Alexander the Great’s Death and the Celtic Invasion of Greece
Channel: Celtic History Decoded
Date: 2022-02-24

Alexander the Great’s Death and the Celtic Invasion of Greece

Please donate through PayPal using this link: https://www.paypal.com/donate/?hosted_button_id=QFB9ZECHZJDF6 – you can also send money through PayPal straight to chdecoded@gmail.com if you don’t want to use the link.

Please support this channel on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/historydecoded

Please Buy Me a Coffee: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/CelticHistory 

Subscribe to Celtic History Decoded: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCCS3M_uNHH2iOJkpGhkO2SA?sub_confirmation=1 

Chapters:
0:00 Alexander the Great's Life
1:03 Alexander and the Celts
2:43 Alexander's Death and the Celtic Advance 
4:02 Brennus and His Celtic Army Invade Greece 

In the hall of fame of history’s greatest conquerors, Alexander the Great is arguably the most notorious. During his reign, Alexander the Great’s empire stretched from Greece in the west all the way to parts of ancient India in the east. Undefeated in battle, Alexander earned such titles as Pharoah of Egypt, King of Persia and Lord of Asia during his life. He gave his name to more than 20 cities across his empire, including Alexandria in Egypt. 

Tutored by the famous Greek philosopher Aristotle as a child, Alexander succeeded his father at the age of 20, after King Phillip II of Macedonia was assassinated in 336 BC. Alexander went on to rule as King of Macedonia for 13 years until 323 BC.  

In Alexander’s time, the Celts were mainly contained to the north-west of Macedonia around Illyria and Pannonia in the Balkan region, as the strength of Macedonia under Alexander checked the power of numerous groups in the area. Instead of invading the lands of Macedonia and Greece, the Celts sued for peace. 

In 335 BC, Celtic emissaries from the Adriatic region travelled to the court of Alexander to negotiate a treaty of “friendship and hospitality.” Some historians argue that part of the Celts desire for this meeting was to weigh Alexander’s military might. Luckily for us, the Greek historian Strabo documented this meeting, writing that:

“The king received them kindly and asked them, when drinking, what it was that they most feared, thinking that they would say himself, but they replied they feared nothing except that the sky might fall on them, although indeed, they added, they put above everything else the friendship of such a man as he.” 

In the same year however, Alexander died in Babylon. The exact nature of his death is unknown, but he seemed to fall ill after a prolonged banquet and drinking session, dying over a week later. Rumours that he was poisoned have endured to the present day. 

Regardless of the cause, Alexander’s death left a huge power vacuum which sparked a series of civil wars that tore his empire apart. This weakness was witnessed by every group in the area, including the Celts. 

The following year, in 279 BC, a massive horde of Celtic warriors headed south from modern Bulgaria and invaded Greece. Under their leaders, Brennus and Achichorios, tens-of-thousands of Celts marched for Greece.

Sources:

Barry Cunliffe, The Ancient Celts (2018: Oxford University Press)

Celtic History Decoded - The Secret Celtic History of Turkey… Galatia Revealed https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UurBgHwRCGA 

Celtic History Decoded  - Meet the Scordisci: The Celtic Tribe of Serbia and the Balkans https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4eSpA1jfGuQ 

Celtic settlement of Southeast Europe, Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Celtic_settlement_of_Southeast_Europe 

Alexander the Great, Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexander_the_Great 

Alexander the Great, Britannica https://www.britannica.com/biography/Alexander-the-Great 
 
Creative Commons Imagery:

Thomas Lessman Talessman https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Alexander-Empire_323bc.jpg Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/deed.en 

Med, Soerfm https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Brennus_mg_9724.jpg Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Brennus_mg_9724.jpg 

George E. Koronaios https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:The_statue_of_Alexander_the_Great_in_Athens_by_the_sculptor_Ioannis_Pappas_on_November_22,_2019.jpg  Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International license. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/deed.en 

Marsyas (French original); Kordas MinisterForBadTimes Koavf  https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Map_Macedonia_336_BC-en.svg Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.5 Generic license. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.5/deed.en 

Alexikoua https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Celtic_Expansion.svg Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/deed.en 

#AlexandertheGreat #Brennus #Celtic