Ancient Celts

"Celtic"… is a magic bag, into which anything may be put, and out of which almost anything may come…Anything is possible in the fabulous Celtic twilight.

- J. R. R Tolkien

The modern world is rightly fascinated by the ancient Celts—art, music, mythology, religion, druids, and much more. But who were the ancient Celts and what can we really know about them? The truth may surprise you. The Celts were a collection of tribes that spread across Europe and into Asia during the days of Alexander the Great and Julius Caesar. They were not mindless barbarians, but were instead master artisans, gifted poets, and fearsome warriors. So much of their world is lost to use now, but by sifting through ancient literature and archaeology we can still discover a great deal about these surprising people.

Few people realize this, but much we know about the ancient Celts and druids comes from the writings of one man—a young Greek philosopher named Posidonius. After completing his education, he embarked on an extraordinary journey of research and discovery into the unknown lands of western Europe when they were still unconquered by the Romans. Posidonius entered a land which could not have been more foreign to a young man raised in the civilized Greek world. The Celts were divided into numerous tribes each ruled over by a king and his band of warriors. Druids moved freely between tribes and acted as both priests and judges. The druids did perform particularly gruesome human sacrifice, but it was a rare event done only for the benefit of the tribe. Conflict between Celtic tribes over land or honor was a constant state of affairs, but hospitality to friends and guests was a sacred trust. Celtic women enjoyed many freedoms and children were plunged naked into freezing streams to harden their bodies for war, while poets sang stories of ancient heroes to eager audiences. But it was the druids with their elaborate beliefs and bizarre religious rituals which fascinated Posidonius the most. A huge pantheon of gods ruled over the Celts and their world. Reincarnation was taken for granted, to the point that debts were often postponed to the next life and letters to deceased friends were cast into a funeral pyre to be read in the next world.

The journey of Posidonius opens a lost world to us, but there are other sources as well—archaeology, linguistics, and early Greek and Roman writers. You'll be amazed by the true story of the ancient Celts.