5g Gold Bar Britannia

Britannia is an ancient term for Roman Britain and also a female personification of the island. The name is Latin, and derives from the Greek form Prettanike or Brettaniai, which originally designated a collection of islands with individual names, including Albion or Great Britain.

It is in the 2nd century that Roman Britannia came to be personified as a goddess, armed with a trident and shield and wearing a Corinthian Helmet. As the overseas and furthest territory of the Roman Empire, it soon became identified with the goddess of warfare and water. Thus, the Roman goddess Minerva became Britannia, and the personification of the British Isles. The Latin name Britannia long survived the Roman withdrawal from Britain in the 5th century,