The Celts: Uncovering the Mythic and Historic Origins of Western Culture Paperback - 1993

From the rear cover

HISTORY / MYTHOLOGYA cornerstone of western civilization and the major source of its social, political, and literary values, Celtic civilization occupied the whole of western Europe for more than a millenium and, unlike the Middle Eastern forerunners of the Greco-Roman world, is still alive today. Historians have tended to accord the Celts a place of minor significance in comparison to the Romans when, in fact, the shamanic, mythical, and spiritual traditions of the Western world have their roots in Celtic culture. Regarding myth as an indispensable branch of history, Markale has thoroughly explored Celtic mythology to reveal the culture that gave rise to it. The Celts, one of the most comprehensive treatments of this subject ever written, firmly aligns the Celtic peoples as the primary European precursor to Greco-Roman sovereignty, restoring Celtic culture to its true importance in the development of European civilization. The new historical vision that emerges is both convincing and exciting.Poet, philosopher, historian, and storyteller, JEAN MARKALE has spent a lifetime researching Celtic civilizations. He is the author of numerous books on pre-Christian peoples, including Women of the Celts. In his works, Markale combines the poetic and philosophical with the scholarly to offer an alternative approach to the Celtic legacy.