There is a widespread popular belief that ‘the Celts’ were one of the early ‘peoples’ of Europe, unified both politically and in their social organization over long periods of time and wide geographical areas. Traditionally, it has been assumed that they developed from earlier populations in the late Bronze Age in Central Europe around 1000 BC and expanded their territory across much of Europe, and even into Asia Minor, between roughly 600 and 250 BC until their fortunes changed. They were slowly subjugated, mostly by the ascendant Roman state in the final two centuries BC.
Origin myths and Celtic communities
Indeed, there even are ancient Celtic legends that seem to support this narrative. Livy, for instance, tells us of an elderly king of the Celtic Bituriges named Ambigatus, who allegedly lived around 600 BC and whose reign was so prosperous that Gaul became nearly ungovernable. To prevent internal strife, he is said to have sent his nephews Segovesus and Bellovesus with as many followers as wished to join them to distant lands. The latter was assigned to Italy by lot and crossed into and conquered northern Italy. All the names recorded in this story indicate that this is a legend, even if the Bituriges are a well-attested Gaulish community: Bituriges can be translated as ‘World-kings’. This is an origin myth, not a proper historical account.
Historical sources, and even more so, separate nations, or just different communities, they were quite different from each other in many regards, even if they also shared some features. Many (though not necessarily all) of them spoke mutually intelligible or at least very closely related languages, used similar material culture, and frequently traded goods and ideas between each other.
