Celts and the Classical World

by David Rankin

To observe the Celts through the eyes of the Greeks and Romans is the first aim of this book.

'Intriguing, wide-ranging and highly informative … Rankin's strength is his evidently wide, admiring and scholarly acquaintance with more recent Celtic mythology, ethnography and literature.' - Times Literary Supplement

'The book is an absolute delight for those who are interested in ancient Celtic civilization. In fact, it is a long time since I have enjoyed a book in this field so thoroughly.' - The Irish Democrat

'This book is a must-have for the serious Celtphile.' - New Age Retailer

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Ancient History, Classical Studies

336 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1987

Reviews

[Pedro · Rating 5 out of 5]

David Rankin was brilliantly able to present basically almost all the important topics related to both Ancient Celtic societies and Mediterrean (Greek and Romans) authors in this book.

The book itself is divided on 15 chapters ( covering the most different issues such as how celtic religion, warriors, social structure, gender relations were represented by Greek and Roman authors ) + an appendix about the Romans and Ireland + a good bibliography and an index.

Perhaps one amazing thing about Rankin's book is that it brings another important source from Celtic Studies into discussion which is not always treated by most academic authors - the Greek and Latin texts.
Indeed, if nowadays there's is a tendency of only studing Iron Age societies from an archeological approach, Rankin is able to go beyond this calling the readers attention to the importance of the Ancient text sources about the celts. The author then is able to investigate the Celts through 'Classical eyes' and whenever it's possible, articulating this representations with Archeological data and also Early Irish and Welsh sources.

The text is well written and all the references made to Classical authors are presented in the bodytext which is good for an academic reader as much as to anyone who's interested later in reading the ancient texts by themselves.

Quoting Barry Cunliffe, this book will remain a standard work of reference for years to come.

[Gary Newman · Rating 2 out of 5]

Hard work as a stand alone read. Some references sent clear and you have to go backwards sometimes to understand where Rankin is at or coming from. Identified chapters make it easier as a reference, but more chronological dates could make it easier to follow as a continuous read and ref.

[dill · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was a decent read, I feel like I could usually follow what was going on well and the information's neatly organised. Some of the more complex chapters could probably do with being split up (reading all of chapter six in one sitting could have been a mistake on my part!) but it felt pretty comprehensible. It's definitely not an entry-level book, I feel like without my background in classics I'd have struggled to understand a good majority of the book, but what little I know about the Celts didn't hold me back too regularly. It offers a good bibliography without being too overwhelming and puts forwards a few interesting arguments. There's not too much discussion of points of contention and I'd have preferred a little more cultural/social history than military history, but that's just a personal gripe. It's a perfectly fine book, it's well-written and thoughtfully organised, but maybe not one to start looking into the period with.

[Larry · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a very readable text that provides fascinating insights into Celtic civilization. Ranking not only presents what the classical authors wrote about the Celts, but analyzes the degree to which what they wrote might be propaganda, and what the underlying truth may have been.

This work is most useful if the reader already has a foundation in ancient history.

[E Owen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Comprehensive compendium of Roman and Hellenic interactions with the Celtic world.

[Jean · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fever dream that provides the facts that fuel Rankin’s brilliant insights, expressed through his intense and exciting prose.

[Maya · Rating 3 out of 5]

More of 3.5. Check out my full review at Celtic Scholar