Supernatural Beings Identified with Christian Saints Codexery

Thracian horseman

A recurring hunter-on-horseback motif from the ancient Balkans.

Last updated

The Thracian horseman is a recurring motif in reliefs from the Hellenistic and Roman periods in the Balkans, roughly from the 3rd century BC to the 3rd century AD.[1] Inscriptions from Romania identify the horseman as Heros and Eros, apparently using the word hero as a proper name.[1]

Quick Facts

Period
3rd century BC to 3rd century AD
Region
Thrace, Macedonia, Thessaly, Moesia
Epithets
  • Heros
  • Eros
  • Heron
  • Eron
  • κύριος
  • δεσπότης
  • ἥρως
Associated deities
  • Asclepius
  • Hygeia
  • Apollo
  • Sabatius

Facts from the source article.

Life and work

Liapis (2011) notes that the identification of Rhesus with the Heros Equitans rests on firmer ground than sometimes assumed.[2] The Heros is always depicted as a horseman, with variations including the Horseman as a hunter, a healer, or a warrior.[2] Images of the Thracian Horseman as a hunter often include wild animals near altars, indicating they are about to be sacrificed.[2] In Thrace, Lower Moesia, and Upper Moesia, depictions of the Thracian Horseman are found among Thracian communities and soldiers.[3]

The relief motif is most probably a composite figure: a Thracian hero, possibly drawing on Rhesus (the Thracian king from the Iliad), with added Scythian, Hellenistic, and other elements.[4] Coins from the reign of Roman Emperor Gordian III, minted at Tlos (in Lycia) and at Istrus (in Lower Moesia), feature the god on horseback.[5]

What the cited sources add

Liapis (2011) explains that Rhesus was worshipped as a horse-breeder, and the Heros Equitans is typically depicted as a rider.[2] A funerary relief from Thassos shows the Horseman being given an ivy-branch by a feminine figure, possibly Persephone.[2] Shchemelev (2015) describes the Danubian Horseman as reliefs of the II-IV centuries, cultic by nature.[6] The Danubian Horseman phenomenon is still little-studied in Russian historiography, according to Shchemelev.[7][8]

Shchemelev identifies key problems researchers face, including difficulties with iconography interpretation.[7][8]

References

  1. Wikipedia, "Thracian horseman" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Samsaris, "Le culte du Cavalier thrace dans la vallée du Bas-Strymon à l' époque romaine: Recherches sur la localisation de ses sanctuaires", 1984; Samsaris, Dimitrios C., "Le culte du Cavalier thrace dans la colonie romaine de Philippes et dans son territoire", Ponto-Baltica, 1982–1983, p. 89–100; Hampartumian, "Corpus Cultus Equitis Thracii (CCET)", Brill, 2015, p. 16; Hampartumian, "Corpus Cultus Equitis Thracii (CCET)", Brill, 2015, p. 16; Liapis, "The Thracian Cult of Rhesus and the Heros Equitans", Kernos, 2011 (we also read tha en.wikipedia.org
  2. Liapis, "The Thracian Cult of Rhesus and the Heros Equitans", Kernos, 2011. facts only, no text reused. journals.openedition.org
  3. Wikipedia, "Thracian horseman" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Kurilić, "Kultureller Transfer und religiöse Landschaften: Zur Begegnung zwischen Imperium und Barbaricum in der römischen Kaiserzeit", De Gruyter Akademie Forschung, 2022, p. 137–164 [159–160]; Toporov, "The Thracian Horseman in an Indo-European Perspective", ORPHEUS. Journal of Indo-European and Thracian Studies, 1990, p. 46–63 [46] (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
  4. Wikipedia, "Thracian horseman" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: West, Rebecca, "Black Lamb and Grey Falcon: A Journey Through Yugoslavia", Open Road Media, 21 December 2010, p. 455; NA, "Early Byzantine Churches in Macedonia & Southern Serbia", Springer, 2015-12-25 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  5. Wikipedia, "Thracian horseman" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Gordian III Lycia", mihalkam.ancients.info (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  6. "On the Issue of Classifying the Danubian Horseman Images", Gramota Publishing. facts only, no text reused. gramota.net
  7. "The Danubian Horseman: Essence of the Phenomenon and Its Iconographic Peculiarities". facts only, no text reused. gramota.net
  8. Vladimirovich, Shchemelev Artem. "ДУНАЙСКИЙ ВСАДНИК: СУЩНОСТЬ ФЕНОМЕНА И ОСОБЕННОСТИ ИКОНОГРАФИИ" "[The Danubian Horseman: Essence of the Phenomenon and Its Ico. facts only, no text reused. gramota.net

Each numbered sentence above was checked against the source it cites before publication. Sentences citing Wikipedia adapt text from the English Wikipedia article Thracian horseman (contributors), used under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is available under the same licence. Other sources were used for facts only; no text or images are copied from them.

Related entries

Named in this entry

PhilippiAsclepius

More in Supernatural beings identified with Christian saints

TonantzinLamariaChristianization of saints and feastsApsat (mythology)Babalú-AyéDavy Jones's lockerDazhbogDhu'l-KiflDjwal KhulDonbettyrFælværaGerman (mythology)

Sources

Compiled from Wikipedia and the sources listed below. Text from Wikipedia is available under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is adapted from it.

Spotted an error? Know more?

Reader corrections go straight into our review queue. Suggest an edit · How this site is sourced

Comments

Loading…
Open in the interactive codex →