Illyrian religion refers to the religious beliefs and practices of the
Illyrian peoples
The Illyrians ( grc, Ἰλλυριοί, ''Illyrioi''; la, Illyrii) were a group of Indo-European-speaking peoples who inhabited the western Balkan Peninsula in ancient times. They constituted one of the three main Paleo-Balkan populations, al ...
, a group of tribes who spoke the
Illyrian languages and inhabited part of the western
Balkan Peninsula from at least the 8th century BC until the 7th century AD. The available written sources are very tenuous. They consist largely of personal and place names, and a few
glosses
A gloss is a brief notation, especially a marginal one or an interlinear one, of the meaning of a word or wording in a text. It may be in the language of the text or in the reader's language if that is different.
A collection of glosses is a ''g ...
from Classical sources.
Still insufficiently studied, the most numerous traces of
religious practice
Religion is usually defined as a social- cultural system of designated behaviors and practices, morals, beliefs, worldviews, texts, sanctified places, prophecies, ethics, or organizations, that generally relates humanity to supernatural, t ...
s of the pre-Roman era are those relating to
religious symbolism. Symbols are depicted in every variety of ornament and reveal that the chief object of the prehistoric cult of the Illyrians was the
sun
The Sun is the star at the center of the Solar System. It is a nearly perfect ball of hot plasma, heated to incandescence by nuclear fusion reactions in its core. The Sun radiates this energy mainly as light, ultraviolet, and infrared radi ...
, worshipped in a widespread and complex religious system. Illyrian deities were mentioned in inscriptions on
statues
A statue is a free-standing sculpture in which the realistic, full-length figures of persons or animals are carved or cast in a durable material such as wood, metal or stone. Typical statues are life-sized or close to life-size; a sculpture t ...
,
monuments
A monument is a type of structure that was explicitly created to commemorate a person or event, or which has become relevant to a social group as a part of their remembrance of historic times or cultural heritage, due to its artistic, hist ...
, and
coins
A coin is a small, flat (usually depending on the country or value), round piece of metal or plastic used primarily as a medium of exchange or legal tender. They are standardized in weight, and produced in large quantities at a mint in order t ...
of the
Roman period, and some
interpreted by Ancient writers through
comparative religion
Comparative religion is the branch of the study of religions with the systematic comparison of the doctrines and practices, themes and impacts (including migration) of the world's religions. In general the comparative study of religion yie ...
. To these can be added a larger body of inscriptions from the south-eastern
Italian
Italian(s) may refer to:
* Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries
** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom
** Italian language, a Romance language
*** Regional Ita ...
region of
Apulia written in the
Messapic language, which is generally considered to be related to
Illyrian, although this has been debated as mostly speculative. There appears to be no single most prominent god for all the
Illyrian tribes, and a number of deities evidently appear only in specific regions.
It is thought that the Illyrians did not develop a uniform
cosmology
Cosmology () is a branch of physics and metaphysics dealing with the nature of the universe. The term ''cosmology'' was first used in English in 1656 in Thomas Blount's ''Glossographia'', and in 1731 taken up in Latin by German philosopher ...
on which to center their
religious practices
Religion is usually defined as a social- cultural system of designated behaviors and practices, morals, beliefs, worldviews, texts, sanctified places, prophecies, ethics, or organizations, that generally relates humanity to supernatural, ...
. As
pagans, Illyrians believed in
supernatural powers and they attributed to the deities qualities that were reflected in
everyday life,
health
Health, according to the World Health Organization, is "a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease and infirmity".World Health Organization. (2006)''Constitution of the World Health Organiza ...
and
disease
A disease is a particular abnormal condition that negatively affects the structure or function of all or part of an organism, and that is not immediately due to any external injury. Diseases are often known to be medical conditions that a ...
,
natural abundance and
natural disaster. A number of Illyrian
toponyms
Toponymy, toponymics, or toponomastics is the study of '' toponyms'' (proper names of places, also known as place names and geographic names), including their origins, meanings, usage and types. Toponym is the general term for a proper name of ...
and
anthroponyms
Anthroponymy (also anthroponymics or anthroponomastics, from Ancient Greek ἄνθρωπος ''anthrōpos'' / 'human', and ὄνομα ''onoma'' / 'name') is the study of ''anthroponyms'', the proper names of human beings, both individual and co ...
derived from animal names and reflected the beliefs in animals as
mythological ancestors and protectors. The
serpent
Serpent or The Serpent may refer to:
* Snake, a carnivorous reptile of the suborder Serpentes
Mythology and religion
* Sea serpent, a monstrous ocean creature
* Serpent (symbolism), the snake in religious rites and mythological contexts
* Serp ...
was one of the most important animal
totems
A totem (from oj, ᑑᑌᒼ, italics=no or ''doodem'') is a spirit being, sacred object, or symbol that serves as an emblem of a group of people, such as a family, clan, lineage, or tribe, such as in the Anishinaabe clan system.
While ''the wo ...
. Illyrians believed in the force of
spells and the
evil eye
The Evil Eye ( grc, ὀφθαλμὸς βάσκανος; grc-koi, ὀφθαλμὸς πονηρός; el, (κακό) μάτι; he, עַיִן הָרָע, ; Romanian: ''Deochi''; it, malocchio; es, mal de ojo; pt, mau-olhado, olho gordo; ar ...
, in the magic power of protective and beneficial
amulets which could avert the evil eye or the bad intentions of enemies. The rich spectrum in religious beliefs and burial rituals that emerged in Illyria, especially during the Roman period, may reflect the variation in cultural identities in this region.
Certain aspects of the deities and beliefs of the Illyrians stem ultimately from
Proto-Indo-European mythology
Proto-Indo-European mythology is the body of myths and deities associated with the Proto-Indo-Europeans, the hypothetical speakers of the reconstructed Proto-Indo-European language. Although the mythological motifs are not directly attested � ...
. Alongside the
Thracian
The Thracians (; grc, Θρᾷκες ''Thrāikes''; la, Thraci) were an Indo-European speaking people who inhabited large parts of Eastern and Southeastern Europe in ancient history.. "The Thracians were an Indo-European people who occupied ...
and
Dacian beliefs, it constitutes part of
Paleo-Balkan mythologies.
Albanians preserved traces of Illyrian religious symbolism, and ancient Illyrian religion is probably one of the underlying sources from which
Albanian folk beliefs
Albanian folk beliefs ( sq, Besimet folklorike shqiptare) comprise the beliefs expressed in the customs, rituals, myths, legends and tales of the Albanian people. The elements of Albanian mythology are of Paleo-Balkanic origin and almost all ...
have drawn nourishment. One can also find several traces of Illyrian cults in the religious and superstitious beliefs among south
Slavic peoples today.
Cults
Cults from the
Neolithic
The Neolithic period, or New Stone Age, is an Old World archaeological period and the final division of the Stone Age. It saw the Neolithic Revolution, a wide-ranging set of developments that appear to have arisen independently in several p ...
tradition—especially those that were associated with the fertility of the earth and with agriculture in general—continued to be practised throughout the
Bronze Age
The Bronze Age is a historic period, lasting approximately from 3300 BC to 1200 BC, characterized by the use of bronze, the presence of writing in some areas, and other early features of urban civilization. The Bronze Age is the second prin ...
and at the beginning of the
Iron Age
The Iron Age is the final epoch of the three-age division of the prehistory and protohistory of humanity. It was preceded by the Stone Age ( Paleolithic, Mesolithic, Neolithic) and the Bronze Age ( Chalcolithic). The concept has been mostl ...
in the Western Balkans. Those traditions included the cult of the
Earth Mother, the cult of the
sun
The Sun is the star at the center of the Solar System. It is a nearly perfect ball of hot plasma, heated to incandescence by nuclear fusion reactions in its core. The Sun radiates this energy mainly as light, ultraviolet, and infrared radi ...
, and the cult of the
serpent
Serpent or The Serpent may refer to:
* Snake, a carnivorous reptile of the suborder Serpentes
Mythology and religion
* Sea serpent, a monstrous ocean creature
* Serpent (symbolism), the snake in religious rites and mythological contexts
* Serp ...
.
During the early
Iron Age
The Iron Age is the final epoch of the three-age division of the prehistory and protohistory of humanity. It was preceded by the Stone Age ( Paleolithic, Mesolithic, Neolithic) and the Bronze Age ( Chalcolithic). The concept has been mostl ...
, the Illyrian art was
geometric and non-
representational, with the combination of
concentric circles
In geometry, two or more objects are said to be concentric, coaxal, or coaxial when they share the same center or axis. Circles, regular polygons and regular polyhedra, and spheres may be concentric to one another (sharing the same center poi ...
,
rhomboid
Traditionally, in two-dimensional geometry, a rhomboid is a parallelogram in which adjacent sides are of unequal lengths and angles are non-right angled.
A parallelogram with sides of equal length (equilateral) is a rhombus but not a rhomboi ...
s,
triangle
A triangle is a polygon with three edges and three vertices. It is one of the basic shapes in geometry. A triangle with vertices ''A'', ''B'', and ''C'' is denoted \triangle ABC.
In Euclidean geometry, any three points, when non- colline ...
s and broken
lines
Line most often refers to:
* Line (geometry), object with zero thickness and curvature that stretches to infinity
* Telephone line, a single-user circuit on a telephone communication system
Line, lines, The Line, or LINE may also refer to:
Arts ...
. It was a severe type of art devoid of phantasy, intended for
farmers and
cattle breeders or
warriors. The absence of figured ornament may reflect an apparent lack of
anthropomorphic cults during the early Iron Age. The geometric art of the period, which reached its climax in the 8th century BC, seems to be the only common feature between the different Illyrian areas, as artistic ornaments found after the 6th century BC rather show an outside influence, mainly from
archaic Greece and
Etruscan Italy.
Archaeological evidence demonstrate the existence of two main
cults based upon two roughly defined geographic criteria: the cult of the
serpent
Serpent or The Serpent may refer to:
* Snake, a carnivorous reptile of the suborder Serpentes
Mythology and religion
* Sea serpent, a monstrous ocean creature
* Serpent (symbolism), the snake in religious rites and mythological contexts
* Serp ...
appears to have occurred principally in the southern regions of
Illyria, while the
waterfowl
Anseriformes is an order of birds also known as waterfowl that comprises about 180 living species of birds in three families: Anhimidae (three species of screamers), Anseranatidae (the magpie goose), and Anatidae, the largest family, which i ...
and
solar symbol
A solar symbol is a symbol representing the Sun.
Common solar symbols include circles (with or without rays), crosses, and spirals.
In religious iconography, personifications of the Sun or solar attributes are often indicated by means of a hal ...
s predominated in the north. The serpent as the symbol of
fertility
Fertility is the capability to produce offspring through reproduction following the onset of sexual maturity. The fertility rate is the average number of children born by a female during her lifetime and is quantified demographically. Fertili ...
, protector of the
hearth and a
chthonic animal, could also be connected with the cult of the sun.
Sun
Many of the symbols found throughout Illyria were associated with the
Sun
The Sun is the star at the center of the Solar System. It is a nearly perfect ball of hot plasma, heated to incandescence by nuclear fusion reactions in its core. The Sun radiates this energy mainly as light, ultraviolet, and infrared radi ...
, suggesting that the
Sun worship was a cult common to Illyrian tribes. The solar deity was depicted as an
animal
Animals are multicellular, eukaryotic organisms in the Kingdom (biology), biological kingdom Animalia. With few exceptions, animals Heterotroph, consume organic material, Cellular respiration#Aerobic respiration, breathe oxygen, are Motilit ...
figure, the likes of the
birds,
serpents and
horses, or represented
geometrically as a
spiral, a concentric
circle
A circle is a shape consisting of all points in a plane that are at a given distance from a given point, the centre. Equivalently, it is the curve traced out by a point that moves in a plane so that its distance from a given point is con ...
or a
swastika. The latter, moving clockwise (卍), portrayed the solar movement.
Several bronze pendants widespread in the region have the shape of
solar symbol
A solar symbol is a symbol representing the Sun.
Common solar symbols include circles (with or without rays), crosses, and spirals.
In religious iconography, personifications of the Sun or solar attributes are often indicated by means of a hal ...
s such as a simple disk without rays, with four rays which form a cross, and with more rays. There are pendants that have more circles placed concentrically from the center to the periphery.
Maximus of Tyre
Maximus of Tyre ( el, Μάξιμος Τύριος; fl. late 2nd century AD), also known as Cassius Maximus Tyrius, was a Greek rhetorician and philosopher who lived in the time of the Antonines and Commodus, and who belongs to the trend of the Se ...
(2nd century AD) reported that the
Paeonians
Paeonians were an ancient Indo-European people that dwelt in Paeonia. Paeonia was an old country whose location was to the north of Ancient Macedonia, to the south of Dardania, to the west of Thrace and to the east of Illyria, most of their lan ...
worshipped the sun in the form of a small round disk fixed on the top of a pole. The sun-disk fixed on the top of a pole is also depicted in the
coins
A coin is a small, flat (usually depending on the country or value), round piece of metal or plastic used primarily as a medium of exchange or legal tender. They are standardized in weight, and produced in large quantities at a mint in order t ...
of the Illyrian city of
Damastion Damastion ( grc, Δαμάστιον) was an ancient city in the area of central Balkans, known for its silver coins dating back to the 4th century BC. It is attested only in Strabo who says that the city had silver-mines and locates it in Illyria. T ...
. Among the
Liburnians
The Liburnians or Liburni ( grc, Λιβυρνοὶ) were an ancient tribe inhabiting the district called Liburnia, a coastal region of the northeastern Adriatic between the rivers ''Arsia'' ( Raša) and ''Titius'' ( Krka) in what is now Croati ...
and the
Veneti, the sun-disk is depicted as a sun-boat borne across the firmament.
Waterfowl
Anseriformes is an order of birds also known as waterfowl that comprises about 180 living species of birds in three families: Anhimidae (three species of screamers), Anseranatidae (the magpie goose), and Anatidae, the largest family, which i ...
are among the most frequent solar symbols of the Illyrians, especially in the north. A great number of pendants with waterfowl shapes have been found in the
Glasinac plateau, in the regions of the
Japodes in
Lika, in
Liburnia
Liburnia ( grc, Λιβουρνία) in ancient geography was the land of the Liburnians, a region along the northeastern Adriatic coast in Europe, in modern Croatia, whose borders shifted according to the extent of the Liburnian dominance at a g ...
and in the Illyrian regions of present-day
Albania
Albania ( ; sq, Shqipëri or ), or , also or . officially the Republic of Albania ( sq, Republika e Shqipërisë), is a country in Southeastern Europe. It is located on the Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea and shares ...
and
North Macedonia
North Macedonia, ; sq, Maqedonia e Veriut, (Macedonia before February 2019), officially the Republic of North Macedonia,, is a country in Southeast Europe. It gained independence in 1991 as one of the successor states of Yugoslavia. It ...
. At
Noricum
Noricum () is the Latin name for the Celtic kingdom or federation of tribes that included most of modern Austria and part of Slovenia. In the first century AD, it became a province of the Roman Empire. Its borders were the Danube to the north, ...
were found two Illyrian temples with sacrificial
altar
An altar is a table or platform for the presentation of religious offerings, for sacrifices, or for other ritualistic purposes. Altars are found at shrines, temples, churches, and other places of worship. They are used particularly in paga ...
s associated with the sun-cult and erected on mountain peaks. Evidence of a widespread cult of the sun among
Thracians
The Thracians (; grc, Θρᾷκες ''Thrāikes''; la, Thraci) were an Indo-European speaking people who inhabited large parts of Eastern and Southeastern Europe in ancient history.. "The Thracians were an Indo-European people who occupied t ...
suggests a common
ancient Balkan religious practice. Archaeological findings have shown that Illyrians and Thracians practiced
ritual sacrifices to the sun in round
temples built in high places. Among Illyrians, the
deer
Deer or true deer are hoofed ruminant mammals forming the family Cervidae. The two main groups of deer are the Cervinae, including the muntjac, the elk (wapiti), the red deer, and the fallow deer; and the Capreolinae, including the re ...
was an important sun symbol as it was considered a main
sacrificial animal offered to the Sun.
Remnants of the cult of the sun have been preserved among the
Albanians until the 20th century in agricultural and livestock cults, in craftsmanship, in calendar
rituals
A ritual is a sequence of activities involving gestures, words, actions, or objects, performed according to a set sequence. Rituals may be prescribed by the traditions of a community, including a religious community. Rituals are characterized, b ...
, in the oral folk traditions and in art. The solar deity was worshipped in the family life cycle, in the cult of hearth and fire, of water and the mountains; in
oath swearing but also as a source of livelihood, of health and fertility, or simply as a useful protective object. A significant element of the sun-worship are the "fires of the year" (''zjarret e vitit'').
Bonfires took place in Albania on the peaks of mountains, on hills and near homes, on
Summer Day (beginning of March) or on June 24, sometimes in July, August or December 24. In the
Albanian Songs of the Frontier Warriors
Albanian may refer to:
*Pertaining to Albania in Southeast Europe; in particular:
**Albanians, an ethnic group native to the Balkans
**Albanian language
**Albanian culture
**Demographics of Albania, includes other ethnic groups within the country ...
, different events are influenced by the sun. The "Mountains of the Sun" (''Bjeshkët e Diellit'') are the places where the heroes (''Kreshnikët'') operate. The sun symbols are found in
Albania
Albania ( ; sq, Shqipëri or ), or , also or . officially the Republic of Albania ( sq, Republika e Shqipërisë), is a country in Southeastern Europe. It is located on the Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea and shares ...
in many decorative ornaments, and until the 20th century, the cult of the sun was displayed on
tattoos
A tattoo is a form of body modification made by inserting tattoo ink, dyes, and/or pigments, either indelible or temporary, into the dermis layer of the skin to form a design. Tattoo artists create these designs using several tattooing pr ...
practiced among northern Albanians and
Catholics in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Serpent
The serpent cult was widespread among Illyrians, especially in the south. The image of the
serpent
Serpent or The Serpent may refer to:
* Snake, a carnivorous reptile of the suborder Serpentes
Mythology and religion
* Sea serpent, a monstrous ocean creature
* Serpent (symbolism), the snake in religious rites and mythological contexts
* Serp ...
was a symbol of
potency and
fertility
Fertility is the capability to produce offspring through reproduction following the onset of sexual maturity. The fertility rate is the average number of children born by a female during her lifetime and is quantified demographically. Fertili ...
, and the protector of the domestic hearth.
This mystic animal was connected with the
cult of the ancestors and with the magical-religious complex of the fertility of the earth and of the woman. The Illyrian cult of the serpent is documented in ancient sources. An example is the
mythological legend of
Cadmus and his wife
Harmonia
In Greek mythology, Harmonia (; grc, Ἁρμονία /Ancient Greek phonology, harmoˈnia/, "harmony", "agreement") is the immortal goddess of harmony and concord. Her Rome, Roman counterpart is Concordia (mythology), Concordia. Her Greek op ...
, who, having come to the Illyrians and died in their homeland, continued to live after their death in the form of serpents. Their son
Illyrios, the eponymous hero of the
Illyrian lineage, also had the form of a serpent, and as such he can be considered as the supreme
totem
A totem (from oj, ᑑᑌᒼ, italics=no or '' doodem'') is a spirit being, sacred object, or symbol that serves as an emblem of a group of people, such as a family, clan, lineage, or tribe, such as in the Anishinaabe clan system.
While ''the ...
of the Illyrians.
The importance of the serpent in the symbolic and religious system of the Illyrians is reflected in numerous archaeological discoveries in their settlements and
necropolises, especially in
Albania
Albania ( ; sq, Shqipëri or ), or , also or . officially the Republic of Albania ( sq, Republika e Shqipërisë), is a country in Southeastern Europe. It is located on the Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea and shares ...
,
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Bosnia and Herzegovina ( sh, / , ), abbreviated BiH () or B&H, sometimes called Bosnia–Herzegovina and often known informally as Bosnia, is a country at the crossroads of south and southeast Europe, located in the Balkans. Bosnia and H ...
,
North Macedonia
North Macedonia, ; sq, Maqedonia e Veriut, (Macedonia before February 2019), officially the Republic of North Macedonia,, is a country in Southeast Europe. It gained independence in 1991 as one of the successor states of Yugoslavia. It ...
and
Serbia
Serbia (, ; Serbian: , , ), officially the Republic of Serbia (Serbian: , , ), is a landlocked country in Southeastern and Central Europe, situated at the crossroads of the Pannonian Basin and the Balkans. It shares land borders with Hungar ...
. The serpent was used as a common terminal ornament for decorative items. A 3rd century BC
silvered bronze belt buckle found inside the
Illyrian Tombs of Selça e Poshtme near the
Lake Ohrid
Lake Ohrid ( mk, Охридско Езеро , al, Liqeni i Ohrit , also referred as ''Liqeni i Pogradecit'';) is a lake which straddles the mountainous border between the southwestern part of North Macedonia and eastern Albania. It is one of E ...
shows a scene of warriors and horsemen in combat, with a giant serpent as a protector
totem
A totem (from oj, ᑑᑌᒼ, italics=no or '' doodem'') is a spirit being, sacred object, or symbol that serves as an emblem of a group of people, such as a family, clan, lineage, or tribe, such as in the Anishinaabe clan system.
While ''the ...
of one of the horsemen; a very similar belt was found also in the necropolis of Gostilj near the
Lake Scutari. A Roman era statue of a local goddess of abundance was found in the locality of
Qesarat; the goddess holds in her left hand a basket around which a snake is twisted.
Figureheads of serpents appear on the ships depicted on
Labeatan coins
A coin is a small, flat (usually depending on the country or value), round piece of metal or plastic used primarily as a medium of exchange or legal tender. They are standardized in weight, and produced in large quantities at a mint in order t ...
, which were found in the town of Çinamak, near
Kukës
Kukës ( sq-definite, Kukësi) is a city in the Republic of Albania. The city is the capital of the surrounding municipality of Kukës and county of Kukës, one of 12 constituent counties of the republic. It spans and had a total population of 1 ...
. Other representations of the serpent are found in the Greek-Illyrian coins of
Byllis
Byllis ( gr, Βύλλις; sq, Bylis; la, Byllis) or Bullis or Boullis (Βουλλίς) was an ancient city and the chief settlement of the Illyrian tribe of the Bylliones, traditionally located in southern Illyria. In Hellenistic times the c ...
,
Apollonia,
Dyrrhachion,
Olympe and
Amantia
Amantia ( gr, Ἀμάντια, Ἀβάντια; la, Amantia) was an ancient city and the main settlement of the Amantes, traditionally located in southern Illyria in classical antiquity. In Hellenistic times the city was either part of Illyri ...
. In
Dardania and
Dalmatia there were dedicated altars to the serpentine pair ''Dracon'' and ''Dracaena''/''Dracontilla''. In later times, the serpent was considered an obstacle to the
Christian spiritual life.
The cult of the serpent has survived among
Albanians throughout the
Middle Ages
In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...
and to the present days. All the beliefs, rites, and practices of magic associated with this cult have been well preserved in rural settlements by the elders until the last decades of the 20th century. The serpent is worshiped as a
chthonic and
water deity
A water deity is a deity in mythology associated with water or various bodies of water. Water deities are common in mythology and were usually more important among civilizations in which the sea or ocean, or a great river was more important. Anoth ...
. It is also considered a healer and a totem protector of the family and the house. In
Albania
Albania ( ; sq, Shqipëri or ), or , also or . officially the Republic of Albania ( sq, Republika e Shqipërisë), is a country in Southeastern Europe. It is located on the Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea and shares ...
, the serpent appears in many decorative symbols, in
toponyms
Toponymy, toponymics, or toponomastics is the study of '' toponyms'' (proper names of places, also known as place names and geographic names), including their origins, meanings, usage and types. Toponym is the general term for a proper name of ...
and
anthroponyms
Anthroponymy (also anthroponymics or anthroponomastics, from Ancient Greek ἄνθρωπος ''anthrōpos'' / 'human', and ὄνομα ''onoma'' / 'name') is the study of ''anthroponyms'', the proper names of human beings, both individual and co ...
. In southern
Dalmatia in particular, the serpent is found in carving, heraldry and anthroponyms. The cult of the serpent left traces in numerous similar ritual manifestations within
Slavic mythology
Slavic mythology or Slavic religion is the religious beliefs, myths, and ritual practices of the Slavs before Christianisation, which occurred at various stages between the 8th and the 13th century. The South Slavs, who likely settled in the Balk ...
. At
Sutomore in
Montenegro
)
, image_map = Europe-Montenegro.svg
, map_caption =
, image_map2 =
, capital = Podgorica
, coordinates =
, largest_city = capital
, official_languages = M ...
, on the former
Enchelei
The Enchelei were an ancient people that lived around the region of Lake Shkodra and Lake Ohrid,Strabo, Geography (ed. H.C. Hamilton, Esq., W. Falconer, M.A.), book 7, chapter 7: "...had established their sway, and Enchelii, who are also called Se ...
an coast, the ''blavor'' ("snake-lizard") is considered a
household protector, and it is a sin to kill it. The word ''blavor'' is related to
Albanian ''bullar'' and
Romanian ''
balaur
A balaur ( pl. ''balauri'') in Romanian folklore is a type of many-headed dragon or monstrous serpent, sometimes said to be equipped with wings. The number of heads is usually around three, but they can also have seven heads or even twelve hea ...
'', which are pre-Slavic Balkanisms that show the continuity of the cult of the serpent among the peoples of the region.
Horseman
The cult of the
Thracian horseman
The Thracian horseman (also "Thracian Rider" or "Thracian Heros") is a recurring motif depicted in reliefs of the Hellenistic and Roman periods in the Balkans—mainly Thrace, Macedonia, Thessaly and Moesia—roughly from the 3rd century BC to ...
spread from the eastern Balkans into Illyria during the
Roman era, appearing in the typical image of a hunter on horseback, riding from left to right.
The Thracian horseman was portrayed on both
votive
A votive offering or votive deposit is one or more objects displayed or deposited, without the intention of recovery or use, in a sacred place for religious purposes. Such items are a feature of modern and ancient societies and are generally ...
and
funeral monuments. A less used type of monument depicting a Thracian horseman was the
medallion, found also at
Sarajevo
Sarajevo ( ; cyrl, Сарајево, ; ''see names in other languages'') is the capital and largest city of Bosnia and Herzegovina, with a population of 275,524 in its administrative limits. The Sarajevo metropolitan area including Sarajevo ...
, in Dalmatia.
Deities by region
The study in the field of Illyrian religion is in several cases insufficient for a description even at the level of basic attributes of individual deities. The main source of information are inscriptions from the Roman period; some deities are also named by Roman and Greek writers in equation with the classical
pantheon which they were familiar with. Based on the available list of deities, there seems to be no single or prominent god shared by all the
Illyrian tribes, and a number of deities evidently appear only in specific regions. On the other hand, some derivatives and epithets of gods were more widespread among the different tribes: a lot of Illyrian personal names are similar to the Dardanian deity
Andinus
Andinus is an Illyrian god worshipped among the Dardanians in Moesia Superior. The only trace left is a name carved on an altar dedicated by a ''beneficiarus'' ("a foreigner"). Variants of the name such as ''Andia'' or ''Andio'' were common among ...
, and certain Illyrian and Messapian goddesses (some of them borrowed from Greek) shared the title ''Ana'' or ''Anna'', which is plausibly interpreted as "Mother".
The Illyrian names of the gods were not different in grammatical structures from the personal names reserved for humans. The onomastic evidence demonstrates a general division between several cultural provinces, which can sometimes overlap: the southern region of
Illyris, the middle
Pannonian and
Dalmatian provinces, and the northwestern regions of
Liburnia
Liburnia ( grc, Λιβουρνία) in ancient geography was the land of the Liburnians, a region along the northeastern Adriatic coast in Europe, in modern Croatia, whose borders shifted according to the extent of the Liburnian dominance at a g ...
and
Istria. Other Illyrian gods are more scarcely attested in
Moesia Superior (present-day
North Macedonia
North Macedonia, ; sq, Maqedonia e Veriut, (Macedonia before February 2019), officially the Republic of North Macedonia,, is a country in Southeast Europe. It gained independence in 1991 as one of the successor states of Yugoslavia. It ...
), and the pantheon may be extended to the
Iapygian deities if one follows the generally accepted Illyro-Messapic theory that postulates an Illyrian migration towards southeastern Italy (present-day
Apulia) during the early first millennium BC.
Illyris
The lexicographer
Hesychius of Alexandria
Hesychius of Alexandria ( grc, Ἡσύχιος ὁ Ἀλεξανδρεύς, Hēsýchios ho Alexandreús, lit=Hesychios the Alexandrian) was a Greek grammarian who, probably in the 5th or 6th century AD,E. Dickey, Ancient Greek Scholarship (2007 ...
(fifth or sixth century AD) mentioned a god named
Dei-pátrous, worshiped in
Tymphaea
Tymphaea or Tymphaia () was an ancient Greek territory, specifically located in the region of Epirus, inhabited by the Tymphaioi, a northwestern Greek tribe that belonged to the Molossian tribal state or ''koinon''. The tribal territory was annex ...
as the
Sky Father (''*
Dyēus-Ph2tḗr'') and a
cognate of the Vedic
Dyáuṣ Pitṛ́, Greek
Zeus Patēr and Roman
Jupiter
Jupiter is the fifth planet from the Sun and the largest in the Solar System. It is a gas giant with a mass more than two and a half times that of all the other planets in the Solar System combined, but slightly less than one-thousandth t ...
. According to linguist
Émile Benveniste
Émile Benveniste (; 27 May 1902 – 3 October 1976) was a French structural linguist and semiotician. He is best known for his work on Indo-European languages and his critical reformulation of the linguistic paradigm established by Ferdinand ...
, the northwestern Greek region of Tymphaea was inhabited by an Illyrian population that may have influenced the
Doric form copied by Hesychius as "Deipáturos" (Δειπάτυροϛ). The tribe of the
Parthini worshiped ''Jupiter Parthinus'' as a chief deity, identified with the chief Roman god
Jupiter
Jupiter is the fifth planet from the Sun and the largest in the Solar System. It is a gas giant with a mass more than two and a half times that of all the other planets in the Solar System combined, but slightly less than one-thousandth t ...
. Hesychius recorded that the Illyrians believed in
satyr
In Greek mythology, a satyr ( grc-gre, σάτυρος, sátyros, ), also known as a silenus or ''silenos'' ( grc-gre, σειληνός ), is a male nature spirit with ears and a tail resembling those of a horse, as well as a permanent, exa ...
-like creatures called ''Deuadai'', which has been interpreted as a diminutive of the inherited
Indo-European
The Indo-European languages are a language family native to the overwhelming majority of Europe, the Iranian plateau, and the northern Indian subcontinent. Some European languages of this family, English, French, Portuguese, Russian, Dutc ...
word for a "god" (''*deywós''). Philologist
Hans Krahe argued that Satyros (Σάτυρος) may be of Illyrian origin.
The name ''Redon'' appears in inscriptions found in
Santa Maria di Leuca
Santa Maria di Leuca, often spelled simply Leuca (, from ''Leukos'', "white"), is a ''frazione'' of the ''comune'' of Castrignano del Capo, in the Salento peninsula ( Apulia), southern Italy.
A part of the town once belonged to the ''comune'' of ...
(present-day
Lecce), and on coins minted by the Illyrian city of
Lissos, suggesting that he was worshipped as the guardian deity of the city, and probably as a sea god. The fact that Redon was always depicted on coins wearing a
petasos
A ''petasos'' or petasus ( el, πέτασος) is a broad brimmed hat of Thessalian origin worn by ancient Greeks, Thracians and Etruscans, often in combination with the chlamys cape. It was made of wool felt, leather, straw or animal skin. Women ...
demonstrates a connection with travelling and sailing, which led historians to the conclusion that Redon was the deity protector of travellers and sailors. Indeed, the inscriptions of Santa Maria di Leuca were carved by the crews of two Roman merchant ships manned by Illyrians. Inscriptions mentioning Redon were also found on coins from the Illyrian cities of
Daorson
Daorson (Ancient Greek: Δαορσών) was the capital of the Illyrian tribe of the Daorsi (Ancient Greek Δαόριζοι, Δαούρσιοι; Latin ''Daorsei''). The Daorsi lived in the valley of the Neretva River between 300 BC and 50 BC. They ...
and
Scodra, and even in archaeological findings from
Dyrrhachium after the establishment of a Roman colony there. His name keeps on being used in the Albanian
''Kepi i Rodonit'' ("Cape of Rodon"), a headland located near
Durrës
Durrës ( , ; sq-definite, Durrësi) is the second most populous city of the Republic of Albania and seat of Durrës County and Durrës Municipality. It is located on a flat plain along the Albanian Adriatic Sea Coast between the mouths of ...
which could be analysed as an Illyrian sanctuary dedicated to the god of the sailors in the past.
Prende was the Illyrian love-goddess and the consort of the sky and thunder-god
Perëndi
Perëndi ( sq-definite, Perëndia) is an Albanian noun for God, deity, sky and heaven. It is used capitalized to refer to the Supreme Being, and uncapitalized for "deity", "sky" and "heaven".
Name Description
In Albanian, ''Perëndí'' (de ...
. The name ''Per-en-di'' is a possible
cognate of the
Proto-Indo-European
Proto-Indo-European (PIE) is the reconstructed common ancestor of the Indo-European language family. Its proposed features have been derived by linguistic reconstruction from documented Indo-European languages. No direct record of Proto-Indo- ...
weather god
A weather god or goddess, also frequently known as a storm god or goddess, is a deity in mythology associated with weather phenomena such as thunder, snow, lightning, rain, wind, storms, tornadoes, and hurricanes. Should they only be in charge o ...
''*
Perkwunos,'' deriving from the root ''*per-'' ("to strike"), and attached to the suffixes ''-en-'' and ''-di/dei,'' the Illyrian sky-god. The
fire
Fire is the rapid oxidation of a material (the fuel) in the exothermic chemical process of combustion, releasing heat, light, and various reaction products.
At a certain point in the combustion reaction, called the ignition point, flames a ...
was deified as
En (or ''*Enji''), which has been interpreted as a cognate of the
Vedic
upright=1.2, The Vedas are ancient Sanskrit texts of Hinduism. Above: A page from the '' Atharvaveda''.
The Vedas (, , ) are a large body of religious texts originating in ancient India. Composed in Vedic Sanskrit, the texts constitute the ...
fire god
Agni
Agni (English: , sa, अग्नि, translit=Agni) is a Sanskrit word meaning fire and connotes the Vedic fire deity of Hinduism. He is also the guardian deity of the southeast direction and is typically found in southeast corners of Hindu ...
, descending from the root ''
*Hxn̩gwnis'', the Proto-Indo-European divinised fire. En, Perendi and Prende were worshiped by Illyrians until the spread of
Christianity
Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. It is the world's largest and most widespread religion with roughly 2.38 billion followers representing one-third of the global pop ...
in the region, after which En was demoted to demonic status, although his name survived in the
Albanian language
Albanian ( endonym: or ) is an Indo-European language and an independent branch of that family of languages. It is spoken by the Albanians in the Balkans and by the Albanian diaspora, which is generally concentrated in the Americas, Europ ...
to refer to
Thursday
Thursday is the day of the week between Wednesday and Friday. According to the ISO 8601 international standard, it is the fourth day of the week. In countries which adopt the "Sunday-first" convention, it is the fifth day of the week.
Name
''Se ...
(''enjte''). Prende was similarly inherited as a root for
Friday
Friday is the day of the week between Thursday and Saturday. In countries that adopt the traditional "Sunday-first" convention, it is the sixth day of the week. In countries adopting the ISO-defined "Monday-first" convention, it is the fifth d ...
(''premte'') and
Saint Venera
Saint Venera (''Veneranda, Veneria, Venerina, Parasceve'') is venerated as a Christian martyr of the 2nd century. Little is known of this saint. The date of her death is traditionally given as July 26, 143 AD.
In the ''Catalogo Sanctorum'', com ...
(''Shënepremte''), while Perëndi was retained as the
Name of God
There are various names of God, many of which enumerate the various qualities of a Supreme Being. The English word ''god'' (and its equivalent in other languages) is used by multiple religions as a noun to refer to different deities, or speci ...
.
An Illyrian god named
Medaurus
Medaurus was the Illyrian guardian deity of the city of Risinium, and possibly a war god.
Description
Medaurus is depicted as riding on horseback and carrying a javelin. As the protector of Risinium, it is possible that Medaurus was regarded ...
is mentioned in a dedication from
Lambaesis
Lambaesis (Lambæsis), Lambaisis or Lambaesa (''Lambèse'' in colonial French), is a Roman archaeological site in Algeria, southeast of Batna and west of Timgad, located next to the modern village of Tazoult. The former bishopric is also a Lat ...
(
Numidia) made by a Roman
legatus
A ''legatus'' (; anglicised as legate) was a high-ranking Roman military officer in the Roman Army, equivalent to a modern high-ranking general officer. Initially used to delegate power, the term became formalised under Augustus as the officer ...
native of the Illyrian city of
Risinium (present-day
Montenegro
)
, image_map = Europe-Montenegro.svg
, map_caption =
, image_map2 =
, capital = Podgorica
, coordinates =
, largest_city = capital
, official_languages = M ...
). The name is more scarcely attested on another inscription found in Risinium, engraved by the ''Peripolarchoi'', the border guards of the city; and also in Santa Maria di Leuca, where ''Medaurus'' is the divine name given to a merchant ship. Portrayed as riding on horseback and carrying a lance, Medaurus was the protector deity of Risinium, with a monumental equestrian statue dominating the city from the
acropolis. He was also possibly regarded as a war god among Illyrian soldiers fighting in the Roman legions along the
limes
Limes may refer to:
* the plural form of lime (disambiguation)
Lime commonly refers to:
* Lime (fruit), a green citrus fruit
* Lime (material), inorganic materials containing calcium, usually calcium oxide or calcium hydroxide
* Lime (color), a ...
, especially during the
Marcomannic Wars (166–180 AD).
Dalmatia and Pannonia
Dalmatia and
Pannonia were ruled by the
Roman Empire
The Roman Empire ( la, Imperium Romanum ; grc-gre, Βασιλεία τῶν Ῥωμαίων, Basileía tôn Rhōmaíōn) was the post- Republican period of ancient Rome. As a polity, it included large territorial holdings around the Mediter ...
and grouped together within the province of
Illyricum from the creation of the empire in 27 BC until the reign of
Vespasian
Vespasian (; la, Vespasianus ; 17 November AD 9 – 23/24 June 79) was a Roman emperor who reigned from AD 69 to 79. The fourth and last emperor who reigned in the Year of the Four Emperors, he founded the Flavian dynasty that ruled the Empi ...
in 69–79 AD, during which they got separated into two different provinces. From the beginning of the reign of
Septimius Severus
Lucius Septimius Severus (; 11 April 145 – 4 February 211) was Roman emperor from 193 to 211. He was born in Leptis Magna (present-day Al-Khums, Libya) in the Roman province of Africa. As a young man he advanced through the customary suc ...
in 193, Pannonians began to adopt Roman deities or put emphasis on local gods compatible with Roman cults.
Sedatus,
Epona, ''Mars
Latobius'', ''Jupiter Optimus Maximus Teutanus'', and other non-Illyrian deities were thus introduced by Roman and Celtic foreigners in the region, and local religion is hardly traceable before the
Severan period.
Cult of Silvanus
The cult of
Silvanus, the Roman
tutelary deity
A tutelary () (also tutelar) is a deity or a spirit who is a guardian, patron, or protector of a particular place, geographic feature, person, lineage, nation, culture, or occupation. The etymology of "tutelary" expresses the concept of safety an ...
of the wild, woods and fields, was one of the most popular ritual traditions in Dalmatia and Pannonia during the Roman period. Silvanus was so familiar in the region that his name was often abbreviated on inscriptions. The way he was portrayed in Dalmatia differed from the rest of the Roman Empire, with various elements common only with
Pannonia. Silvanus was depicted with attributes generally related to
Pan, such as goat legs, horns, ''
syrinx'', ''
pedum
Pedum ( grc, Πέδα) was an ancient town of Latium in central Italy, located between Tibur and Praeneste, near modern Gallicano nel Lazio. The town was a member of the Latin League.
History
In around 488 BC, Pedum was captured by an invad ...
'', grapes or other fruits, and he was escorted by a
goat
The goat or domestic goat (''Capra hircus'') is a domesticated species of goat-antelope typically kept as livestock. It was domesticated from the wild goat (''C. aegagrus'') of Southwest Asia and Eastern Europe. The goat is a member of the a ...
and female companions (Diana and the
Nymph
A nymph ( grc, νύμφη, nýmphē, el, script=Latn, nímfi, label= Modern Greek; , ) in ancient Greek folklore is a minor female nature deity. Different from Greek goddesses, nymphs are generally regarded as personifications of nature, are ...
s). Several
cognomina were attributed to Silvanus in particular, such as ''Domesticus'' when he was portrayed as a bearded countryman with his watch-dog, holding the knife of a wine-grower or gardener. Under ''Silvanus'' ''Messor,'' he was the protector of the harvest, while the epithet ''Silvestris'', often paired with Diana and the Nymphs, depicted the hunter and the rural woodland identity.
Some scholars have interpreted those peculiarities from the point of the view that Silvanus was an indigenous deity resembling Pan, but recognized by Classical writers as 'Silvanus' through the eyes of ''
interpretatio romana
''Interpretatio graeca'' (Latin, "Greek translation") or "interpretation by means of Greek odels is a discourse used to interpret or attempt to understand the mythology and religion of other cultures; a comparative methodology using ancient Gr ...
.'' They generally link the representations of Silvanus with an erect
phallus to pre-Roman fertility cults found earlier in the region, especially local
ithyphallic depictions of the Iron Age. The cult of Silvanus was also more frequent in the towns of the Dalmatian heartlands such as
Vrlika
Vrlika is a small town in inland Split-Dalmatia County, Croatia. The closest large towns are Sinj, Knin, and Drniš. Vrlika was given the status of town in 1997. Vrlika is an underdeveloped municipality which is statistically classified as the ...
than in the coastal Graeco-Roman colonies like
Narona. An opposing view regards the cult of Silvanus in Dalmatia and Pannonia as a tradition of
Italian
Italian(s) may refer to:
* Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries
** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom
** Italian language, a Romance language
*** Regional Ita ...
origin eventually adopted by Balkanic populations living in romanized areas during the second century AD. The association of Silvanus with the Phrygian deity
Attis
Attis (; grc-gre, Ἄττις, also , , ) was the consort of Cybele, in Phrygian and Greek mythology.
His priests were eunuchs, the ''Galli'', as explained by origin myths pertaining to Attis castrating himself. Attis was also a Phrygian v ...
also appears in Dalmatia and further north in
Aquileia (
Italia
Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the Italy (geographical region) ...
).
The ''Silvanae'', a feminine plural of
Silvanus, were featured on many dedications across
Pannonia. As most of them were found in the western Balkans rather than in Italy, they may have represented Illyrian
nymphs
A nymph ( grc, νύμφη, nýmphē, el, script=Latn, nímfi, label=Modern Greek; , ) in ancient Greek folklore is a minor female nature deity. Different from Greek goddesses, nymphs are generally regarded as personifications of nature, are ...
. In the hot springs of
Topusko
Topusko is a municipality in Sisak-Moslavina County, Croatia. Topusko is an underdeveloped municipality which is statistically classified as the First Category Area of Special State Concern by the Government of Croatia.
Demographics
The populati ...
(
Pannonia Superior
Pannonia Superior, lit. Upper Pannonia, was a province of the Roman Empire. Its capital was Carnuntum. It was one on the border provinces on the Danube. It was formed in the year 103 AD by Emperor Trajan who divided the former province of Pan ...
), sacrificial altars were dedicated to ''Thana'' and ''Vidasus'', whose names invariably stand side by side as companions. Vidasus is identified with Silvanus, and his name may derive from the
PIE root *''wid
hu''- ("tree, forest"), with a possible
cognate in the Norse god
Víðarr
In Norse mythology, Víðarr (Old Norse: , possibly "wide ruler",Orchard (1997:174—175). sometimes anglicized as Vidar , Vithar, Vidarr, and Vitharr) is a god among the Æsir associated with vengeance. Víðarr is described as the son of Odin ...
, who is said to live amid long grass and brushwood. Thana, compared with the Roman goddess
Diana, was the deity of forestry and hunting. Scholars have argued that Thana survived as
Zana of
Albanian mythology
Albanian folk beliefs ( sq, Besimet folklorike shqiptare) comprise the beliefs expressed in the customs, rituals, myths, legends and tales of the Albanian people. The elements of Albanian mythology are of Paleo-Balkanic origin and almost all ...
,
and that she can be traced today in the image of "mother Yana" within Serbian folklore.
Cult of Liber
In
Dalmatia, the Roman deity of wine, fertility and freedom
Liber
In ancient Roman religion and mythology, Liber ( , ; "the free one"), also known as Liber Pater ("the free Father"), was a god of viticulture and wine, male fertility and freedom. He was a patron deity of Rome's plebeians and was part of the ...
was worshipped with the attributes of Silvanus and those of
Terminus
Terminus may refer to:
* Bus terminus, a bus station serving as an end destination
* Terminal train station or terminus, a railway station serving as an end destination
Geography
*Terminus, the unofficial original name of Atlanta, Georgia, United ...
, the god protector of boundaries. His cult was more widespread in the Balkanic province than in Italy, with prominent centres of cult in
Salona
Salona ( grc, Σάλωνα) was an ancient city and the capital of the Roman province of Dalmatia. Salona is located in the modern town of Solin, next to Split, in Croatia.
Salona was founded in the 3rd century BC and was mostly destroyed in ...
and
Narona. On the islands of
Brattia and
Corcyra Nigra, Liber was venerated under the epithet ''Torcle(n)sis'' as a god of the wine press. Certainly due to a mix of local traditions and Hellenistic influence, he was often associated with the Greek god of wine, fertility and
religious ecstasy
Religious ecstasy is a type of altered state of consciousness characterized by greatly reduced external awareness and expanded interior mental and spiritual awareness, frequently accompanied by visions and emotional (and sometimes physical) euph ...
Dyonisus. In
Tragurium was erected a statue of Liber-Dionysus-Bacchus, and a relief from
Omiš depicts him as an effeminate Dionysus wearing vine branches and holding a
thyrsus
A thyrsus /ˈθɜːrsəs/ or thyrsos /ˈθɜːrˌsɒs/ (Ancient Greek: θύρσος) was a wand or staff of giant fennel ('' Ferula communis'') covered with ivy vines and leaves, sometimes wound with taeniae and topped with a pine cone, arti ...
. Another relief from
Livno
Livno ( sr-cyrl, Ливно, ) is a city and the administrative center of Canton 10 of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, an entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is situated on the river Bistrica in the southeastern edge of the Livno Fiel ...
portrays him with a
thyrsus
A thyrsus /ˈθɜːrsəs/ or thyrsos /ˈθɜːrˌsɒs/ (Ancient Greek: θύρσος) was a wand or staff of giant fennel ('' Ferula communis'') covered with ivy vines and leaves, sometimes wound with taeniae and topped with a pine cone, arti ...
and serpent, or with a vase and a dog, a possible
syncretism with the Roman god of medicine
Asclepius
Asclepius (; grc-gre, Ἀσκληπιός ''Asklēpiós'' ; la, Aesculapius) is a hero and god of medicine in ancient Greek religion and mythology. He is the son of Apollo and Coronis, or Arsinoe, or of Apollo alone. Asclepius represe ...
. A feminine version named Libera was also discovered in inscriptions from
Hvar
Hvar (; Chakavian: ''Hvor'' or ''For'', el, Φάρος, Pharos, la, Pharia, it, Lesina) is a Croatian island in the Adriatic Sea, located off the Dalmatian coast, lying between the islands of Brač, Vis and Korčula. Approximately long,
wi ...
,
Bihać
Bihać ( cyrl, Бихаћ) is a city and the administrative centre of Una-Sana Canton of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, an entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is situated on the banks of river Una in northwestern Bosnia and Herzegovin ...
,
Zenica
Zenica ( ; ; ) is a city in Bosnia and Herzegovina and an administrative and economic center of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina's Zenica-Doboj Canton. It is located in the Bosna river valley, about north of Sarajevo. The city is k ...
,
Zemun
Zemun ( sr-cyrl, Земун, ; hu, Zimony) is a municipality in the city of Belgrade. Zemun was a separate town that was absorbed into Belgrade in 1934. It lies on the right bank of the Danube river, upstream from downtown Belgrade. The developme ...
and
Humac.
Other deities
Tadenus was a Dalmatian deity bearing the identity or epithet of
Apollo
Apollo, grc, Ἀπόλλωνος, Apóllōnos, label=genitive , ; , grc-dor, Ἀπέλλων, Apéllōn, ; grc, Ἀπείλων, Apeílōn, label= Arcadocypriot Greek, ; grc-aeo, Ἄπλουν, Áploun, la, Apollō, la, Apollinis, label ...
in inscriptions found near the source of the
Bosna river. His identity is not known and the name may be of
Thracian
The Thracians (; grc, Θρᾷκες ''Thrāikes''; la, Thraci) were an Indo-European speaking people who inhabited large parts of Eastern and Southeastern Europe in ancient history.. "The Thracians were an Indo-European people who occupied ...
origin. A local ruler named Ionios appears on inscriptions carved on Dalmatian coins. His mythic dimensions have been highlighted by scholars, and it seems likely that he received his name from a mythical predecessor. The
Delmatae
The Delmatae, alternatively Dalmatæ, during the Roman period, were a group of Illyrian tribes in Dalmatia, contemporary southern Croatia and western Bosnia and Herzegovina. The region of Dalmatia takes its name from the tribe.
The Delmatae ap ...
also had Armatus as a war god in
Delminium. Two altars were dedicated to him under the name ''Armatus Augustus'' in Dalmatia, and while he was recorded under a Latin name, the deity was likely of native origin.
Aecorna (or ''Arquornia'') was a goddess worshipped exclusively in the Emona Basin, in the cities of
Nauportus and
Emona
Emona (early gkm, Ἤμονα) or Aemona (short for ) was a Roman castrum, located in the area where the navigable Ljubljanica river came closest to Castle Hill, (
Pannonia Superior
Pannonia Superior, lit. Upper Pannonia, was a province of the Roman Empire. Its capital was Carnuntum. It was one on the border provinces on the Danube. It was formed in the year 103 AD by Emperor Trajan who divided the former province of Pan ...
), where she was the most important divinity next to Jupiter. The earlier testimony of her cult appears in inscriptions dated 50–30 BC, and she is most likely of native origin. Aecorna has been interpreted as a lake goddess, or as a patroness of the river traffic along the
Ljubjanica. Laburus was also a local deity worshipped in Emona. His name was found on an altar erected at
Fuzine, in a dangerous site for navigation near the rapids of the Ljubjanica river. Laburus may thus have been a deity protecting the boatmen sailing through those perilous rapids. Oriental
Mithraic mysteries
Mithraism, also known as the Mithraic mysteries or the Cult of Mithras, was a Roman mystery religion centered on the god Mithras. Although inspired by Iranian worship of the Zoroastrian divinity (''yazata'') Mithra, the Roman Mithras is lin ...
became also widespread in
Pannonia during the Roman period, with an important centre of cult in
Poetovio.
Liburnia and Istria
Iutossica and Anzotica, the latter identified with
Venus
Venus is the second planet from the Sun. It is sometimes called Earth's "sister" or "twin" planet as it is almost as large and has a similar composition. As an interior planet to Earth, Venus (like Mercury) appears in Earth's sky never f ...
, were worshipped in
Liburnia
Liburnia ( grc, Λιβουρνία) in ancient geography was the land of the Liburnians, a region along the northeastern Adriatic coast in Europe, in modern Croatia, whose borders shifted according to the extent of the Liburnian dominance at a g ...
. Some deities are known exclusively from
Istria, such as Nebres, Malesocus, Iria, or Boria, a mountain-god (from Illyrian ''*bora'', "mountain"). Other local theonyms include Latra, Sentona, and the nymph Ica. In honour of Ica was erected a monument in the vicinity of a spring in
Flanona, which still bears her name. Bindus, identified with
Neptune, was worshiped among the
Japodes as the guardian deity of springs and seas. Altars were dedicated to him by tribal leaders at the Privilica spring sources near
Bihać
Bihać ( cyrl, Бихаћ) is a city and the administrative centre of Una-Sana Canton of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, an entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is situated on the banks of river Una in northwestern Bosnia and Herzegovin ...
. By the early 1st century AD, the Istrian goddess Heia was worshipped on the
Pag island in a
syncretism with the Roman goddess
Bona Dea
Bona Dea (; 'Good Goddess') was a goddess in ancient Roman religion. She was associated with chastity and fertility in Roman women, healing, and the protection of the state and people of Rome. According to Roman literary sources, she was brought ...
. She is also attested in the towns of
Nesactium
Nesactium ( Istrian dialect: ''Vizače'', hr, Nezakcij, it, Nesazio) was an ancient fortified town and hill fort of the Histri tribe. Its ruins are located in southern Istria, Croatia, between the villages of Muntić and Valtura.
History
...
and
Pula.
Moesia Superior
The region of
Moesia Superior showed a great variety of cultural beliefs, as it lay on the cultural frontier between the
Latin West and the Greek East. The debated identity of tribes such as the
Dardani
The Dardani (; grc, Δαρδάνιοι, Δάρδανοι; la, Dardani) or Dardanians were a Paleo-Balkan people, who lived in a region that was named Dardania after their settlement there. They were among the oldest Balkan peoples, and their ...
ans, interpreted as either Illyrian or Thracian, or the
Paeonians
Paeonians were an ancient Indo-European people that dwelt in Paeonia. Paeonia was an old country whose location was to the north of Ancient Macedonia, to the south of Dardania, to the west of Thrace and to the east of Illyria, most of their lan ...
, likewise dwelling between the Dardanians and
Macedonians, rests upon the fact that they inhabited an Illyrian-Thracian contact zone where both cultures intertwined over a long period.
The
Dardani
The Dardani (; grc, Δαρδάνιοι, Δάρδανοι; la, Dardani) or Dardanians were a Paleo-Balkan people, who lived in a region that was named Dardania after their settlement there. They were among the oldest Balkan peoples, and their ...
an deity
Andinus
Andinus is an Illyrian god worshipped among the Dardanians in Moesia Superior. The only trace left is a name carved on an altar dedicated by a ''beneficiarus'' ("a foreigner"). Variants of the name such as ''Andia'' or ''Andio'' were common among ...
was worshipped in a region dominated by Thracian gods. The only trace left is a name carved on an altar dedicated by a ''beneficiarus'' ("a foreigner"). Variants like ''Andia or'' ''Andio'' were also common among the Dardanians, and a lot of Illyrian personal names are found under the forms Andes, Andueia or Andena. The
Paeonians
Paeonians were an ancient Indo-European people that dwelt in Paeonia. Paeonia was an old country whose location was to the north of Ancient Macedonia, to the south of Dardania, to the west of Thrace and to the east of Illyria, most of their lan ...
worshiped a god named Dualos, the equivalent of
Dionysus
In ancient Greek religion and myth, Dionysus (; grc, Διόνυσος ) is the god of the grape-harvest, winemaking, orchards and fruit, vegetation, fertility, insanity, ritual madness, religious ecstasy, festivity, and theatre. The Roma ...
. His name has been compared with
Albanian ''dej'' ("drunk") and
Gothic ''dwals'' ("a madman"), reinforcing the association of the Paeonian deity with wine and intoxication.
Apulia
Iapygian tribes (the
Messapians
The Messapians ( grc, Μεσσάπιοι, Messápioi; la, Messapii) were a Iapygian tribe who inhabited Salento in classical antiquity. Two other Iapygian tribes, the Peucetians and the Daunians, inhabited central and northern Apulia respective ...
,
Daunians
The Daunians ( el, Δαύνιοι, Daúnioi; la, Daunii) were an Iapygian tribe that inhabited northern Apulia in classical antiquity. Two other Iapygian tribes, the Peucetians and the Messapians, inhabited central and southern Apulia respectiv ...
and
Peucetians) all shared
Messapic as a common language until the Roman conquest of
Apulia from the late 4th century BC onwards. Messapic was probably related to the
Illyrian languages spoken on the other side of the
Adriatic Sea
The Adriatic Sea () is a body of water separating the Italian Peninsula from the Balkan Peninsula. The Adriatic is the northernmost arm of the Mediterranean Sea, extending from the Strait of Otranto (where it connects to the Ionian Sea) to t ...
, as both ancient sources and modern scholars have described an Illyrian migration into Italy early in the first millennium BC. The pre-Roman religion of Iapygians appears as a substrate of indigenous elements mixed with
Greek mythology
A major branch of classical mythology, Greek mythology is the body of myths originally told by the ancient Greeks, and a genre of Ancient Greek folklore. These stories concern the origin and nature of the world, the lives and activities ...
. In fact, the Roman conquest probably accelerated the hellenisation of a region already influenced by contacts with
Magna Grecia, a set of colonies Greeks had founded in southeastern Italy by the 8th century BC (
Tarentum in particular), after first incursions centuries earlier during the
Mycenaean period
Mycenaean Greece (or the Mycenaean civilization) was the last phase of the Bronze Age in Ancient Greece, spanning the period from approximately 1750 to 1050 BC.. It represents the first advanced and distinctively Greek civilization in mainland ...
.
Aphrodite
Aphrodite ( ; grc-gre, Ἀφροδίτη, Aphrodítē; , , ) is an ancient Greek goddess associated with love, lust, beauty, pleasure, passion, and procreation. She was syncretized with the Roman goddess . Aphrodite's major symbols inclu ...
and
Athena
Athena or Athene, often given the epithet Pallas, is an ancient Greek religion, ancient Greek goddess associated with wisdom, warfare, and handicraft who was later syncretism, syncretized with the Roman goddess Minerva. Athena was regarded ...
were thus worshiped in Apulia as ''Aprodita'' and ''Athana'', respectively.
Indigenous Iapygian beliefs featured the curative powers of the waters at the
''herõon'' of the god
Podalirius
In Greek mythology, Podalirius or Podaleirius or Podaleirios ( grc, Ποδαλείριος) was a son of Asclepius.
Description
In the account of Dares the Phrygian, Podalirius was illustrated as ". . .sturdy, strong, haughty, and moody."
...
and the fulfilling of oracles for anyone who slept wrapped in the skin of a sacrificed ewe. Menzanas was a local
Messapian deity whose name literally translates as "Lord of Horses". He was often worshipped under the epithet ''
Juppiter Menzanas'', and horses were sacrificed to him by being thrown alive into a fire. Originally formed as ''*mendyo-no-'', the name Menzanas derives from the root ''*mendyo-'' ("
foal"), attached to the
PIE suffix ''-nos'' ("controller of, lord of"). The cult of ''Juppiter Menzanas,'' known at least since
Verrius Flaccus
Marcus Verrius Flaccus (c. 55 BCAD 20) was a Roman grammarian and teacher who flourished under Augustus and Tiberius.
Life
He was a freedman, and his manumitter has been identified with Verrius Flaccus, an authority on pontifical law; but for c ...
(c. 55 BC–20 AD), is probably a native custom eventually influenced by neighbouring
Italic peoples
The Italic peoples were an ethnolinguistic group identified by their use of Italic languages, a branch of the Indo-European language family.
The Italic peoples are descended from the Indo-European speaking peoples who inhabited Italy from at lea ...
. In fact, the native sky-god of the
Messapians
The Messapians ( grc, Μεσσάπιοι, Messápioi; la, Messapii) were a Iapygian tribe who inhabited Salento in classical antiquity. Two other Iapygian tribes, the Peucetians and the Daunians, inhabited central and northern Apulia respective ...
, Zis (or ''Dis''), was likewise worshipped under the aspect of ''Zis Menzanas''. Attested by the early 6th century BC, Zis is not a loanword adapted from the Greek
Zeus
Zeus or , , ; grc, Δῐός, ''Diós'', label= genitive Boeotian Aeolic and Laconian grc-dor, Δεύς, Deús ; grc, Δέος, ''Déos'', label= genitive el, Δίας, ''Días'' () is the sky and thunder god in ancient Greek reli ...
, but a parallel inheritance from the
Proto-Indo-European
Proto-Indo-European (PIE) is the reconstructed common ancestor of the Indo-European language family. Its proposed features have been derived by linguistic reconstruction from documented Indo-European languages. No direct record of Proto-Indo- ...
sky-god ''*
Dyēus'' (via an intermediate form ''*dyēs''), and other cognates appear in Vedic
Dyáuṣ, Latin
Jovis (''*Djous'') and Illyrian
Dei(-pátrous). The
Tarentine god ''Dís'' (Δίς) has probably been borrowed from their neighbouring Messapians.
The goddess Venas (< ''*wenos)'', also an inherited deity (cognate with Latin ''
Venus
Venus is the second planet from the Sun. It is sometimes called Earth's "sister" or "twin" planet as it is almost as large and has a similar composition. As an interior planet to Earth, Venus (like Mercury) appears in Earth's sky never f ...
'' or Old Indic ''vánas'' "desire"), is often invoked along with the sky-god Zis (''kla(o)hi Zis Venas'', "listen, Zis (and) Venas") and with an unknown god, Taotor (''Θautour''), probably related to the "tribe" or the "community" as his name stems from
PIE ''*teutéh
a-'' ('people'). Lahona was the name of a Messapian deity worshipped as an epithet attached to Aphrodite: ''ana aprodita lahona.'' She was featured in votive inscriptions found in
Ceglie Messapica, and the dedication has been translated either as "To the goddess Aphrodite Lahona", or as "Mother Aphrodite Lahona". The theonym ''Thana'', attested on Messapian inscriptions, is also found on Dalmatian altars.
The goddess Damatura (or ''Damatira'') could be of Messapian origin rather than a borrowing from the Greek
Demeter, with a form ''dā-'' ("earth", compare with sq, dhe) attached to ''-matura'' ("mother") and akin to the Illyrian god
Dei-pátrous (''dei-'', "sky", attached to -''pátrous,'' "father"). This theory was supported by
Pisani (1935) and
Georgiev (1937), rejected by
Kretschmer (1939), and more recently supported by
Çabej,
Demiraj (1997), and
West
West or Occident is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from east and is the direction in which the Sun sets on the Earth.
Etymology
The word "west" is a Germanic word passed into some ...
(2007), although
Beekes (2009) and
De Simone (2017) rather see a borrowing from Greek. West further notes that "the formal parallelism between
'Damatura'' and ''Deipaturos''may favour their having been a pair, but evidence of the liaison is lacking."
Mythology
Cosmology
It seems that the Illyrians did not develop a uniform
cosmology
Cosmology () is a branch of physics and metaphysics dealing with the nature of the universe. The term ''cosmology'' was first used in English in 1656 in Thomas Blount's ''Glossographia'', and in 1731 taken up in Latin by German philosopher ...
on which to center their
religious practices
Religion is usually defined as a social- cultural system of designated behaviors and practices, morals, beliefs, worldviews, texts, sanctified places, prophecies, ethics, or organizations, that generally relates humanity to supernatural, ...
.
Legends
The absence of figured ornament during the early
Iron Age
The Iron Age is the final epoch of the three-age division of the prehistory and protohistory of humanity. It was preceded by the Stone Age ( Paleolithic, Mesolithic, Neolithic) and the Bronze Age ( Chalcolithic). The concept has been mostl ...
may reflect an apparent lack of
mythology
Myth is a folklore genre consisting of narratives that play a fundamental role in a society, such as foundational tales or origin myths. Since "myth" is widely used to imply that a story is not objectively true, the identification of a narra ...
among Illyrians in this period. The most deeply rooted mythological tradition among the populations of northwestern Balkans was the legend of
Cadmus and
Harmonia
In Greek mythology, Harmonia (; grc, Ἁρμονία /Ancient Greek phonology, harmoˈnia/, "harmony", "agreement") is the immortal goddess of harmony and concord. Her Rome, Roman counterpart is Concordia (mythology), Concordia. Her Greek op ...
; other legends were those of Bato and of the
Cadmeians. The myth of the heroic pair Cadmus and Harmonia was strictly connected to the
Enchelei
The Enchelei were an ancient people that lived around the region of Lake Shkodra and Lake Ohrid,Strabo, Geography (ed. H.C. Hamilton, Esq., W. Falconer, M.A.), book 7, chapter 7: "...had established their sway, and Enchelii, who are also called Se ...
and the territory they inhabited:
Boeotia
Boeotia ( ), sometimes Latinized as Boiotia or Beotia ( el, Βοιωτία; modern: ; ancient: ), formerly known as Cadmeis, is one of the regional units of Greece. It is part of the region of Central Greece. Its capital is Livadeia, and its ...
and Illyria.
In Roman times Bato was one of the most notable Illyrian names, which perhaps was originally a ''
nomen sacrum'', and is outstandingly spread but condensed in Illyria,
Thebes and
Troas, with the presence of a temple dedicated to him at
Argos
Argos most often refers to:
* Argos, Peloponnese, a city in Argolis, Greece
** Ancient Argos, the ancient city
* Argos (retailer), a catalogue retailer operating in the United Kingdom and Ireland
Argos or ARGOS may also refer to:
Businesses
...
, as recorded by
Pausanias Pausanias ( el, Παυσανίας) may refer to:
*Pausanias of Athens, lover of the poet Agathon and a character in Plato's ''Symposium''
*Pausanias the Regent, Spartan general and regent of the 5th century BC
* Pausanias of Sicily, physician of t ...
. In every region it is related to legends and religion, suggesting also an ancient cult. According to a legendary account reported by
Polybius, cited by
Stephanus of Byzantium, after
Amphiaraus
In Greek mythology, Amphiaraus or Amphiaraos (; Ancient Greek: Ἀμφιάραος, Ἀμφιάρεως, "very sacred") was the son of Oicles, a seer, and one of the leaders of the Seven against Thebes. Amphiaraus at first refused to go with Ad ...
disappearance his carioteer Baton settled in Illyria, near the country of the Enchelei.
The meanings of
compound
Compound may refer to:
Architecture and built environments
* Compound (enclosure), a cluster of buildings having a shared purpose, usually inside a fence or wall
** Compound (fortification), a version of the above fortified with defensive struc ...
personal names like ''Veskleves'' (
lit. "good-fame", i.e. "possessing good fame") have been interpreted as an indicator of an oral epic tradition among the Illyrians.
According to a tradition reported by
Appian
Appian of Alexandria (; grc-gre, Ἀππιανὸς Ἀλεξανδρεύς ''Appianòs Alexandreús''; la, Appianus Alexandrinus; ) was a Greek historian with Roman citizenship who flourished during the reigns of Emperors of Rome Trajan, Ha ...
, the Illyrian king Epidamnos was the eponymous founder of the
homonym city. His grandson Dyrrhachos, son of Epidamnos' daughter Melissa and
Poseidon
Poseidon (; grc-gre, Ποσειδῶν) was one of the Twelve Olympians in ancient Greek religion and myth, god of the sea, storms, earthquakes and horses.Burkert 1985pp. 136–139 In pre-Olympian Bronze Age Greece, he was venerated as a ...
, founded a harbor that was called Dyrrhachion. According to this legend, when Dyrrhachus was attacked by his own brothers, the hero
Heracles
Heracles ( ; grc-gre, Ἡρακλῆς, , glory/fame of Hera), born Alcaeus (, ''Alkaios'') or Alcides (, ''Alkeidēs''), was a divine hero in Greek mythology, the son of Zeus and Alcmene, and the foster son of Amphitryon.By his adoptiv ...
, who was promised part of the Illyrian land, came to his aid, but in the fight the hero killed by mistake Ionius, the son of his ally Dyrrhachos. During the funeral Heracles cast the body into the sea, thereafter named
Ionian Sea. The genealogy of the foundation of Dyrrhachium includes among the founders Illyrian men (the Illyrian king Epidamnos and his grandson Dyrrachos), Greek men (the Corinthian Falio, descendant of Heracles), heroes (Heracles who was given part of the lands) and gods (Poseidon, as father of Dyrrachos). The emergence of a mixed tradition with apparently divergent aspects (Heracles as a "god" and a Greek king on the one hand, Epidamnos and his grandson Dyrrachos as Illyrians on the other hand) was probably determined by the perception of a profane action carried out by the colonists, which only a new heroic and divine tradition could have justified. Considering the Hellenization process to which the Illyrian local aristocracies adhered early, this tradition can be conceivably considered as constructed both by the colonists and by the Hellenized
Taulantian population.
Totemism
Illyrian
totem
A totem (from oj, ᑑᑌᒼ, italics=no or '' doodem'') is a spirit being, sacred object, or symbol that serves as an emblem of a group of people, such as a family, clan, lineage, or tribe, such as in the Anishinaabe clan system.
While ''the ...
ism is known almost exclusively from Illyrian
tribal names,
toponyms
Toponymy, toponymics, or toponomastics is the study of '' toponyms'' (proper names of places, also known as place names and geographic names), including their origins, meanings, usage and types. Toponym is the general term for a proper name of ...
and
anthroponyms
Anthroponymy (also anthroponymics or anthroponomastics, from Ancient Greek ἄνθρωπος ''anthrōpos'' / 'human', and ὄνομα ''onoma'' / 'name') is the study of ''anthroponyms'', the proper names of human beings, both individual and co ...
, which were taken from the animal and plant world, reflecting a close relation of Illyrian peoples to
nature
Nature, in the broadest sense, is the physical world or universe. "Nature" can refer to the phenomena of the physical world, and also to life in general. The study of nature is a large, if not the only, part of science. Although humans are ...
. Such cases include:
Enchelei
The Enchelei were an ancient people that lived around the region of Lake Shkodra and Lake Ohrid,Strabo, Geography (ed. H.C. Hamilton, Esq., W. Falconer, M.A.), book 7, chapter 7: "...had established their sway, and Enchelii, who are also called Se ...
, "people of the
eel
Eels are ray-finned fish belonging to the order Anguilliformes (), which consists of eight suborders, 19 families, 111 genera, and about 800 species. Eels undergo considerable development from the early larval stage to the eventual adult stage ...
" (cf.
Albanian: ''ngjalë'',
Ancient Greek
Ancient Greek includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Dark Ages (), the Archaic p ...
: ἔγχελυς,
Latin
Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...
: ''anguilla'');
Taulanti
Taulantii or Taulantians ('swallow-men'; Ancient Greek: , or , ; la, Taulantii) were an Illyrian people that lived on the Adriatic coast of southern Illyria (modern Albania). They dominated at various times much of the plain between the rivers ...
, "people of the
swallow
The swallows, martins, and saw-wings, or Hirundinidae, are a family of passerine songbirds found around the world on all continents, including occasionally in Antarctica. Highly adapted to aerial feeding, they have a distinctive appearance. The ...
" (cf. Albanian: ''tallandyshe'', also reflected in the Greek translation χελῑδόν, ''khelīdṓn'');
Delmatai, "people of the
sheep
Sheep or domestic sheep (''Ovis aries'') are domesticated, ruminant mammals typically kept as livestock. Although the term ''sheep'' can apply to other species in the genus '' Ovis'', in everyday usage it almost always refers to domesticated ...
" (cf. Albanian: ''delmë'');
Dardani
The Dardani (; grc, Δαρδάνιοι, Δάρδανοι; la, Dardani) or Dardanians were a Paleo-Balkan people, who lived in a region that was named Dardania after their settlement there. They were among the oldest Balkan peoples, and their ...
, "people of the
pear
Pears are fruits produced and consumed around the world, growing on a tree and harvested in the Northern Hemisphere in late summer into October. The pear tree and shrub are a species of genus ''Pyrus'' , in the family Rosaceae, bearing the po ...
" (cf. Albanian: ''dardhë'');
Peuketi, "people of the
pine
A pine is any conifer tree or shrub in the genus ''Pinus'' () of the family Pinaceae. ''Pinus'' is the sole genus in the subfamily Pinoideae. The World Flora Online created by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew and Missouri Botanical Garden accepts ...
" (cf. Ancient Greek: ''πεύχη'', ''peúkē'', from
PIE: ''*pewḱ-'');
Ulkinium, "city of the
wolf
The wolf (''Canis lupus''; : wolves), also known as the gray wolf or grey wolf, is a large canine native to Eurasia and North America. More than thirty subspecies of ''Canis lupus'' have been recognized, and gray wolves, as popularly un ...
" (cf. Albanian: ''ulk'', from
PIE: ''*wĺ̥k
wos'');
Delminium, "city of the
sheep
Sheep or domestic sheep (''Ovis aries'') are domesticated, ruminant mammals typically kept as livestock. Although the term ''sheep'' can apply to other species in the genus '' Ovis'', in everyday usage it almost always refers to domesticated ...
" (the same root of Delmatai). Many tribes believed in the protection of certain animals and plants, feeling also an ancestry link with them. Totemism may translate the ancient social relationships and religious conceptions held by Illyrians and their predecessors, a set of traditions that was still alive during the
Roman period.
Magic and superstition
As recorded by ancient Roman writers, Illyrians believed in the force of
spells and the
evil eye
The Evil Eye ( grc, ὀφθαλμὸς βάσκανος; grc-koi, ὀφθαλμὸς πονηρός; el, (κακό) μάτι; he, עַיִן הָרָע, ; Romanian: ''Deochi''; it, malocchio; es, mal de ojo; pt, mau-olhado, olho gordo; ar ...
. Many examples of objects with the shape of
phallus,
hand,
leg
A leg is a weight-bearing and locomotive anatomical structure, usually having a columnar shape. During locomotion, legs function as "extensible struts". The combination of movements at all joints can be modeled as a single, linear element ca ...
, and animal
teeth
A tooth ( : teeth) is a hard, calcified structure found in the jaws (or mouths) of many vertebrates and used to break down food. Some animals, particularly carnivores and omnivores, also use teeth to help with capturing or wounding prey, t ...
are indicators of a belief in the protective and beneficial force of
amulets.
[; ]
Burial and afterlife
During the
Bronze Age
The Bronze Age is a historic period, lasting approximately from 3300 BC to 1200 BC, characterized by the use of bronze, the presence of writing in some areas, and other early features of urban civilization. The Bronze Age is the second prin ...
both
flat graves and
tumuli
A tumulus (plural tumuli) is a mound of earth and stones raised over a grave or graves. Tumuli are also known as barrows, burial mounds or ''kurgans'', and may be found throughout much of the world. A cairn, which is a mound of stones built ...
were built. The tumulus-burial is considered to have been imported from the first
Indo-European
The Indo-European languages are a language family native to the overwhelming majority of Europe, the Iranian plateau, and the northern Indian subcontinent. Some European languages of this family, English, French, Portuguese, Russian, Dutc ...
wave that spread throughout the
Balkans
The Balkans ( ), also known as the Balkan Peninsula, is a geographical area in southeastern Europe with various geographical and historical definitions. The region takes its name from the Balkan Mountains that stretch throughout the who ...
towards the beginning of the Bronze Age. This form of burial practice, once it appeared, especially in central and southern
Illyria, continued without interruption throughout the Late Bronze Age and the Early
Iron Age
The Iron Age is the final epoch of the three-age division of the prehistory and protohistory of humanity. It was preceded by the Stone Age ( Paleolithic, Mesolithic, Neolithic) and the Bronze Age ( Chalcolithic). The concept has been mostl ...
, becoming in this period a specific component of the
Illyrian ethnic tradition. During the Bronze Age until the beginning of the Iron Age, the most common funerary practice was to lay out the body in a contracted position, a tradition continued from
Neolithic
The Neolithic period, or New Stone Age, is an Old World archaeological period and the final division of the Stone Age. It saw the Neolithic Revolution, a wide-ranging set of developments that appear to have arisen independently in several p ...
times. The custom of burial in tumuli in the contracted position, which appeared also in southern
Italy
Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...
, especially in
Apulia, suggest a movement of Illyrian peoples from the eastern
Adriatic shore at the beginning of the first millennium BC.
Cremation
Cremation is a method of final disposition of a dead body through burning.
Cremation may serve as a funeral or post-funeral rite and as an alternative to burial. In some countries, including India and Nepal, cremation on an open-air pyre is ...
, on the other hand, was very rare, however it was not discontinuous by the Middle Bronze Age.
In the Iron Age, during the late 6th and early 5th century BC, the increase in cremation graves in the
Glasinac culture
The Glasinac-Mati culture is an archaeological culture, which first developed during the Late Bronze Age and Early Iron Age in the western Balkan Peninsula in an area which encompassed much of modern Albania to the south, Kosovo to the east, Monte ...
has been interpreted as a possible collapse of the tribal structure which led to changes in the prevailing religious beliefs. The shift from
inhumation
Burial, also known as interment or inhumation, is a method of final disposition whereby a dead body is placed into the ground, sometimes with objects. This is usually accomplished by excavating a pit or trench, placing the deceased and objec ...
to
cremation
Cremation is a method of final disposition of a dead body through burning.
Cremation may serve as a funeral or post-funeral rite and as an alternative to burial. In some countries, including India and Nepal, cremation on an open-air pyre is ...
is thought to be an evidence of the arrival of new people from the north. In fact, cremation became a more common rite among northern Illyrians, while inhumation persisted as the dominant rite in the south. The gradual transition from the rite of cremation to that of inhumation during the Roman period can be interpreted as a sign of greater concern for the
afterlife. The rich spectrum in religious beliefs and burial rituals that emerged in Illyria, especially during the Roman period, is an indicator of the variation in cultural identities in this region.
See also
*
Albanian folk beliefs
Albanian folk beliefs ( sq, Besimet folklorike shqiptare) comprise the beliefs expressed in the customs, rituals, myths, legends and tales of the Albanian people. The elements of Albanian mythology are of Paleo-Balkanic origin and almost all ...
*
Ancient Greek religion
*
Paleo-Balkan mythology
Paleo-Balkan mythology is the group of religious beliefs held by Paleo-Balkan-speaking peoples in ancient times, including Illyrian, Thracian and Dacian mythologies.
Horseman
The cult of the Thracian horseman, especially his depiction as a h ...
*
Proto-Indo-European mythology
Proto-Indo-European mythology is the body of myths and deities associated with the Proto-Indo-Europeans, the hypothetical speakers of the reconstructed Proto-Indo-European language. Although the mythological motifs are not directly attested � ...
*
Religion in ancient Rome
Religion in ancient Rome consisted of varying imperial and provincial religious practices, which were followed both by the people of Rome as well as those who were brought under its rule.
The Romans thought of themselves as highly religious, ...
*
Slavic paganism
*
Thracian religion
The Thracian religion refers to the mythology, ritual practices and beliefs of the Thracians, a collection of closely related ancient Indo-European languages, Indo-European peoples who inhabited Eastern Europe, eastern and Southeast Europe, southe ...
Notes
References
Bibliography
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Further reading
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* Accessed: May 7, 2020.
{{Religion topics
Illyrian
Religion in classical antiquity
Paleo-Balkan mythology