Transcript The Celts - NorberryAncient

The Celts
Mrs. Norberry
Gaul Before
the Romans
Julius Caesar, in the first lines of his
Commentaries on the Gallic War, sets the
stage for all subsequent historic discussion
of Gaul in the 1st century BC: "All Gaul
is divided into three parts, one of which
the Belgae inhabit, the Aquitani another,
the third, those who in their own
language are called Celts, and in ours,
Gauls.All these differ from each other in
language, customs and laws. The river
Garonne separates the Gauls from the
Aquitani; the Marne and the Seine
separate them from the Belgae. Of all
these people the bravest are the Belgae.
They are the furthest away from the
culture and civilized ways of the Roman
Province, and are least often visited by the
merchants who bring luxuries which tend
to make people soft; also they are nearest
to the Germans across the Rhine and are
continually at war with them."
Gallic Trade
and Commerce
Between 600 and 450 BC,
Western Hallstatt (Early Iron
Age) cultures in Gaul traded
widely for Greek, Etruscan, and
Massalian luxury items, including
amphorae, bronze drinking
vessels, and small objects of gold,
ivory, and amber often found as
grave goods. Greek trade also
reached inside the native
strongholds, with Greek and
Etruscan pottery and Massalian
coins found at the Celtic hillfort
at Ensérune by 550-425 BC.
The Gauls as a
Power in
Europe
While the Gauls originated in central Europe, in 386 BC
invading Gallic Senones tribesmen spread as far south as
Rome, sacking and burning the city before being driven out.
By 378 BC Rome had built a protective city wall against
future attacks. During the next century, Gauls remained a
constant threat to the Romans. In the last Samnite war of
295 BC, Gallic tribes joined with Samnites and Etruscans
attempting to stop Rome's rise to power. Only after putting
down several revolts by 282 BC did Rome reduce this threat
of Gallic invasions.
In 218 BC, Gauls joined with Hannibal as he crossed the
Rhône to invade Italy. Upon Hannibal's defeat in 202 BC,
the Gauls again tried to organize against Rome, but the Boii,
then the dominant Gallic tribe, were subdued by 191 BC.
Thereafter, the Gauls were never again able to successfully
challenge the Roman military. In the years following
Hannibal's defeat, the Romans expanded throughout the
Mediterranean. After reinforcing the northern colonies of
Placentia and Cremona in 203 BC, Roman troops expanded
into Cisalpine Gaul north of the Po River valley. They waged
costly, drawn-out campaigns against Gallic and Iberian tribes,
adding Spain (201 BC), Greece, and Carthage (both, in 146
BC) to their control. Finally, in 121 BC, the Gauls were
defeated on the lower Rhône, opening southern France to
Roman rule.
Ancient Rome
Ancient Rome was a civilization that
grew out of a small agricultural
community founded on the Italian
Peninsula as early as the 10th century
BC. Located along the Mediterranean
Sea and centered on the city of Rome,
it became one of the largest empires in
the ancient world.
In its centuries of existence, Roman
civilization shifted from a monarchy to
an oligarchic republic to an increasingly
autocratic empire. It came to dominate
South-Western Europe, South-Eastern
Europe/Balkans and the
Mediterranean region through
conquest and assimilation.
Who Were the
Romans?
The Romans were sticklers for tradition
as well as for order.
The term virtus describes a male quality
of steadfastness. Women, as well as
men, were expected to possess to a
considerable degree that essentially
Roman quality of pietas, which is
untranslatable except as a combination
of duty, devotion, and loyalty, especially
to the gods, but also to one’s country,
parents, and other relatives. The
Romans also prized gravitas, which, too,
implies a sense of duty, but in the
context of dignified reserve and
integrity. Its opposite, levitas, frequently
had the meaning of inconstancy.
Caesar's Campaigns in
Gaul (58-50 BC)
Caesar As An Historian
Caesar's Commentaries on the Gallic War (De Bellum Gallico) provide a
uniquely in-depth account of Gaul and its people. While cultural
descriptions are secondary to military matters in Caesar's campaigns, the
reader gains a familiarity with settings, tribes, and personalities
unavailable in Strabo, Tacitus, or other ancient writers. Caesar's personal
record of the Gallic War included seven books on the campaigns from 58
to 52 BC, ending with the defeat of Vercingetorix.
Written in an uncluttered, factual style, Caesar's Commentaries are much
closer to a memoir or historical outline than a formal history. Indispensible
as a source on the Gallic War, the work is also the only report by a
military commander of antiquity describing his own campaigns. In terms
of cultural reporting, Caesar's account is also invaluable, being the only
primary source on the Celts of Gaul, Germany and Britain during the 1st
century BC, and compares with Tacitus' account Germania, written a
century and a half later (AD 98).
The Gallic War
As of about 60 BC, Roman impact north of Provence had been relatively slight,
consisting mainly of trading relations along major rivers such as the Rhône and
Garonne. Bordering tribes such as the Helvetii, Sequani, Bituriges, Aedui, and
Arverni were minting their own Greek-inspired coinage to facilitate trade with
Rome, and had developed primitive state systems with elected magistrates. The rest
of Gaul, however, remained on a pre-state level, and were among those termed
"Barbarians" by the Greeks and Romans.
Caesar's campaigns in Gaul began in 58 BC, when the Helvetii and several
neighboring peoples began a mass migration from their homes in Switzerland.
Caesar forbade their passage through Roman territory and marched against them.
Once the Helvetii had been driven back to their homes and their leader,
Dumnorix, was defeated, Caesar then turned on Ariovistus and his tribe, the
Sequani, who had been threatening the Aedui, allies of Rome. Ariovistus was
quickly defeated in a single battle. Thus began eight successive years of largely
successful campaigns that would secure the regions of Gaul for Roman control.The
following year, 57 BC, Caesar moved north and conquered the Belgae. As they had
been regarded the bravest of the Gauls, Caesar had shown the strength of the
Romans and his own leadership skills in defeating them. This advance also served
to drive a wedge between the Germans and Central Gaul.
Caesar’s Ethnography
Ethnography: the study and systematic recording of human
cultures. Also : a descriptive work produced from such research.
During military descriptions, much of what Caesar says about the
Celts is generalized. Often, for example, even the Romanized
border tribes are characterized as if they were the more distant
barbarous tribes (Books 2-4). This probably served as propaganda
to justify Caesar's extending his offensive more than strictly
necessary to safeguard the Province, and helped build support and
funding for his large army for several years. Yet Caesar's account
also focuses specifically on the native cultures. His most
substantive description of the Celts comes in Book 6, where he
devotes ten chapters to the Gauls and eight to the Germans. He
specifies two basic classes among the Gallic Celts, the uppermost
consisting of Druids and Knights, and the lower made up of
commoners. The Knights or warrior elite were judged by the
number of vassals they maintained, with commoners said to live as
slaves to the Druids and Knights.
The Gallic Wars
(Book 6)
By Julius Caesar
Use the following link to navigate to
an online copy of the text.
http://classics.mit.edu/Caesar/g
allic.6.6.html
The Druids
As the learned priests of the Gauls,
Druids also served as judges and
teachers. Caesar reports that the
Gauls were "extremely devoted to
superstitious rites" and that many
human sacrifices were conducted,
generally according with Strabo's
accounts: "...they who are troubled
with unusually severe diseases, and
they who are engaged in battles
and dangers... think that unless the
life of a man be offered for the life
of a man, the mind of the
immortal gods can not be rendered
propitious..." [BG 6.16].
The
Wickerman
Caesar paints one particularly vivid
picture of sacrifices involving wood
frameworks, involving "...figures of vast
size, the limbs of which... they fill with
living men, [when] set on fire, the men
perish... in the flames." [BG
6.16]. The Druids also took up to
twenty years memorizing verses, not
because they lacked writing (since the
Gauls used the Greek alphabet), but to
train their memories and because, in
Caesar's view, " ...they did not desire
their doctrines divulged among the
mass of the people. "[BG 6.14]
Gallic Religion
When Julius Caesar conquered Gaul, he observed the religion of
the Gauls, but he equated many of the Celtic gods with Roman
names instead of the native Gaullish names. Caesar assigned the
names such Mercury, Mars, Apollo, Jupiter, Minerva and Dis Pater
(Pluto) to the Gallic deities.
When the Roman empire conquered Gaul, the Rhine area and in
Britain, they not only brought Roman culture and religion with
them, many of the Empire's citizens with Roman and non-Roman
background either adopted or continued to worship these Celtic
gods.
It isn't until the imperial Roman period that we find different
names for these gods, which can be found on statues and
monuments with inscriptions. However these names are RomanoCeltic and the inscriptions was written in Latin. The Celts still
didn't have their own written languages. Even with these names,
the Roman writers still compare them with the names of Roman
deities.
The Roman Gods
The Olympians are a group of 12 gods who ruled after
the overthrow of the Titans. All the Olympians are
related in some way. They are named after their
dwelling place on Mount Olympus.
1. Zeus (Jupiter)
7. Athena (Minerva)
2. Poseidon (Neptune)
8. Apollo
3. Dionysus (Bacchus)
9. Aphrodite (Venus)
4. Hera (Juno)
10. Hephaestus (Vulcan)
5. Ares (Mars)
11. Artemis (Diana)
6. Hermes (Mercury)
12. Demeter (Ceres)
The Celtic (Gallic) Gods
Many of the Gallic gods were localised to a particular
region or tribe. Only some deities were more widely
accepted than others. Written sources for these deities
come from mainly authors in the classical period of
Greece and Rome. These authors wrote in the time of
4th century BC to 2nd century AD.
Other evidences of these deities come from
archaeology. The main archaeological finds were
swords and other weapons, cups and cauldrons, pins,
coins, etc. Some of the more interesting evidences are
statuettes of their gods or goddesses.
Brigando
Brigindo was the Gallic goddess, also
called Brigandu. She was a popular
goddess throughout the Celtic world.
Brigindo was the goddess of arts, crafts,
fertility, and possibly of war. Her name
means "Exalted One" or "High One".
The Imbolc was a pagan spring festival
held in her honour on February 1.
Brigit or Brigid was the Irish equivalent
of Brigindo. In Britain she was called
Brigantia, where the Celts living in
northern region of England was named
after her. The Romans had identified
her as Minerva (Athena).
Cerunnos
Cernunnos was the Horn One, because he worn
antlers of the stag on his head. He was often
called the "Lord of the Wild Things".
He was clearly a god of nature, and probably of
fertility of animals and agriculture. Cernunnos
was also god of grains and fruits.
Cernunnos was equated with another god with
stag-like antlers on his head, Belatucadnos, a
British god of war. The Romans associated
Cernunnos with their god Mercury (Hermes),
though Julius Caesar associated him with Dis
Pater, chthonic god of the underworld. The
early Christians associated Cernunnos as the
Devil or Anti-Christ, because of pagan ritual.
The worship of Cernunnos can be found in the
France, Alps, Italy, and in Britain. The most
famous depiction of Cerrunnos can be found
on the Gundestrup Cauldron (c. 1st century
BC).
Lugus
Lugus was one of the most popular deities to
Celts. Several cities were named after him,
Lugdunum (Lyon) in southern France,
Lugdunum Batavorum (Leiden) in the
Netherland, and Luguvallium (Carlisle) in
northern England. Lugus was also worshipped
in several sites on the Spanish province of
Tarraconensis (including the tribes of Gallaeci,
Astures, Cantabri and Celtiberians).
Lugus was the god of light or of the sun. With
skill in many crafts, he was identified as the
Roman god, Mercury (Hermes).
Lughnasadh is a traditional Gaelic holiday
celebrated on 1 August. It is in origin a harvest
festival. The Lughnasadh festival is said to have
been begun by the god Lugh (the Irish version
of Lugus), as a funeral feast and games
commemorating his foster-mother, Tailtiu, who
died of exhaustion after clearing the plains of
Ireland for agriculture.
Arduinna
Arduinna was the Gallic goddess
of the forest and hunting, which
the Romans had identified her
with Diana (Artemis). Arduinna
had been depicted in art, riding
on the back of a wild boar. She
seemed to be popular around the
Ardennes region.
Belenus
Belenus was one of the most ancient of Celtic gods.
His fire festival, Beltaine, was held on May 1.
Beltaine was the spring-time festival of optimism.
Fertility rituals were important, in part perhaps
connecting with the waxing power of the sun,
symbolized by the lighting of fires through which
livestock were driven, and around which the people
danced in a sunwise (clockwise) direction.
Great bonfires would mark a time of purification
and transition, heralding in the season in the hope
of a good harvest later in the year, and were
accompanied with ritual acts to protect the people
from any harm by otherworldly spirits.
Belenus’ name means "Bright One", which suggests
that he was a fire or sun god.
The Romans equated Belenus with the
Greek/Roman god, Apollo, who was also the god of
light and healing.
Artaius and
Artio
Artaius or Artio was the bear god in
Gaul (France), particularly in presentday Switzerland. The Romans had
identified Artaius with Mercury.
Some scholars believed that King
Arthur may have originally been a god,
and was derived from the Gallic god
Artaius.
The female form of this deity was Artio
or Dea Artio, the bear-goddess. There's
a Roman statuette of Artio, now
housed in the Historisches Museum, in
Bern. The art depicted the goddess
seated, facing a bear.