Myths and Legends of the Celtic Race - Knowledge Rush

26 Myths and Legends of the Celtic Race
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A people who in earlier days had again and again annihilated
Roman armies, had sacked Rome, and who had more than once
placed Cæsar himself in positions of the utmost anxiety and peril,
were evidently no weaklings, whatever their religious beliefs or
practices. Cæsar is not given to sentimental admiration of his
foes, but one episode at the siege of Avaricum moves him to
immortalise the valour of the defence. A wooden structure or
agger had been raised by the Romans to overtop the walls, which
had proved impregnable to the assaults of the battering-ram. The
Gauls contrived to set this on fire. It was of the utmost moment
to prevent the besiegers from extinguishing the flames, and a
Gaul mounted a portion of the wall above the agger, throwing
down upon it balls of tallow and pitch, which were handed up
to him from within. He was soon struck down by a missile
from a Roman catapult. Immediately another stepped over him
as he lay, and continued his comrade's task. He too fell, but
a third instantly took his place, and a fourth; nor was this post
ever deserted until the legionaries at last extinguished the flames
and forced the defenders back into the town, which was finally
captured on the following day.
Strabo on the Celts
The geographer and traveller Strabo, who died 24 A.D., and
was therefore a little later than Cæsar, has much to tell us about
the Celts. He notices that their country (in this case Gaul) is
thickly inhabited and well tilled—there is no waste of natural
resources. The women are prolific, and notably good mothers.
He describes the men as warlike, passionate, disputatious, easily
provoked, but generous and unsuspicious, and easily vanquished
by stratagem. They showed themselves eager for culture, and
Greek letters and science had spread rapidly among them from
Massilia; public education was established in their towns. They
fought better on horseback than on foot, and in Strabo's time
hand, very swift of foote, very vigilaunte and circumspect in theyr enterprises,
very present in perrils, very great scorners of death.”