After taking Rome, the Celts demanded an exorbitant amount of gold be paid as ransom for the city. As the Romans begrudgingly weighed out the gold to ransom, some Romans began to complain to Brennus that the weights being used were faulty in the Celts favor.
Hearing these whining, Roman gripes, Brennus jumped to his feet, threw his sword on the scale and bellowed in a guttural voice, “Vae Victis!” Or, “Woe to the Vanquished!” In other words, “What are you gonna do about it?!” The sacking of Rome and subsequent humiliation in 390 B.C. by Brennus left a psychological scar that the Romans never forgot, and it is theorized that this collective mental scarring would influence Julius Ceasar and Rome’s obsessive desire to conquer Gaul centuries later when Rome grew to super power status.
My artwork here depicts an Iron Age Celtic shield and various Iron Age Celtic implements of war that have been discovered by archaeologists and have unique and distinctive appearances. VAE VICTIS!
