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One summer evening in 335 BCE, [br]Alexander the Great

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was resting by the Danube River after [br]a day of fighting the Scythian tribes

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when a band of strangers [br]approached his camp.

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Alexander had never seen anything [br]like these tall,

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fierce-looking warriors with huge [br]golden neck rings and colorful cloaks—

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so he invited them to feast with him.

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They proudly said they were Keltoi [br]or Celts who came from the far-away Alps.

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Alexander asked what they feared [br]the most in the world,

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hoping they would say him.

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They laughed and said they feared [br]nothing at all.

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This is one of the earliest stories [br]about the ancient Celts.

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While we don’t know [br]where the first Celts came from,

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by Alexander’s time [br]they had spread across Europe

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from Asia Minor in the east to Spain

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and the Atlantic islands of Britain [br]and Ireland in the west.

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The Celts were never one unified empire,[br]and they didn’t build cities or monuments.

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Instead, they were hundreds of independent[br]tribes who spoke the same language.

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Each had its own warrior-king [br]and religious center.

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The tribes fought each other

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as enthusiastically as they fought [br]their enemies.

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Few armies could stand up to them.

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Somewhat unusually for the time, [br]the Celts believed in reincarnation—

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that they would be reborn on Earth [br]to live and feast and fight again,

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which may have contributed [br]to their fearlessness in battle.

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Some of them fought naked, [br]scoffing at their enemies’ armor.

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The greatest trophy a Celtic warrior[br]could possess

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was the severed head of a foe.

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They preserved these heads [br]in jars of cedar oil

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and showed them to guests [br]who visited their homes.

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Celtic warriors were so valued [br]in the ancient world

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that foreign kings often hired [br]them as mercenary soldiers

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to serve in their armies.

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But the Celts were much more [br]than just warriors.

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Among them were many skilled craftsmen,[br]artists, and great poets called bards.

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The bards sang of the brave deeds [br]of their ancestors

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and praised the accomplishments[br]of warrior kings—

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and composed biting satires [br]about cowardly or selfish leaders.

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The Celts worshipped many gods,

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and priests known as druids [br]oversaw this worship.

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Anyone could become a druid,

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but the training required many years [br]of study and memorization—

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the druids were not allowed to record[br]any of their teachings in writing.

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Druids supervised religious practices [br]and sacrifices to the gods,

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but they were also teachers, healers, [br]judges, and scientists.

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They were so respected that they could[br]step between warring tribes

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in the middle of a battle [br]and call an end to the fighting.

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No Celt would dare to harm a druid,[br]or question their decisions.

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In the 2nd century BCE, the Romans [br]began to encroach on Celtic territory,

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conquering the tribes of northern Italy.

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Rather than unite against the Roman [br]legions in response to this defeat,

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the Celts maintained [br]their tribal divisions.

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The tribes of Spain fell soon after.

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In the 1st century BCE, Julius Caesar [br]marched his armies across France,

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using bribery, threats, and lies [br]to turn tribes against each other.

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Only in the closing days of this great war

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did the Celts unite [br]against their common enemy

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under the leadership [br]of king Vercingetorix,

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but it was too late.

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Countless warriors and their families [br]died or were enslaved

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as the Romans conquered France.

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Protected by the surrounding waters,

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the Celtic tribes of Britain and Ireland[br]were the last holdouts.

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When the Romans finally invaded Britain,

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the queen Boudicca united her tribe [br]in a revolt after her husband was killed.

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She almost succeeded in driving [br]the Roman legions out of Britain

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before dying as she led a final battle [br]against the enemy.

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By the end of the 1st century CE, [br]Ireland alone, far out at sea,

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remained unconquered by Rome.

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There, the ways of the ancient Celts [br]survived untouched by the outside world

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long after Rome itself lay in ruins.