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Leprechaun
Leprechauns (also leprecauns or lepracauns) are figures in Irish folklore who guard hidden treasure. Regarded as small and incredibly agile male fairies or goblins, they most often guard a pot of gold. Leprechauns live solitary lives and...
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Celtic Warrior Figurine
A terracotta figurine of a Celtic warrior. Likely a Celtic Gaul. From Egypt, 220-180 BCE. (British Museum, London)
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Celtic Coin with Abstract Horse
Celtic coin from modern-day Romania, 3rd- 2nd century BCE. The reverse depicts a horse and helmeted rider while the obverse depicts the head of Zeus, it is one of many imitations of Greek currency to be minted in Celtic Europe in ancient...
Definition
Lugh
Lugh (also Lug, Luga) was one of the most important Celtic gods, particularly in Ireland, and he represented the sun and light. Although originating as an all-wise and all-seeing deity, Lugh was later thought of as a historical figure, great...
Definition
Wheel of the Year
The Wheel of the Year is a symbol of the eight Sabbats (religious festivals) of Neo-Paganism and the Wicca movement which includes four solar festivals - Winter Solstice, Spring Equinox, Summer Solstice, Fall Equinox - and four seasonal festivals...
Definition
Oppidum
Celtic hilltop forts, often called oppida (sing. oppidum), after the Latin name given to larger settlements by the Romans, were built across Europe during the 2nd and 1st century BCE. Surrounded by a fortification wall and sometimes with...
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Celtic Warrior, Gaul
A Celtic warrior statue from Gaul. Bronze with glass inlay, 1st century BCE or 1st century CE. From Saint-Maur-en-Chaussée, Oise, France. (Musée départemental de l'Oise)
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Celtic Parade Helmet
A Celtic parade helmet in bronze and iron covered in gold with coral inlay, c. 350 BCE. Found buried in a cave in Agris, western France. It is a fine example of the use of vegetal motifs in ancient Celtic art. (Bernisches Historisches Museum...
Definition
Ghosts in the Ancient World
A belief in an afterlife was central to every major civilization of the ancient world and this encouraged the recognition of the reality of ghosts as the spirits of the departed who, for one reason or another, either returned from the realm...
Definition
Roman Gaul
Roman Gaul is an umbrella term for several Roman provinces in western Europe: Cisalpine Gaul or Gallia Cisalpina, comprised a territory situated in the northernmost part of the Italian peninsula ranging from the Apennines in the west...