The ‘Lepus’ poster tells the story of the hare released at the start of a battle by Boudicca, Queen of the Iceni tribe, as she led a rebellion against the Roman Empire in AD 60. The rebellion was triggered by Roman brutality and disrespect towards Boudicca and her people after the death of her husband, Prasutagus.
Cassius Dio, a Roman historian who wrote one of the few surviving accounts of the battle, stated: “At the outset Boudica employed a form of divination, releasing a hare from the folds of her dress and interpreting the direction in which it ran, and invoked Andraste, a British goddess of victory.”
According to some accounts, the hare ran towards the Roman line, which was interpreted as a negative omen. Hares were considered sacred to the Iceni tribe, who also associated them with war.
Although heavily outnumbered, the Roman legions that defeated Boudicca and her forces during the Boudican Revolt was the Legio XIV Gemina (the Fourteenth Legion), along with detachments of the XX Valeria Victrix and auxiliary troops, under the overall command of Gaius Suetonius Paulinus.
The location of the battle is not known but is thought to have taken place near Warwickshire but it marked the end of resistance to Roman rule in most of the southern half of Great Britain, a period that lasted until AD 410.
Poster’s visuals: As history is often written by the victors the text of the poster is written in Latin which was the primary language of the Roman forces.
100,000 British warriors (C̅ in Latin) including Iceni and Trinovantes, plus other smaller tribes vastly outnumbered the two Roman legions plus auxiliaries and cavalry which had about 10,000 men (X̅ in Latin).
The box patterns on the poster represents Roman troop formations used by the Legions at the time, which ensured a tactical advantage for the vastly outnumbered Roman troops.
The Celtic knot, represents a loop without a beginning or end, symbolising eternity, interconnectedness, and the cycle of life, death, and rebirth.
With long hind legs and a sleek body, hare’s can reach 35 miles an hour. Most pursuers are outrun but a hare can also outwit them by swerving and running in zig-zag fashion. To the Celts and Romans, the hare (Lepus in Latin) represented fertility, sexuality, abundance, prosperity, good fortune, and new life, but also madness, trickery, divination, death, and resurrection.
To view how the Augmented Reality poster looks on a phone using Adobe Aero watch the video below.
To view the other prints in the set click here:Lepus | Horus| Koi
Image: A hare runs across the field in autumn by Larysa Fonts: Moderna by Fontalicious® Font and Designkwartier Line Caps by Designkwartier
Augmented Reality Poster To view this poster in English with extra historical information, view the poster on a computer screen with Adobe Aero on your Apple or Android phone or iPad so you can see a Augmented Reality version of the poster design.
Scan the QR code below to install the free app onto your phone or iPad.Once Adobe Aero is installed then view the QR code below with the camera on your devise and follow the link provided.
