The Dying Gaul as Roman Propaganda Against the Galatian Celts
Channel: Celtic History Decoded
Date: 2021-12-12

The Dying Gaul as Roman Propaganda Against the Galatian Celts

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On one hand, the Dying Gaul is a stunning and striking piece of art. On the other, it is nothing more than an arrogant imperial power bragging and demonizing its Celtic subject, albeit with a large touch of class. 

The Dying Gaul statue of today is housed in the Capitoline Museums in Rome. It is thought to be an ancient Roman copy of a Greek bronze statue commissioned by Attalus I of Pergamon around 230 BC. Attalus I, who earned the surname Soter (meaning Saviour) during his reign, was a Roman ally and the ruler of the Greek-controlled city of Pergamon, which is in modern-day Turkey. During his reign, Attalus I won important battles against the Galatians of ancient Turkey, who were Celtic tribes who settled parts of Anatolia. 

The subject of the Dying Gaul is thus a most likely a fallen Galatian warrior, or perhaps a Gaulish Celt, and the sculptor of the work is thought to have been Epigonus. Initially the work was thought to have been a dying gladiator, but it is generally accepted that it depicts a Celtic fighter. After all, the only thing he is wearing is a Celtic torc around his neck. Wounded in battle, and resigned to his fate, there is a sword wound around his lower right ribcage, and he sits on his shield. 

The statue was discovered in the 17th century when excavating an area of Rome. Napoleon’s forces took the statue to France as part of a peace treaty in the late 18th century, but it was returned to Rome in 1816.
There is another feature of the Dying Gaul statue of note: the fallen Celtic warrior is depicted as being naked, wearing nothing but his prized Celtic torc. This raises a broader question: did the ancient Celts fight naked in general? 

In relation to the Dying Gaul statue in particularly, the Celtic subject may be depicted as being naked to give the work a heroic quality. Yet, in general, there are actually many accounts in the historical record of Celtic tribes fighting with little to nothing on, although there seemed to be a reasonable degree of variation between different Celtic groups. 

The Greek historian, Diodorus Siculus, wrote in relation to the certain Celts that "some of them have iron breastplates or chainmail while others fight naked."

Another ancient Greek historian, Polybius, wrote in more detail about the tactics of Galatian warriors who fought against the Roman army at the Battle of Telamon of 225 BC:

“The Insubres and the Boii wore trousers and light cloaks, but the Gaesatae, in their love of glory and defiant spirit, had thrown off their garments and taken up their position in front of the whole army naked and wearing nothing but their arms... The appearance of these naked warriors was a terrifying spectacle, for they were all men of splendid physique and in the prime of life.”

And yet another Greek historian, Dionysius of Halicarnassus, wrote that:
“Our enemies fight naked. What injury could their long hair, their fierce looks, their clashing arms do us? These are mere symbols of barbarian boastfulness.”

As it turns out, the Dying Gaul is the perfect demonstration of Hellenistic boastfulness.

Sources:

Dying Gaul, Wikipedia - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dying_Gaul 

The Dying Gaul https://penelope.uchicago.edu/~grout/encyclopaedia_romana/miscellanea/museums/dyinggaul.html 

Dying Gaul, Oxford Reference https://www.oxfordreference.com/view/10.1093/oi/authority.20110803095737496 

Creative Commons Imagery:

Erik Drost https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Dying_Gaul_(5987198778).jpg Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/deed.en 

Caliniuc https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Asia_Minor_in_the_Greco-Roman_period_-_general_map_-_regions_and_main_settlements.jpg  Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International license. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/deed.en 

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