Philosophers and Druids
Yesterday, WILL AM in Urbana, Illinois interviewed Philip Freeman, Associate Professor and Qualley Professor of Classics at Luther College. Freeman is the author of the recently released “The Philosopher and the Druids : A Journey Among the Ancient Celts”
“Sometime in the first century B.C., the Greek philosopher Posidonius traveled among the “barbaric” people known today as the Celts. His written account of that adventure is essentially lost, though fragments of it exist as citations by other ancient authors. Freeman set himself to reconstruct the route of Posidonius and to conjure, from other writings and from archaeological sources, what Posidonius would have experienced. In vivid, sometimes breezy language, Freeman describes the landscapes among which the Celtic tribes lived as well as their appearance and daily life. Most fascinating are his reconstructions of Celtic warfare and how a Greek stranger might have witnessed it, and his examination of the druidic religious faith of the Celts. This book, which fills a void in the academic literature, is written so clearly and compellingly that it should be a crossover hit with a general, popular readership as well.” – Patricia Monaghan, Booklist
You can listen to the program via streaming real audio, or you can download an Mp3 of the entire show.
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