Why the ancient Romans destroyed the druids?

We know very little about the mysterious druids, the ancient Celtic priests. Mostly, this information comes from the writings of ancient and Roman authors and a few archaeological finds. The Greek traveler Pytheas, who lived in the 4th century BC, was the first to write about the druids. He sailed around Europe by ship, past Britain to the very coast of the Baltic Sea. Unfortunately, among the ancient Greek authors, from Pytheas to Diogenes Laertius, who lived in the 3rd century AD, the druids are only mentioned among other priests of barbarian peoples. More detailed information about the druids appears in the writings of the ancient Romans, starting with Julius Caesar’s “Commentaries on the Gallic War”. However, the Romans were not at all interested in objective coverage of the druids because the druids inspired and organized the resistance of all Celtic tribes to the Roman invasion, both in Gaul and in Britain.

A druid as imagined by a modern artist.

Caesar wrote: “The druids take an active part in matters of worship, observe the correctness of public sacrifices, interpret all questions relating to religion; many young people go to them to learn sciences, and in general they enjoy great honor among the Gauls. Namely, they pass judgment on almost all disputed matters, both public and private. At the head of all the druids stands one who enjoys their greatest authority. Upon his death, the most worthy…