Today's town of
Bath, England contained an ancient shrine to Sulis, the Celtic goddess
of healing. In the late 1st century AD the Romans built a bath complex
around the sacred spring, calling it Aquae Sulis. Near the baths was erected
a temple to Sulis merged with the Roman goddess of wisdom, Minerva, who was
also patroness of engineering and legionary building arts. Portions of the
Roman baths may still be seen among later buildings, and in the collections
of the Roman Baths Museum.
This relief sculpture of the Gorgon's Head, containing Celtic stylistic elements, was placed on the pediment of the Roman temple to Sulis-Minerva.
[Fig.1: Gorgon's head at Bath (The Roman Baths Museum; photo Athena Review).]
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