In
Greek mythology
Greek mythology is the body of myths originally told by the Ancient Greece, ancient Greeks, and a genre of ancient Greek folklore, today absorbed alongside Roman mythology into the broader designation of classical mythology. These stories conc ...
, Thrax (; by his name simply the quintessential
Thracian
The Thracians (; ; ) were an Indo-European speaking people who inhabited large parts of Southeast Europe in ancient history.. "The Thracians were an Indo-European people who occupied the area that today is shared between north-eastern Greece, ...
) was regarded as one of the reputed sons of
Ares
Ares (; , ''Árēs'' ) is the List of Greek deities, Greek god of war god, war and courage. He is one of the Twelve Olympians, and the son of Zeus and Hera. The Greeks were ambivalent towards him. He embodies the physical valor necessary for ...
. In the ''
Alcestis'',
Euripides
Euripides () was a Greek tragedy, tragedian of classical Athens. Along with Aeschylus and Sophocles, he is one of the three ancient Greek tragedians for whom any plays have survived in full. Some ancient scholars attributed ninety-five plays to ...
mentions that one of the names of Ares himself was ''Thrax'' since he was regarded as the patron of
Thrace
Thrace (, ; ; ; ) is a geographical and historical region in Southeast Europe roughly corresponding to the province of Thrace in the Roman Empire. Bounded by the Balkan Mountains to the north, the Aegean Sea to the south, and the Black Se ...
(his golden or gilded shield was kept in his temple at Bistonia in Thrace).
[Euripides, p. 95. " ine58. 'Thrace's golden shield' - One of the names of Ares was Thrax, he being the Patron of Thrace. His golden or gilded shield was kept in his temple at Bistonia there. Like the other Thracian bucklers, it was of the shape of a half-moon ('Pelta'). His 'festival of Mars Gradivus' was kept annually by the Latins in the month of March, when this sort of shield was displayed."]
See also
*
Tiras – eponymous ancestor of Thracians according to
Flavius Josephus
Flavius Josephus (; , ; ), born Yosef ben Mattityahu (), was a History of the Jews in the Roman Empire, Roman–Jewish historian and military leader. Best known for writing ''The Jewish War'', he was born in Jerusalem—then part of the Judaea ...
Notes
References
*Lemprière, John and Wright, Frederick Adam. ''Lemprière's Classical Dictionary of Proper Names Mentioned in Ancient Authors''. Routledge, 1949. {{ISBN, 0-7100-1734-0
*Euripides, H. B. L., i.e. Henry Barrett Lennard, translator. ''The Alcestis of Euripides: Translated From The Greek Into English, Now For The First Time In Its Original Metres, With Preface, Explanatory Notes, And Stage Directions Suggesting How It Might Have Been Performed''. London: R. Bentley and Sons, 1884.
Children of Ares
Greek mythology of Thrace
Epithets of Ares