'And the Celts live beyond the Pillars of Hercules ...': Ancient Greek Awareness of the Celts and their Geographical Location

This paper analyses the first mentions of the Celts and their geographical location in ancient sources, paying special attention to Herodotus, whom it attempts to contextualise by also considering later authors, both Greek (Polybius, Diodorus Siculus and Strabo) and Roman (Pliny and Tacitus). This analysis is set in the context of recent debates on the linguistic nature of 'Tartessian', a little-known language of SW Hispania (considered Celtic by some scholars), as well as of the discussion of different theories on the geographical location of both Proto-Celtic and historic Celtic peoples and languages ('Celtic from the West', 'Celtic from the East', 'Celtic from the Centre'). Herodotus places the Celts in Mediterranean Gaul, the Pyrenees marking their boundary with the Iberians. However, he also mentions that they can be reached by crossing the Strait of Gibraltar and sailing through Atlantic waters beyond the lands of the Kynesians in southwestern Iberia. The misconception of a North / South orientation of the Pyrenees in several authors is also addressed, as well as the extent to which we may or may not interpret Herodotus as having accurate geographical, ethnographic or linguistic information.