Images

This fragment of a Roman gravestone shows three legionaries. From Croy Hill, Scotland, 2nd century CE. (National Museum of Scotland, Edinburgh, UK)

Vishnu is the supreme god "Svayam Bhagavan" of Vaishnavism. In addition, he is one of the five primary forms of God in the Smarta tradition; he is conceived as the preserver and the protector. Hindu art often depicts Vishnu with four arms...

In India, the lion is known as the Lord of Beasts and has royal associations. This marble white panel is an architectural figure from the base of an Indian temple. From India, 11th century CE. (National Museum of Scotland, Edinburgh, UK)

With a lion's body and the wings and head of an eagle, the grffin encapsulates the majesty of both. At one time representing royalty, it gained the role of guardian. Griffins are used architecturally and can be found in domestic objects...

The God Mercury was one of the Dii Consentes (12 major deities in the Pantheon of ancient Rome; 6 gods and 6 goddesses). Mercury was the god of financial gain, commerce, messages, and travelers. Some altars are official offerings by military...

Under Roman occupation, Scotland was an unwilling part of a huge empire whose system and ways were entirely alien to its native people. The price of resistance was slavery or death, crushed beneath the imperial foot; this is a leg from a...

A female figurine holding a small child on her chest and a dagger in her right hand. A material of religious significance, the flat gold figures (or Tunjos), were votive offerings left in caves or lakes. They were rarely found inside tombs...

Mummy portrait of a woman wearing a gold necklace, a Medusa pendant, and golden ear-pendants with pearls, Roman Egypt, 161-192 CE. Kunsthistorisches Museum Vienna, Austria.

Parvati, the goddess of love, fertility, and devotion, is the mother goddess in Hinduism. Together with Lakshmi (goddess of prosperity and wealth) and Saraswati (goddess of learning and knowledge), they form the trinity of Hindu goddesses...

Hollow-cast bronze cat, probably a votive offering to the goddess Bastet, from Tell Basta, Egypt, c. 664-30 BCE. National Museum of Scotland, Edinburgh.