Thracian horseman

"Thracian horseman" relief with Latin inscription at Philippi.

The Thracian horseman (Bulgarian: Тракийски конник, Serbian: Трачки коњаник) is the name given to a recurring motif of a deity in the form of a horseman, in Paleo-Balkan mythology. The motif typically features a caped horseman astride a steed, with a spear poised in his right hand. He is often depicted as slaying a beast with a spear, though this features is sometimes absent.[1][2][3] The tradition is best illustrated in surviving artifacts from Thrace, Macedonia, Moesia, and Scythia Minor dating to the Roman era, and is often found depicted on funerary statues.

There are different theories on the identification of the deity.

After Christianity was adopted, the motif of the Thracian horseman is believed to have continued in representations of Saint George slaying the dragon.[2][5][6]

In the 4th century, the reliefs were considered to be representations of St. George.[7]

Examples

Honours

Heros Peninsula in Antarctica is named after the Thracian Horseman.

Annotations

References

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  1. Lurker, Manfred (1987). Dictionary of Gods and Goddesses, Devils and Demons. p. 151.
  2. 1 2 Nicoloff, Assen (1983). Bulgarian Folklore. p. 50.
  3. Isaac, Benjamin H. (1986). The Greek Settlements in Thrace Until the Macedonian Conquest. p. 257.
  4. Rebecca West (21 December 2010). Black Lamb and Grey Falcon: A Journey Through Yugoslavia. Open Road Media. p. 455. ISBN 978-1-4532-0746-8.
  5. Sigfried J. de Laet (1994). History of Humanity: From the seventh to the sixteenth century. Routledge. pp. 233–. ISBN 978-92-3-102813-7.
  6. Christopher Walter (2003). The Warrior Saints in Byzantine Art and Tradition. Ashgate. pp. 88–. ISBN 978-1-84014-694-3.
  7. Balcanica Posnaniensia 5. Wydawnictwo naukowe Uniwersytetu im. Adama Mickiewicza. 1990. p. 325. It was manifested, among other things, in the syncretism of St. George and Heros of Thrace: in the 4th century reliefs of the Thracian deity were considered to be representations of St. George.
  8. http://sofiaecho.com/2010/10/18/978553_archaeology-summer-dig-at-perperikon-yields-new-finds
  9. http://www.pressonline.rs/page/stories/sr.html?id=46190&sectionId=56&view=story. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  10. Sabazios on coins, illustrated in the M. Halkam collection.
  11. Ralph F. Hoddinott (1963). Early Byzantine churches in Macedonia and southern Serbia: a study of the origins and the initial development of East Christian art. Macmillan.

Further reading

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