If the Greeks in the extreme south were the most civilized people of
Italy, the Gauls or Celts, in the extreme north, were the most
barbarous. Crossing the Alps from western Europe, they had pushed back
the Etruscans and occupied the plains of the Po; hence this region
received the name which it long held, Cisalpine Gaul. From this land the
Gauls made frequent incursions toward the south, and were for a long
time a terror to the other peoples of Italy.