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- Died:
- 279 bc
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Brennus
Celtic chieftain [died 279 BCE]
Brennus (died 279 bc) was a Celtic chieftain who, when another tribe had created chaos in Macedonia by killing its king, led his tribe on a plundering expedition through Macedonia into Greece (autumn 279 bc). Held up at the pass of Thermopylae, he drew off the Aetolian contingent by sending a detachment into Aetolia, then outflanked the Greeks by the route the Persians had taken in 480. He pushed on to wealthy Delphi, but his forces were defeated, mainly by an Aetolian army (with Apollo’s help, it was believed), and he was wounded. Withdrawing northward, Brennus saw most of his army killed, and he committed suicide.
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