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One summer evening in 335 BCE, Alexander the Great was resting by the Danube River after a day of fighting the Scythian tribes when a band of strangers approached his camp.
公元前335年的一个夏夜，和斯基泰部落酣战了一天的亚历山大大帝正在多瑙河边休憩时，一帮陌生人接近了他的营寨。
Alexander had never seen anything like these tall, fierce-looking warriors with huge golden neck rings and colorful cloaks -- so he invited them to feast with him.
亚历山大从没有见过像这样的人--这群高大威猛的战士戴着巨大的金颈环，披着色彩斑斓的斗篷--于是他便邀请他们和自己一同饮宴。
They proudly said they were Keltoi or Celts who came from the far-away Alps.
他们自豪地说自己是来自遥远的阿尔卑斯山的“Keltoi”，凯尔特人。
Alexander asked what they feared the most in the world, hoping they would say him.
亚历山大问他们在世上最恐惧的是什么，满心以为会听到自己的名字。
They laughed and said they feared nothing at all. This is one of the earliest stories about the ancient Celts.
他们大笑着说，他们对任何事情都毫无畏惧。这就是有关古凯尔特人的最早的故事之一。
While we don't know where the first Celts came from,
虽然我们并不知道最初的凯尔特人来自何方，
by Alexander's time they had spread across Europe from Asia Minor in the east to Spain and the Atlantic islands of Britain and Ireland in the west.
但到了亚历山大的年代，他们已经散居到了欧洲各地，东至小亚细亚，西至西班牙及不列颠大西洋群岛与爱尔兰诸岛。
The Celts were never one unified empire, and they didn't build cities or monuments.
凯尔特人从未形成过统一的帝国，也不曾修筑城池、树立石碑。
Instead, they were hundreds of independent tribes who spoke the same language. Each had its own warrior-king and religious center.
他们是数百个讲同种语言的独立部族。每个部落都有自己的战士国王和宗教中心。
The tribes fought each other as enthusiastically as they fought their enemies. Few armies could stand up to them.
部落之间会刀戈相向，狂热得就如与外敌作战一般。鲜有军队能敌得过他们。
Somewhat unusually for the time, the Celts believed in reincarnation
在当时多少有点格格不入的是，凯尔特人信奉灵魂转世，
that they would be reborn on Earth to live and feast and fight again, which may have contributed to their fearlessness in battle.
他们相信自己会再度降生到世界上，再次生活、宴饮、战斗，这或许也是他们在战斗中无畏无惧的部分原因。
Some of them fought naked, scoffing at their enemies' armor.
有些战士赤裸着身体战斗，对敌人的甲胄报以嗤笑。
The greatest trophy a Celtic warrior could possess was the severed head of a foe.
一名凯尔特战士最显赫的奖杯是敌人被割下的首级。
They preserved these heads in jars of cedar oil and showed them to guests who visited their homes.
他们把这些头颅保存在香柏油罐子里，并在来访的客人们面前炫耀。
Celtic warriors were so valued in the ancient world that foreign kings often hired them as mercenary soldiers to serve in their armies.
凯尔特战士在古典世界深受青睐，异国国王也常常将他们招募为雇佣军，为自己的军队效力。
But the Celts were much more than just warriors. Among them were many skilled craftsmen, artists, and great poets called bards.
但是凯尔特人远远不只是战士。他们之中还有许多出色的工匠、艺术家，和伟大的吟游诗人。
The bards sang of the brave deeds of their ancestors and praised the accomplishments of warrior kings -- and composed biting satires about cowardly or selfish leaders.
吟游诗人会歌颂祖先们的英勇事迹，赞颂战士国王的光辉伟业--也会谱写辛辣的讽刺诗，讥诮怯懦或自私的首领。
The Celts worshipped many gods, and priests known as druids oversaw this worship.
凯尔特人崇拜许多神祗，被称作“德鲁伊”的祭司负责主持宗教信仰仪式。
Anyone could become a druid, but the training required many years of study and memorization -- the druids were not allowed to record any of their teachings in writing.
任何人都能成为德鲁伊，但需要经过多年学习和背诵的训练--德鲁伊不得以书面形式记录他们的任何教谕。
Druids supervised religious practices and sacrifices to the gods, but they were also teachers, healers, judges, and scientists.
德鲁伊主持宗教活动和牺牲祭祀，但他们同时也是教师、医师、法官和科学家。
They were so respected that they could step between warring tribes in the middle of a battle and call an end to the fighting.
他们德高望重，甚至能在战斗中介入兵戎相向的部族之间，令他们握手言和。
No Celt would dare to harm a druid, or question their decisions.
凯尔特人中无人胆敢伤害德鲁伊，或是质疑他们的决定。
In the 2nd century BCE, the Romans began to encroach on Celtic territory, conquering the tribes of northern Italy.
公元前2世纪时，罗马开始侵占凯尔特领土，并征服了意大利北部的部族。
Rather than unite against the Roman legions in response to this defeat, the Celts maintained their tribal divisions. The tribes of Spain fell soon after.
面对这次进犯，凯尔特人并没有联合起来抵御罗马军团，而是仍维持着独立部落的划分。很快，西班牙的部族也沦陷了。
In the 1st century BCE, Julius Caesar marched his armies across France, using bribery, threats, and lies to turn tribes against each other.
公元前1世纪，凯撒指挥军队进军法国，用贿赂、威胁和谎言让凯尔特各部落反目成仇。
Only in the closing days of this great war did the Celts unite against their common enemy under the leadership of king Vercingetorix, but it was too late.
直到这场旷世战争接近尾声时，凯尔特人才团结起来，在维钦托利王的领导下一起对抗共同的敌人，可已为时晚矣。
Countless warriors and their families died or were enslaved as the Romans conquered France.
罗马征服了法国，无数战士和他们的家人惨遭杀害或沦为奴隶。
Protected by the surrounding waters, the Celtic tribes of Britain and Ireland were the last holdouts.
只有四面环海的不列颠和爱尔兰岛上的凯尔特部落得以幸存。
When the Romans finally invaded Britain, the queen Boudicca united her tribe in a revolt after her husband was killed.
当罗马人终于入侵了不列颠时，布狄卡女王在丈夫被杀后团结起部落，发起了起义。
She almost succeeded in driving the Roman legions out of Britain before dying as she led a final battle against the enemy.
她差点就能成功将罗马军队赶出不列颠，可惜她在指挥的最后一场战役中壮志未酬身先死。
By the end of the 1st century CE, Ireland alone, far out at sea, remained unconquered by Rome.
到了公元1世纪末，只有隔海相望的爱尔兰幸免于罗马的铁蹄。
There, the ways of the ancient Celts survived untouched by the outside world long after Rome itself lay in ruins.
于是，即使在罗马帝国早已化为废墟的若干世纪之后，古凯尔特人的习俗依然在这远离尘世的角落留存了下来。
