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Pythagoras’ Greed Cup and Other Lesser-Known Ancient World Facts

Khalid Elhassan July 31, 2020 34 min

Roman Empire - Roman emperor — The assassination of Caligula. Quora

29. Turning Ferocity Into Profit

The ancient world’s Celtic warriors were famous for the quality of their weapons, their courage and ferocity in battle, their frightful battle cries, and their terrifying, butt naked, headlong charges. That intimidating reputation made them highly sought after as mercenaries.

Starting in the fourth century BC – and especially after the fragmentation of Alexander the Great’s empire into feuding Hellenistic states – Celtic mercenaries became all the rage from Sicily to Asia Minor. In addition to fighting for the various Greek kingdoms, Celts also fought for Carthage, and formed a significant part of Hannibal’s army when he invaded Italy in the Second Punic War, 218 – 201 BC.

Written by

Khalid Elhassan

A lifelong history buff, I developed a particular passion for WW2 history as a child, when I spent hours listening to my grandfather, enraptured, as he recounted his wartime experiences in the British East African Campaign and with the British 8th Army in North Africa.

I graduated with a history BA from George Mason University, then went on to get a JD from the University of Virginia School of Law. After lawyering for a decade, I moved to sunny Rio de Janeiro and a less demanding career, opening a tourism agency in Copacabana.

A big chunk of my free time is spent blogging (you can follow me on Quora https://www.quora.com/profile/Khalid-Elhassan ) or freelance writing, mostly about my favorite subject, history.