The Galatians – Celts in Asia Minor

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

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.

Galatian gold jewellery from Bolu — Galatian bracelets and earrings, 3rd century BC, from the Hıdırşıhlar tumulus near Bolu. World Imaging, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

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)

Celts in Asia Minor

The Galatians were Celtic tribes that in the 3rd century BC migrated as far as Asia Minor – into today's central Anatolia around Ankara. They are the easternmost outpost of the Celtic world, thousands of kilometres from Gaul.

The great march east

After the famous Celtic attack on Greece and Delphi in 279 BC parts of the warriors crossed the Bosporus into Asia Minor. There they settled and founded Galatia – named after them, the "Galatians".

Feared warriors and mercenaries

The Hellenistic kings feared and coveted the Galatians at once: as plunderers and as mercenaries. The famous "Dying Gaul" – an ancient statue – goes back to a victory over the Galatians and shapes our image of the Celtic warrior to this day.

The letter of Paul

The Galatians became world-famous through the New Testament: the apostle Paul addressed his Epistle to the Galatians to the Christian communities of this Celtic-descended population. As late as the 4th century a Celtic language is said to have been spoken there.

Evidence: Galatia and the Galatians are attested in Livy, Strabo and in the New Testament Epistle to the Galatians; the "Dying Gaul" is a well-known ancient sculpture.

Myth check: The Galatians were genuine Celts – but strongly Hellenised. The popular image of the "wild naked Celt" comes from Greco-Roman art (e.g. the Dying Gaul), which deliberately dramatised the enemy.

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

Celts in Asia Minor

The great march east

Feared warriors and mercenaries

The letter of Paul

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Sources & literature

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