In the second of this two-part special, Mary and Charlotte rejoin
Boudica as she marches on London, continues her path of
destruction, and finally meets the Roman army on the
battlefield. It’s a dramatic story, complete with Boudica’s
rousing speeches to her troops and her death by suicide when she
realises the battle is lost. The Roman historians who tell this
story depict her as a brutal perpetrator of war crimes, but… they
also present her as a victim, brave warrior and inspiring
speech-giver, able to skewer the injustice of Roman
imperialism. The question is: why? Why do Roman historians,
who had sole control of the narrative, portray Boudica as the agent
of a just cause? Today, we rarely treat our enemies with such
sympathy. The presentation of Boudica’s story gives fascinating
insights into how the Romans not only tolerated but, to a certain
extent, even encouraged criticism. Finally, Mary and
Charlotte investigate the after-life of Boudica’s legend, ending
with her status as a hero in Colchester - the very town she razed
to the ground. And if you fancy driving round the Boudica
roundabout a few times, it’s on Turner Road near Colchester North
Station! @instaclassicpod for Insta, TikTok and YouTube
@insta_classics for X email: instantclassicspod@gmail.com Mary and
Charlotte recommend some further reading: The main ancient texts
are: Tacitus, Agricola 14-16; Annals 14, 29-39; Dio Cassius,
Histories of Rome 62, 1-2, all conveniently collected at
https://www.roman-britain.co.uk/roman-conquest-and-occupation-of-britain/boudica-the-iceni-warrior-queen/boudica-classical-references/
Richard Hingley and Christina Unwin, Boudica: Iron Age Queen
(Hambledon Continuum pb, 2006) is an accessible account of Boudica
from the Iron Age to her modern representations. Hingley reviews
the evidence and some of the books on the subject, including his
own, at
https://fivebooks.com/best-books/boudica-richard-hingley/
Charlotte tells the story of Boudica, and discusses some of the
ways she has been represented, in her book Under Another Sky:
Journeys In Roman Britain (Vintage, 2014) You can find a detailed
history of Thornycroft’s statue in Martha Vandrei, ‘A Victorian
Invention? Thomas Thornycroft’s ‘Boadicea Group’, Historical
Journal 57 (2014). The verses on the plinth are taken from William
Cowper’s poem Boadicea. The Roman tombstone of the official
who blew the whistle on Suetonius’ reprisals against the British,
Julius Classicianus, can be seen in the British Museum. Instant
Classics handmade by Vespucci Producer: Jonty Claypole
Executive Producer: Natalia Rodriguez Ford Video Editor: Jak Ford
Theme music: Casey Gibson Learn more about your ad choices. Visit
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