Theory that \'Celts\' are a myth

[Rumo]

Well Pytheas of Massilia wrote that they called themselves the Pretani and Strabo names Ireland as Ierne so Britain and Ireland, or Hybernia, does appear to be valid. I am not sure if Strabo claims that the irish themselves used the term Ierne but Pytheas make his claim about Britain. The Greek world initially referred to the two as the Cassiterides, or Tin Islands, so it doesn't seem likely that the terms Pretani and Ierne come from Greek.

The problem is no writings from Pytheas survived. To be sure, most authors (quoting Pytheas or not) use the B-variants. True, in some authors and manuscripts there are P-variants, but it's virtually impossible to determine which is the original form, even though some believe the P-name is authentic and the B-name is the later, Graeco-Roman version of the name. Few mentions:

Diodorus Siculus, V.21-2: Brettanik? n?sos
Strabo, I.4 and IV.5 (calling Pytheas a falsifier!): Brettanik? and Iern?
Pliny, IV.102-3: Britannia insula (but known as Albion when the entire group of islands was named Britanniae) and Hibernia
Ptolemy, II.1: Iouernias n?sou Bretanik?s and II.2: Aloui?nos n?sou Bretanik?s

At a first glance I'd say there are two traditions: 1) of one island named Britain , and 2) of a group of islands named Britain, with the largest one named Albion (Ptolemy proably using the same source has here Alwion) and the second largest one named Hibernia (Ptolemy: Iwernia)