This fascinating overview of Celts and their religion covers all aspects of the gods, ritual customs, cult-objects, and sacred places of the ancient Celtic peoples
Covering 500 BC to AD 400, and embracing the whole of the Celtic world from Ireland to Australia, this rewarding overview of the evidence for Celtic religions, beliefs, and practices uses modern scholarship to bring an obscure, but captivating part of European history to life. First, this it introduces the Celts and the evidence they have left behind, and places them in their geographical and chronological context. It then covers the various cults of the sun and the sky; the mother-goddesses and fertility; war, death and the underworld; water gods and healers; animals and animism; and symbolism and imagery.
The book is loaded with archeological data and illustrations. It also reveals the confusing plethora of local pantheons that seem to be a major featue of Celtic Religion. Unfortunatly, Green rigidly applies the sky god/earth god dichotomy originally proposed and heavily debated for the Greek pantheon. Though she admits to puzzling inconsistancies this causes in her interpretations she does not apply other material already known about the Celtic faith to resolve the problems.
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