A wicker man was purportedly a large wicker statue in which the druids (priests of Celtic paganism) sacrificed humans and animals by burning. The primary evidence for this practice is a sentence by Roman general Julius Caesar in his Commentary on the Gallic War (1st century BC),[1] which modern scholarship has linked to an earlier Greek writer, Posidonius.[2][3]
There is some archaeological evidence of human sacrifice among Celtic peoples, although rare.[4] The ancient Greco-Roman sources are now regarded somewhat sceptically, considering it is likely they "were eager to transmit any bizarre and negative information" about the Celts, as it benefited them to do so.[5][6]
The British horror film The Wicker Man (1973) brought the wicker man into contemporary popular culture. In the latter half of the 20th and early 21st centuries, a wicker man (without human or animal sacrifices) has been burned at some neopagan ceremonies and festivals such as Burning Man.[7] It has also been referenced in music and art.
- ^ "Others have figures of vast size, the limbs of which formed of osiers they fill with living men, which being set on fire, the men perish enveloped in the flames." Caesar, Julius (1915). Caesar's Commentaries (De Bello Gallico, 6.16). Translated by Macdevitt, W. A. Retrieved 6 July 2020.
- ^ Ellis, Peter Berresford (1998). The Ancient World of the Celts. Barnes & Noble. pp. 64, 184, 187. ISBN 0-7607-1716-8.
- ^ Davidson, Hilda Ellis (1988). Myths and Symbols in Pagan Europe: Early Scandinavian and Celtic Religions. Syracuse University Press. p. 60.
- ^ Koch, John (2012). The Celts: History, Life, and Culture. ABC-CLIO. pp. 687–690. ISBN 978-1598849646.
- ^ Wells, Peter S. (1999). The Barbarians Speak: How the Conquered Peoples Shaped Roman Europe. Princeton University Press. pp. 59–60. ISBN 0-691-08978-7.
- ^ "Did The Celts Burn Human Sacrifices In A Huge 'Wicker Man'?". The Straight Dope. 1998.
- ^ Jordan, Mark (2003). "The Body". In Gary Laderman (ed.). Religion and American Cultures. ABC-CLIO. p. 341.