ABSTRACT
With the discussion of the religion of the Celts in Antiquity we come to the end of our review of the complex relationship over many centuries between the civilisation of the Mediterranean basin and the great aggregate of Celtic peoples which stretched across Europe and which, from the fourth century BC onwards, began to decline in power. In the centuries through which our discussion has ranged, there was scarcely any time when the Celts were not in some place seen as a menace, real or imagined, to the Mediterranean way of life represented by the Greek city-states and Rome with her allies and provinces. The intelligence and vigour of the Celts made them close in potential to the more settled societies of Greece and Rome. It was their primary physical energy in battle and their devotion to raiding that posed a special threat to the Classical world.
