The Celtic And Roman Religions

The Religion of Celts

Though there are records of deity names, and archaeological remains including altars, little is known about the specific religious beliefs of the Celts. Their burial practices included burying food, weapons, and ornaments with their dead, which suggests a belief in life after death. The druids, the early Celtic priesthood, were said by Caesar to have taught the doctrine of transmigration of souls along with astronomy and the nature and power of the gods. Transmigration is a philosophy of reincarnation incorporating the specific belief that after death, the soul of a living being is then transferred (or transmigrates) into another living form and thus takes birth again.

The Irish believed in an Otherworld, which they described sometimes as underground and sometimes located on islands in the Western Sea. This Otherworld was believed to be a country where there was no sickness, old age, or death, where happiness lasted forever, and a hundred years was as one day.

According to classical authors, the Celtic religion was based in three professional classes: the Druids, the Bards, and the Vates.

The Druids were the Celtic version of modern priests, but were also philosophers, scientists, lore-masters, teachers, judges and counsellors to the kings. The Druids linked the Celtic peoples with their numerous gods, the lunar calendar and the sacred natural order. In Commentarii de Bello Gallico Caesar gives the most complete account on the Druids. According to him the Druids constituted a "priest like" class, and were guardians of the unwritten ancient customary law. They had the power of executing judgments; the most dreaded being the exclusion from society.

The caste of the Druids was not hereditary, although they enjoyed the exemption of military service and payment of taxes. The training of novices in the druidic lore was extended, possibly taking over 20 years until completion. All instruction was given orally. According to Pomponius Mela the druidic instruction was secret and was carried on in caves and forests. The Druids were prohibited of writing down their knowledge, in order to prevent it from being stolen and learned by the others.

The Bards were a professional hereditary cast of highly trained and learned poets, and their chief duty was that of composing and reciting verses on heroes and their deeds, and memorizing the genealogies of their patrons. They were the keepers of the history of their clan and tribes. Bards were masters of versecraft that used assonance, half rhyme and alliteration, and memorized vast numbers of poems. They were chroniclers and satirists. Their satires where seem as powerful curses upon the one being satirized. To run afoul of a poet was a dangerous thing for the Celts, who valued reputation and honor more than life itself.

The Vates were the Celtic "prophets" with skills of divination, healing, and geomancy. As specialists in the art of healing, the Vates applied natural law to the problems of the human body and mind. They used natural remedies, such as plants, herbs, spices and the derivatives of these. They combined these with solar, lunar, and stellar powers of healing. In order to foresee the future, the Vates usually observed the flight of birds, the movement of clouds and the stars. Also, when seeking knowledge of great importance, the Vates used sacrifices as means of divination. According to Diodorus, under the presence of a Druid they would choose a person, then ritually stabbed him or her in the chest, above the diaphragm, and by the convulsion of the limbs and the spurting of the blood they could tell the future.

The Celts were polytheists, but also deified elements of nature, such as the sun, the moon, and the stars. They also venerated other natural elements, such as the oak, certain groves, tops of hills, streams, lakes and even plants, especially mistletoe and holly. Fire was regarded as a symbol of several divinities and was associated with the sun and cleansing. Due to this veneration of nature, classical sources tell that the Celts didn't build temples. Their ceremonies took place in clearings deep in forest sanctuaries. Their calendar year was governed by the lunar, solar, and vegetative cycles.

Their ceremonies were conducted to celebrate the two solstices and the two equinoxes of the year. While these were governed by the motions of the Sun, the Celts also celebrated four holidays governed by the lunar and vegetative cycles. They were the feasts of Beltane (May 1st), to recognize the fullness of life after spring, Samhain (November 1st), to recognize the lowering of the barrier between the world of the living and that of the dead, Imbolg (February 1st) denoting the first signs of spring and Lughnasadh (August 1st) to celebrate the power of the Solar deity Lugh.

The Celts belief in gods was related to nature and various aspects of daily life. Each of their gods was based in a natural aspect or domain. Some examples are Lugh the god of the Sun and master of all arts, Taranis the god of thunder, Sulis the goddess of thermal springs, Brighid the goddess of healing, poetry and smithcraft, Toutates the gods of the tribes.

The Many Religions of Rome

Throughout their history, the Romans didn't have just one set of beliefs, but a combination of several different cult practices. Originally, they followed a set of rural animistic tradition, in which various spirits were responsible for specific, limited aspects of the cosmos and human activities. These were called numina. Another aspect of this animistic cult was the cult of ancestors, each family honoring their own dead.

As contact with Greece increased, the influence of the Roman religion by the Greek's religion was inevitable. Then the old Roman gods became associated with their counterparts in the Greek pantheon. The old rites of the Roman religion were soon neglected due to the transference of the anthropomorphic qualities to the Roman gods and the prevalence of Greek philosophy among well-educated Romans. As the Roman Empire expanded,