In Antiquity, there were many different groups of people, and their cultures and lifestyles differed slightly from one another, although there were many similarities. The Germani included anyone who spoke a Germanic language; this could be distinguished by their pronunciation. The Celtic peoples spoke Celtic languages and included the Gauls, named so because they lived in the region of Gaul. The Celts were geographically spread throughout much of Western Europe including Britain whereas the Germani people lived to the east and north of the Celts. The definition of religion is ‘the belief in and worship of a superhuman controlling power, especially a personal God or gods.’ (Murray and Burchfield, 1933). Before there was a rise in acceptance …show more content…
In The Gallic Wars, Caesar describes the Gaulish gods. Mercury was the most highly worshipped of them all and Caesar states that he was seen as ‘the inventor of all arts and the pioneer and guide of travellers; and he is believed to be all-powerful in promoting commerce and the acquisition of health.’ (Caesar, 1908). This means that he was worshipped in many aspects of life such as wellbeing of the people, business, and the overseeing of expeditions. Four other gods are mentioned as being worshipped by the Gauls: Apollo, Minerva, Jupiter and Mars. However, these are the names of the Roman gods that equated to the Gaulish gods and so the descriptions of them may not be completely accurate and are likely to have a Roman …show more content…
They did not believe in any Gods or Goddesses but instead worshipped the sun, the moon and fire as these were the three things that the people saw obviously benefited them (Caesar, 1908). The sun provided heat and light, the moon allowed them to chart the skies and track time, and fire gave them warmth, protection and the ability to cook food. They had no knowledge of any gods at all. However, this is only one account of the Germanic belief of gods. Tacitus describes in Germania the God Tuisto and his son, Mannus. Mannus was the founder of the Germanic people and he had three sons, Istvaeones, Herminones, and Ingvaeones. These three became namesakes for the different peoples who lived in the three parts of Germania (Tacitus et al., 2009). The differences in the accounts of Caesar and Tacitus are likely down to the changes in beliefs in the approximate 15 decades between the