12 Bizarre Facts About The Druids

Long before the Nazis twisted the swastika into a symbol for ethnic cleansing, cultures worldwide saw it as a symbol of good luck. Druids belonged to this swastika-fortune group. The "Battersea Shield," pictured above, surfaced in the Thames in 1857. It has several swastikas and archaeologists credit the Druids with it. Scholars think they used it as an offering or gift to gods around the 1st century BCE, not in battle., found in the Thames river in 1857 CE, pictures several swastikas and links them to the Druids. Archeologists think they used it as an offering or gift to the gods around the 1st century BCE, not in battle.The so-called "Arch-Druids" shaped tree branches into swastikas during their rituals.Arch-Druids shaped tree branches into swastikas during their rituals.

Women became Druids. Druid warrior-queens led armies. Women served as ambassadors, judges, and lawyers. This surprised Greeks and Romans, who focused on men. Women could divorce husbands if they chose and avoided losing status if husbands were convicted. However, domestic life held women back; Celtic wives, like Roman ones, faced similar limitations.According to scholar Peter Ellis, the idea that Druids built and worshipped at Stonehenge is "one of the most enduring myths." The structure was built well over a millennium before the Celts emerged, so it cannot be a Druid sanctuary.Neo-Druids still use Stonehenge as a setting for celebrating the Summer solstice, and sometimes complaining about parking costs.

Caesar and other Roman and Greek writers claimed Druids practiced human sacrifices, burning people alive in what they called the Wicker Man. Today, scholars dismiss these claims as propaganda. Evidence shows capital punishment for murder went against Celtic ideas of justice and court punishment.The claims about human sacrifice are totally made up.Scholars say there is no evidence in old Celtic documents that human sacrifice occurred. Skeptical Christian writers created the image of violence linked to some religious practices. In fact, evidence shows capital punishment for murder went against Celtic justice ideas.

Scholar Peter Ellis says that., the myth that Druids built and worshipped at Stonehenge is one of the most lasting stories about the Druids. The structure was built well over a thousand years before the Celts appeared, so it cannot be a Druid sanctuary.It cannot be a Druid sanctuary.Neo-Druids still use Stonehenge as a setting to celebrate.They use Stonehenge to celebrate the Summer solstice, sometimes complaining about parking costs.They use Stonehenge to celebrate the Summer solstice, sometimes complaining about parking costs.They complain about parking prices.They complain about parking prices.

Caesar might not be the best source for Druid information because he wanted to portray them as a defeated enemy. Still, he is one of the few sources scholars and modern audiences have since he wrote about Druid culture and beliefs. In his writings on the Druids, Caesar claimedclaimedThe intellectual class was exempt from military service and did not pay taxes like other citizens. Caesar added that these privileges looked attractive, causing people to join Druidism on their own accord.

Romans clashed with Druids, trying to wipe out the class over property. Romans, who started Western imperialism, saw property as an individual thing. Druids saw property as a group effort. This struck Roman "culture, politics, and imperialism," according to one scholar. This led the Romans to try abolishing Druidism starting in AD 54.

Scholars lack knowledge about Druid worship. They know the Druids did not see their gods as creators; they saw them as ancestors. Danu, the mother goddess, is one such deity. Her name shows up in the Danube River and the Don Rivers in Yorkshire and Scotland. For Druids, water symbolized life and wisdom flowing from gods and goddesses, like the Ganges for Hindus or the Jordan River for Jews.

Most information on the Druids comes from a small amount of old texts. Noel Malcolm states this in a...Ronald Hutton's review.Ronald Hutton's Blood and Mistletoe: The History of the Druids in Britain.Blood and Mistletoe: The History of the Druids in Britain.The texts mostly feature Greek and Roman accounts, societies that wanted to criticize the Druids. Malcolm points out those accounts are not always trustworthy because they are second- or third-hand. Greek and Roman authors had little direct knowledge of Druids in Gaul or Britain; Julius Caesar seems to have copied his Druid information from someone else’s writing. Romans killed many Druids, showing the little Druid knowledge came from their conquerors.

Romans were reportedly shocked by the Druid practice of keeping the heads of people they admired, but they were not savage head-hunters. Preserving a head in cedar oil was perhaps the greatest sign of respect for Druids. This comes from the belief that the soul rested in the head.quotePeter Ellis'sThe Ancient World of the Celts.They also believed the soul was indestructible, and the head holding it was the source and power of the human spirit.

Propagandist writings from Pliny and Cicero let writers create images of Druids, oaks, and mistletoe.accordingScholar Peter Ellis studied this. Pliny painted the Druids as savage wizards. He claimed they climbed oak trees for mistletoe. This plant supposedly "gives fecundity to any barren animal and is strong against all poisons." Pliny also asserted Druids sacrificed white bulls for this magic. Ellis calls this story "a classic of popular knowledge lacking substance." The story sounds cool.

Celtic scholar Rev. Dr. Ross Wards compiled research by professor Dan Berger of Ohio's Bluffton University. Wards found Druids used an oral tradition to pass on "Druidic knowledge." They were literate people, not ignorant ones. They simply "banned writing their knowledge to stop it from falling into the wrong hands." This action caused much of our Druid knowledge to vanish. Wards states it took "12 to 20 years" to become a Druid. Many of those years involved learning traditions by heart because writing them down was forbidden.

Few people know about the Druids. Scholars do not know what "Druid" means. One guess is "someone with great and thorough knowledge." This translation has no inherent religious meaning. Although people link Druids to religion, the Greeks and Romans never called Druids priests or showed Druidism as a religion. Instead, the Druids were the intellectual class of ancient Celtic society; modern audiences add religious feeling to them.