Rule Britannia set to music in 1740 serving as an unofficial national anthem. The Brit Award statuette depicts Britannia redesigned regularly by artists like Damien Hirst Tracey Emin and Dame Vivienne Westwood. King George V owned a racing yacht named HMY Britannia scuttled in 1936 while K1 Britannia serves as a 1994 replica. RMS Britannia was the first steam ocean liner owned by Samuel Cunard in 1840. SS Britannia sank in 1941 after being hit by German cruiser Thor losing 122 crew members. Bristol Type 175 Britannia became a 1952 British turbo-prop airliner. The Britannia Class included steam locomotives produced between 1951 and 1954 with No. 70000 preserved today.