History of the Celts

This episode details the arrival of the Celts into Asia Minor and their transformation into the Galatians of biblical fame. While we are centuries away from Paul’s epistle to the Galatians it is important I outline how the Celtic people of central Anatolia made it there. I also outline the Gauls' initial movement into Galatia and eventual involvement with the Hellenistic Kings of Asia Minor.

This episode I discuss the invasion of the Balkans by the Celts. Led by multiple leaders but most famously Brennus, the Gauls/Celts invaded Macedon and continued into Greece proper making it all the way to Delphi. From the accounts of our Classical authors, we see echoes of the Greek belief in the barbarity of the Celts. If you want to hear some of these accounts, then join me in this episode on the Celtic Invasion of Greece.

In this episode I go over the Celtic advance further into Italy. I go over their run-ins with both the Etruscans and the Romans. Finally, I focus on Livy’s account of the Celtic sack of Rome and the cementation of the Celts as the ultimate barbarians to the Romans for the centuries to come.

Primary Sources

This episode is on the initial settlement of the Celts in Italy as well as the reasons for the migration of the Celts out of the Celtic homeland. As always, I go over what our classical authors have to say about these events. I supplement this with what modern scholars have to say about the subject. This episode begins a series on the migration of the Celtic people and their interactions with the people they encroached upon.

This episode is a short investigation into the lives of two Kings of Macedon, Philip and Alexander. Without going into too much detail this will set up the following episodes on the Celtic migrations into the Mediterranean world. I spend much of the time discussing Philip’s reign as that is not talked about as often. I also go into some anecdotes related to the Celts and Alexander in the historical record, but this episode is not as focused on the Celts as they do not feature much in the stories of Philip and Alexander.

This episode we focus on women in the Celtic world. Did they have more power in comparison to their Mediterranean counterparts? What did ancient authors have to say about Ancient Celtic women? Does archaeology back up what they said? All those questions will be answered in this episode. 

This episode I discuss important aspects of Celtic society and culture. This includes social hierarchies and the feast, which helped reinforce that social hierarchy. The final part of the discussion is something I have talked little about, warfare in the Celtic world. Here you will hear of things like how a Celtic warrior was fitted for battle. On top of that are Classical accounts of the Celts running into battle naked so as to strike fear into the hearts of the enemy.

This episode I have a discussion with Dr. Philip Freeman. Dr. Freeman is a Professor of History at Pepperdine University with a PhD in Classics and Celtic Studies. He has written many books on History in general but on Celtic History as well. One such book is a major source for this show going forward titled The Philosopher and the Druids: a Journey Among the Ancient Celts. We discuss if we can trust our Classical sources like Posidonius or Julius Caesar. On top of this are important insights in teaching History.

In this episode I discuss the settlement of Britain. Today, the vast majority of speakers of a Celtic language live in the British Isles. Investigating the beginnings of life in Britain is important to understanding the settlement and spread of Celtic into Britain. While not comprehensive this is an introduction to the settlement of Britain by early hunter-gatherer groups which gave way to Neolithic settlements and eventually the settlement of the Isles by Celtic peoples.

In this episode, I discuss the concept of historiography. One the most important aspects of the study of history is analyzing where those sources come from and what they say. For the Ancient Celts most of our primary sources come from the classical authors like Julius Caesar and Posidonius. I also discuss how more modern scholars from the 1800s viewed the Ancient Celts and how ironic this view tended to be in comparison to their treatment of modern Celtic peoples.

In this episode I discuss the rise of the La Tene people. This is meant as a broad overview of the main culture our classical authors were writing about. While this is often considered a different culture altogether, there is ample evidence to support that the La Tene people were a continuation of what came before. If that is of interest then please join me for this discussion on the La Tene peoples.

This episode we begin talking about the Celts proper, or at least the people we call the Celts. First I talk about one theory that posits the beginnings of Celtic History is in the west, on the Atlantic Fringe of Europe. After that I discuss the most commonly accepted start for Celtic History in the Hallstatt culture of Central Europe and their vast contacts with the Mediterranean and beyond. If that interests you then please join me in my discussion of Celtic origins and the Early Hallstatt Culture.