08-06-2010, 06:34 PM
Quote:I don’t know if these named people who originally led their followers into the Po Valley are viewed as historical individuals. In the excellent The Beginnings of Rome T.J. Cornell calls Bellovesus “legendary” but says “Livy’s description of the Celtic occupation of the Po valley may be correct in general terms…”
In regards to migration because of overpopulation, I think practically all scholars accept this scenario as plausible. Forsythe in A Critical History of Early Rome says the “marauding and overpopulation went hand in hand in enlarging the territorial extent of Celtic culture and settlement… their plundering incursions often paved the way for more peaceful immigration and settlement; the Po Valley of northern Italy is perhaps the best example of this phenomenon.” (Note that he is a modern critical historian and distrusts much of these early stories. He doesn't even think the individual names deserve to be mentioned. :wink: )
Certainly not all scholars. Read this.
Drago?
