The Galatians – Celts in Asia Minor

History & Finds The Galatians: Celts on the Edge of the Orient

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The Galatians were Celtic warriors who in the 3rd century BC moved across the Balkans as far as Asia Minor (today's Turkey). There they settled in the region named after them, Galatia.

Mercenaries and terror

As feared mercenaries the Galatians took part in the wars of the Hellenistic kings. Their defeat by Pergamon was immortalised in famous statues such as the "Dying Gaul".

A Celtic land in the east

The Galatians long preserved their Celtic language and tribal order. In the 1st century AD the apostle Paul addressed his Letter to the Galatians to the by-then partly Christian descendants – a unique testimony of Celtic presence in the east.

"O foolish Galatians!"Paul, Galatians 3:1 (King James Version, public domain)

What is documented: The Galatian migration to Asia Minor in the 3rd c. BC, the land of Galatia, battles with Pergamon and the "Dying Gaul", the long survival of the Celtic language and the Letter to the Galatians (ancient authors, New Testament).

What is interpretation: How "purely Celtic" the Galatians stayed over the centuries is interpretation – they mixed with the local population. The "Dying Gaul" is a Roman copy of a Pergamene statue, an enemy image, not a portrait.

The Galatians show how far Celtic people travelled. Continue with the Volcae and Boii.

Glanz & Gravur — From our workshop: Celtic-Germanic motifs on natural slate, laser-engraved. To the shop →

Sources & literature

Ancient authors (Livy, Polybius); New Testament (Galatians); quote public domain (KJV).

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The Galatians: Celts on the Edge of the Orient

Mercenaries and terror

A Celtic land in the east

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Sources & literature

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