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The Celts and Their Religion

When Greek travelers visited what is now Great Britain in the fourth century B.C., they found an island settled by people closely related to the tall, blond Celtic warriors who had sacked Rome earlier.in 387 B.c. Among these island Celts was a group called Brythons or Britons, who left their permanent stamp in one of the names eventually adopted by the land they settled.

The Celts and Their Religion

When Greek travelers visited what is now Great Britain in the fourth century B.C., they found an island settled by people closely related to the tall, blond Celtic warriors who had sacked Rome earlier. in 387 B.c. Among these island Celts was a group called Brythons or Britons, who left their permanent stamp in one of the names eventually adopted by the land they settled.

The religion of the Celts was evidently a form of animism, from the Latin word for "spirit." The Celts saw spirits everywhere-in rivers, trees, stones, ponds, fire, and thunder. These spirits or gods controlled all aspects of existence and they had to be constantly placated. It was the Druids who acted as priestly intermediaries between the gods and the people. Sometimes ritual dances were called for, sometimes human sacrifice. It is thought by some that Stonehenge-that enormous pile of megalithic stones on Salisbury Plain in Wiltshire-was used by the Druids for religious rites having to do with-the Tunar and solar cycles.

Of great importance to the old Celtic religion was the Mother Goddess, a fertility figure who appears in many forms in the Celtic sculpture. Nearly everything in life could be explained by the relationship of this goddess with her male counterpart in many forms, including the forms of warrior and craftsman. The Great Mother was primarily associated with nature; the male god was associated with the tribe and its particular culture. For life to be good, nature and society needed to be in proper balance. The ancient Celts, then, hoped that the marriage of the Great Mother and the Great Father could produce a world in perfect harmony.