Literary Sources
As discussed in the section on Celtic ethnic and cultural identity, the surviving ancient
sources on the "Celts," both Greek and Latin, were written well after
the late Hallstatt and early La Tène periods discussed here. The
authors all come from cultural backgrounds very different from that of
the "Celts." Each has his own reasons for writing about the "Celts,"
none of which includes leaving an accurate and objective ethnographic
description for the use of modern historians. Studies of the ancient
"Celts" cannot but refer to the classical sources, since there is no
early Celtic literature preserved at all; their temporal, geographic
and cultural distance from their subject, as well as the exigencies of
their respective genres, suggest we exercise due caution in applying
their observations to the earlier period.
The following list indicates the general periods during with
the authors were writing, and translations used.
5th century BCE: Herodotos, Histories,
(trans. G. Rawlinson) from MIT, at Wikisource
2nd century BCE: Polybius, Rise of the Roman Empire,
(trans. W.R. Paton)
135-50 BCE: Poseidonios, Histories, (quoted in
Athenaeus & elsewhere), fragments at Attalus
early 1st century BCE: Diodoros Siculus, The Library of
History, (based on the Loeb, trans. C. H. Oldfather (1935)) at Theoi
1st century BCE: Caesar, Commentaries
on The Gallic Wars, (trans. based on W. A. McDevitte and W. S.
Bohn (1869) at Wikisource)
86 - ca. 34 BCE: Sallust, Bellum Catilinae , (Loeb
trans. J.C. Rolfe) at Lacus
Curtius
64 BCE - ca. AD 23: Strabo, Geography, (Loeb Library
trans. H.L. Jones) at
Lacus Curtius
59 BCE - AD 17: Livy, History of Rome from its Foundation,
(trans. A. de Sélincourt)
AD 98: Tacitus, Germania,
(trans. based on A. J. Church and W. J. Brodribb (1876) at Wikisource)
1st - early 2nd century AD: Plutarch, Life of Camillus,
(based on the Loeb, trans/ed. B. Perrin, 1914) at Lacus
Curtius
Life of Sertorius, (based
on the Loeb, trans/ed. B. Perrin, 1919) at Lacus
Curtius
ca. CE 160: Pausanias, Description of Greece,
trans. W.H.S. Jones
ca. AD 200: Athenaeus, Deipnosophistai, IV.151 ff.,
(ed. C.D. Yonge, 1854) at
Wisconsin: 3 volumes; excerpts of Poseidonios at Attalus
ca. AD 155 - 230? Cassius Dio, Roman History
(frgts/excerpts), (Loeb trans. E. Cary) at Lacus
Curtius
ca. AD 450: Saint Patrick, Confessio,
at Ancienttexts -- Latin
at CELT
12th c. AD, Fénechas, The Brehon Laws,
by Michael Ragan
Early Irish Literature: Ulster Cycle: Henderson's translation of Fled
Bricrend (The Feast of Bricriu) (pdf)
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