Marble votive tablet of a Thracian horseman

The Thracian horseman (also "Thracian Rider" or "Thracian Heros") is a recurring motif depicted in

relief Relief is a sculptural method in which the sculpted pieces are bonded to a solid background of the same material. The term '' relief'' is from the Latin verb ''relevo'', to raise. To create a sculpture in relief is to give the impression that th ...

s of the

Hellenistic In Classical antiquity, the Hellenistic period covers the time in Mediterranean history after Classical Greece, between the death of Alexander the Great in 323 BC and the emergence of the Roman Empire, as signified by the Battle of Actium in ...

and

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

periods in 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 ...

—mainly

Thrace Thrace (; el, Θράκη, Thráki; bg, Тракия, Trakiya; tr, Trakya) or Thrake is a geographical and historical region in Southeast Europe, now split among Bulgaria, Greece, and Turkey, which is bounded by the Balkan Mountains to ...

, Macedonia,

Thessaly Thessaly ( el, Θεσσαλία, translit=Thessalía, ; ancient Thessalian: , ) is a traditional geographic and modern administrative region of Greece, comprising most of the ancient region of the same name. Before the Greek Dark Ages, The ...

and Moesia—roughly from the 3rd century BC to the 3rd century AD. Inscriptions found in Romania identify the horseman as ''Heros'' and ''Eros'' (latin transcriptions of Ἥρως) and also Herron and Eron (latin transcriptions of Ἥρων), apparently the word '' heros'' used as a proper name.Hampartumian, Nubar. (1979). ''Moesia Inferior (Romanian Section) and Dacia'', Volume 74, Part 4

/ref> He is sometimes addressed in inscriptions merely as κύριος, δεσπότης or ἥρως. Inscriptions from Bulgaria give the names ''Salenos'' and ''Pyrmerula''/''Pirmerula''. The Thracian horseman is depicted as a hunter on horseback, riding from left to right. Between the horse's hooves is depicted either a

hunting dog A hunting dog is a canine that hunts with or for hunters. There are several different types of hunting dog developed for various tasks and purposes. The major categories of hunting dog include hounds, terriers, dachshunds, cur type dogs, and g ...

or a boar. In some instances, the dog is replaced by a lion. Its depiction is in the tradition of the funerary steles of

Roman cavalry Roman cavalry (Latin: ''equites Romani'') refers to the horse-mounted forces of the Roman army throughout the Regal, Republican, and Imperial eras. In the Regal era the Roman cavalry was a group of 300 soldiers called '' celeres'', tasked wit ...

men, with the addition of syncretistic elements from Hellenistic and Paleo-Balkanic religious or mythological tradition.

Late Roman syncretism

The Cult of the Thracian horseman was especially important in Philippi, where the Heros had the epithets of

soter Soter derives from the Greek epithet (''sōtēr''), meaning a saviour, a deliverer; initial capitalised ; fully capitalised ; feminine Soteira (Σώτειρα) or sometimes Soteria (Σωτηρία). Soter was used as: * a title of gods: Poseidon ...

(saviour) and ''epekoos'' "answerer of prayers". Funerary stelae depicting the horseman belong to the middle or lower classes (while the upper classes preferred the depiction of banquet scenes). The motif most likely represents a composite figure, a

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 ...

heroes possibly based on Rhesus, the Thracian king mentioned in the Iliad, to which

Scythian The Scythians or Scyths, and sometimes also referred to as the Classical Scythians and the Pontic Scythians, were an ancient Eastern * : "In modern scholarship the name 'Sakas' is reserved for the ancient tribes of northern and eastern Centra ...

, Hellenistic religion, Hellenistic and possibly other elements had been added. Under the Roman Emperor Gordian III the god on horseback appears on coins minted at Tlos, in neighboring Lycia, and at Istrus, in the province of Lower Moesia, between Thrace and the Danube. In the Roman era, the "Thracian horseman" iconography is further syncretised. The rider is now sometimes shown as approaching a tree entwined by a serpent, or as approaching a goddess. These motifs are partly of Greco-Roman and partly of possible Scythian origin. The motif of a horseman with his right arm raised advancing towards a seated female figure is related to Scythian iconographic tradition. It is frequently found in Bulgaria, associated with Asclepius and Hygeia. Stelai dedicated to the ''Thracian Heros Archegetas'' have been found at Selymbria.

Epithets

Apart from syncretism with other deities (such as Asclepios, Apollo, Sabatius), the figure of the Thracian Horseman was also found with several epithets: ''Karabasmos'', ''Keilade(i)nos'', ''Manimazos'', ''Aularchenos'', ''Aulosadenos'', ''Pyrmeroulas''. One in particular was found in Avren, dating from the III century CE, with a designation that seems to refer to horsemanship: ''Outaspios'', and variations ''Betespios'', ''Ephippios'' and ''Ouetespios''.

Related imagery

Twin horsemen

Related to the Dioscuri motif is the so-called "Danubian Horsemen" motif of two horsemen flanking a standing goddess. These "Danubian horsemen" are thus called due to their reliefs being found in the Roman province of Danube. However, some reliefs have also been found in Roman Dacia - which gives the alternate name for the motif: "Dacian Horseman". Scholarship locates its diffusion across Moesia, Dacia, Pannonia and Danube, and, to a lesser degree, in Dalmatia and Thracia. The motif of a standing goddess flanked by two horsemen, identified as Artemis flanked by the Dioscuri, and a tree entwined by a serpent flanked by the Dioscuri on horseback was transformed into a motif of a ''single'' horseman approaching the goddess or the tree.

Pahonia

Pahonia, the national symbol of various Central-Eastern European states since ca. 12th century, may be related.

Other, similar figures

The motif of the Thracian horseman is not to be confused with the depiction of a rider slaying a barbarian enemy on funerary stelae, as on the Stele of Dexileos, interpreted as depictions of a heroic episode from the life of the deceased. The motif of the Thracian horseman was continued in Christianised form in the equestrian iconography of both Saint George and the Dragon, Saint George and Saint Demetrius.Hoddinott (196
61
.

Gallery

;Hunter motif File:Teteven-History-museum-Thracian-god-3-century-BC.jpg, Thracian horseman with hound and boar, Greek inscription (3rd century BC), Teteven museum File:The Thracian Rider God.jpg, Thracian horseman attacking a lion which is in turn attacking its prey. Madara Museum, Bulgaria File:Thracian horseman in National Historical Museum Bulgaria 005.JPG, Statue of a Thracian horseman with lion, 3rd century, National History Museum of Bulgaria File:Cavaler Trac in Muzeul din Madara Bulgaria.JPG, Thracian horseman, funerary stele with Greek inscription, Madara Museum, Bulgaria File:Cavaler Trac Stara Zagora IMG 8671 02.JPG, Thracian horseman with hound, marble votive tablet, Stara Zagora regional history museum ;Serpent-and-tree File:Heros-from-Phillippi1.jpg, Thracian horseman with hound and serpent-entwined tree, funerary stele for one Caius Cornelius at Philippi. Cavaler trac ct IMG 5989 (cropped and fixed angles).jpg, Thracian horseman with hounds, a serpent-entwined tree and a footman (3rd century), Constanța History and Archaeology Museum File:Haskovo Historic Museum 2011 PD 223.JPG, Thracian horseman with hounds, footman and tree, Haskovo Historic Museum, Bulgaria File:Thracian Horseman Histria Museum mod.jpg, Thracian horseman with a serpent-entwined tree, Histria Museum, Romania File:Sazabazios MNIR IMG 6298.JPG, Thracian horseman with serpent-and-tree, the National History Museum of Bulgaria File:Burgas Archaeological Museum - Thracian rider - P1020149.JPG, Thracian horseman with serpent-and-tree (2nd century), Burgas Archaeological Museum, Bulgaria File:Cavaler trac IMG 6046.JPG, Thracian horseman with serpent-and-tree, Expoziţia Cultura Cucuteni ;Rider and goddess File:Cavaler Trac Muzeul din Madara 68.JPG, Thracian rider of "Scythian" type, with raised hand, riding towards female figure, Madara Museum, Bulgaria File:Cavalerul Trac IMG 5924.JPG, Horseman approaching seated female figure under a tree, Constanta Museum ;Greco-Roman comparanda File:Thracian cavalrymen vs an armored Greek food soldier - Getty Villa Collection.jpg, Black-figure pottery, Black figure Thracian cavalrymen vs. armored Greek foot soldier (Getty Villa Collection, c. 520 BC) File:Stele Dexileos.JPG, Stele of Dexileos (c. 390 BC) File:Tombstone from Nablus, 2nd-3rd century CE 2.jpg, Funerary relief of a Roman cavalryman (2nd/3rd century) File:Grosvenor Museums - Grabstein 2 Kavallerist.jpg , Funerary relief of a late (4th/5th century?) Roman cavalryman trampling a barbarian warrior, Roman Britain (Chester, Grosvenor Museum) File:Artifacts at Felix Romuliana, fragment of a decorated frieze. Serbia.jpg, A fragment of a decorated frieze at Felix Romuliana, a palace built by the emperor Galerius in modern-day Serbia. The fragment depicts a rider wielding an ax, and a shield-bearing soldier on foot. File:Диоскури и Артемис (Д.Капија).jpg, "Danubian Horsemen" (Artemis flanked by the Dioscuri), votive plate found in Demir Kapija, North Macedonia ;Medieval comparanda File:Madara Bulgaria.jpg, The Madara Rider, equestrian rock relief in Bulgaria (c. 700) File:Icon of St. George from Labechina, Racha region of Georgia, XI century.png, "St George of Labechina", Racha, Georgia (11th century), known as the oldest extant equestrian depiction of St George (but note that the horseman is trampling a human opponent rather than a dragon) File:Deisis with S.George (Greece) crop.jpg, Equestrian depiction of Saints George and Demetrius

References

Bibliography

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