The Golden Age of the Celtic Aristocracy in the Fourth and Third Centuries BC

Abstract

The greatest period of Celtic expansion occurred between the fourth and third centuries BC, with the conquest of new territories on the margins of the Hellenistic and Roman worlds. Historians often underemphasize this period: while the barbarian raids and the rise of mercenary service in the fourth century BC are stressed, colonization is neglected. In addition, Celtic society at that time was radically different from those found in coeval Mediterranean cultures. Imports from the south were much less common than in previous centuries, and attempts at urbanization were abandoned. Celtic society became distinctly rural, with its craft industries, settlement, and sanctuaries dispersed throughout the countryside. Although there were local variations, art and religion assumed original and consistent characteristics. Celtic society was composed of peasants and warriors and dominated by large aristocratic families.

Panoply and Identity During the Roman Republic

“…Ancient categories of Celtae , Galli and Galatae were Mediterranean constructs enforced upon various northern peoples, but these terms, while often sloppily applied, were not entirely specious. Not only did they tend to correspond with some basic linguistic similarities (dialects descended from Proto-Celtic), but the fourth and third centuries BC saw a growing homogeneity in the realm of La Tène material culture, owing to the rise of a horizontally linked pan-Celtic aristocracy (Buchsenschutz et al, 2012). I make no romantic suggestion that the panoply was somehow ‘essentially’ Celtic.…”