335 BCE

by Kathleen Ní Bhriain

At the age of 21, Alexander (the Great) of Macedonia moved over the Balkan Mountains, through the Shipka Pass. He and his army, numbering thousands of Macedonians, reached the the Danube and set up camp, announcing that they had arrived and intended to stay awhile. Many young Celtic warrior chiefs came to dispute this statement, among which was a young chief from the upper Danube, who was invited in to speak personally with Alexander, according to Ptolemy. Alexander, apparently a somewhat vain man, asked this Celt what his people feared the most, and expected to hear his own name as the answer. The Celt replied that his people , "feared nothing so much as the possibility that 'the heavens might fall on their heads'". Alexander and his advisors were impressed enough with this young man's response to write it down, but apparently not impressed enough to write down his name.

Sources:

The Celts, People Who Came Out of the Darkness, Gerhard Herm, St. Martin's Press, (c)1977, ISBN 312-1205-7

prepared by Kathleen Ní Bhriain

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