Perhaps the most famous of these Celtic writers in Latin was Cornelius Nepos (ca. 100–ca. 25 b.c.), an Insubrean who wrote a universal history, love poems, and biographical works. A Celt from the Vocontii tribe was Trogus Pompeius (ca. 27b.c.–ca. a.d. 14), who also wrote a universal history in 44 books entitled Historiae Philippicae. T. Catius, another Insubrean of the period, wrote on philosophy. More contentious was Publicus Vergilius Maro, the famous Virgil (70–19 b.c.). He was born and raised in Cisalpine Gaul, but whether he was a Celt or merely of a Roman settler family is not certain. According to Professor H. D. Rankin, “We need not deny Celtic influences in the background of Virgil’s life.” His poems are rooted in the life of the Po Valley Celts.

Certainly Livy, much influenced by Celtic cultural traditions, was of a settler family. Episodes from Livy’s history compare fascinatingly with episodes in insular Celtic myth. [A critical examination of the contribution of the Celts to Latin literature is given in Celts and the Classical World, H. D. Rankin, Croom Helm, London, 1987.]

Gann

[I] One of the five sons of Dela who led the Firbolg invasion. Gann and Sengann divided the province of Munster between them. They both also appear as Fomorii leaders fighting the Nemedians.

Garach, Battle of

[I] The final battle in the Táin saga, where the armies of Ailill and Medb face those of Conchobhar Mac Nessa on the Plain of Garach. It is here that the Ulster army defeats the invading army of Connacht.

Gast Rhymri

[W] A dog whose cub hounds comprise the pack with which Mabon has to hunt the Twrch Trwyd.

Gaul

Regarded as “the heartland” of the ancient Celts, covering Switzerland, France, and Belgium. It is generally argued that the Celts developed in the area around the headwaters of the Danube, the Rhine, and the Rhône. All three rivers still retain their Celtic names; the Danube is cognate with Don, Dana—the “mother goddess”; the Rhine, from renos—“the sea”; the Rhône, from “roadway river”; and even the Rhur retains its Celtic origin, from Raura, along whose banks dwelt a Celtic tribe, the Raurici. The tributaries of these rivers also retain Celtic names. Scholars believe that the Celts were living in this region as an aboriginal population. Most also believe in the “expansion” theory, that Celtic speakers moved outwards at the start of the first millennium b.c. into northern