Vintage Military - Part 67

Celtic Warriors, part 2

We continue our look at the Celtic warriors who fought the ancient Romans.  Today we look at Roman sculptures of Celtic warriors.  Above is a Roman sarcophagus from the 2nd century showing a battle scene, now in the Dallas Museum of Art.  Note that the soldiers who the Romans are fighting are naked.  That means they're Celts.  As we saw last time, some Celtic soldiers actually did fight naked as a demonstration of fearlessness and bravery.

Click on the photo to see a larger version.

Another favorite subject was to portray an enemy soldier dying or dead.  Above, Dead Galatian, 3rd century BC, now in the National Archeological Museum, Venice.  The Galatians were Celts living in what is now Turkey.

These portraits of dying enemies could show great artistry and even pathos and compassion.  Above, The Dying Gaul is a Roman copy from 100-200 BC of an earlier Greek statue, now in the Capitoline Museum in Rome.  

Note that he's wearing a distinctive Celtic U-shaped necklace called a torc or torque.  Note also that, unlike almost all Greek and Roman sculptures where the penis is reduced to a little nub, the penis of this Celtic soldier is a realistic size.

Another Dying Gaul.  This is a 2nd century Roman copy of a 2nd century BC Greek original from the Great Altar at Pergamon, now in the National Archaeological Museum in Naples.

A wounded Galatian warrior.  This is another Roman copy from the 1st-2nd century of a Greek original at Pergamon.  Here's the front view of the warrior ...

and here's the rear view.  The statue is now in the Louvre, Paris.

We end with The Ludovisi Gaul Killing Himself and His Wife, a 2nd century Roman copy of a 3rd century BC Greek original.  The statue was rediscovered in the 17th century during excavations to build the Villa Ludovisi in Rome.  Today the statue is in the Palazzo Altemps in Rome.

Even though the Celts were the enemies of the Greeks and Romans, this sculpture depicts the enemy in a noble and heroic light: a Celtic chieftain killing himself rather than be taken prisoner.  Also note that in this statue, too, the penis is realistic, not a little nub.

Next time: Celtic warrior miniatures.