The Iliad records that the Thracians from around the Hellespont and also the Thracian Cicones fought on the side of the Trojans (Iliad, book II). Many mythical figures, such as the god Dionysus, princess Europa and the hero Orpheus were borrowed by the Greeks from their Thracian neighbours. In book 7 of his Histories, Herodotus describes the equipment of the Thracians fighting under the Persians, The Thracians went to the war wearing the skins of foxes upon their heads, and about their bodies tunics, over which ...

See also:

Thracians, Thracians - Origins, Thracians - Classical period, Thracians - Extinction of the ethnicity and language, Thracians - Archaeology, Thracians - Sources, Thracians - Thracian tribes, Thracians - Famous Thracians

Read more here: » Thracians: Encyclopedia II - Thracians - Sources

See also:

Thracian Chersonese, Thracian Chersonese - History, Thracian Chersonese - Towns and economy, Thracian Chersonese - Notes

Read more here: » Thracian Chersonese: Encyclopedia II - Thracian Chersonese - History

There are enough Thracian examples with characteristic Satem sound-shifts to include Thracian in the Satem group of Indo-European languages. Thracian is often considered to have been on the same language branch as the extinct Dacian language (viewed as a northern dialect of Thracian), though some Thracologists think Dacian may have been on a separate branch. Some scholars see a relation between Thracian and the ancient Macedonian language, or the Phrygian language. Older models often linked Thracian to the Illyrian language, or to the Armenian language, but re ...

See also:

Thracian language, Thracian language - Sources, Thracian language - Classification, Thracian language - Connections to Albanian, Thracian language - Connections to Slavic and Baltic, Thracian language - Thracian as a Centum language, Thracian language - Geographic distribution, Thracian language - Vocabulary

Read more here: » Thracian language: Encyclopedia II - Thracian language - Classification

Bithynia was an ancient province in the northwest of Asia Minor, adjoining the Propontis, the Thracian Bosporus and the Euxine (today Black Sea). Several major cities sat on the fertile shores of the Propontis (which is now known as Sea of Marmara): Nicomedia, Chalcedon, Cius and Apamea. According to Strabo Bithynia was bounded on the east by the river Sangarius (modern Sakarya river), but the more commonly received division extended it to the Parthenius, which separated it from Paphlagonia, thus comprising the district ...

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Sabazios is the nomadic horseman sky and father god of the Phrygians. In Indo-European languages, such as Phrygian, the '-zios' element in his name goes back to Dyeus, the common precursor of 'deus' (god) and Zeus. Though the Greeks associated Phrygian Sabazios with Zeus, representations of him, even into Roman times, show him always on horseback, as a nomadic horseman god, wielding his characteristic staff of power. Sabazios - Thracian/Phrygian Sabazios. It seems likely that the migrating Phr ...

Including:

Sabazios - Thracian/Phrygian Sabazios Sabazios - The god on horseback Sabazios - Transformation to Sabazius Sabazios - The Jewish connection

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Balkan linguistic union or Balkansprachbund is a name given to the similarities in grammar, syntax, vocabulary and phonology found in the languages of the Balkans, which belong to various Indo-European branches, such as Albanian, Greek, Romance and Slavic. While the common vocabulary between each language is relatively small, the grammars of the languages have a high degree of similarity, among which the adoption of a standard case system and a movement toward analyzation. Balkan linguistic union - History< ...

Including:

Balkan linguistic union - History Balkan linguistic union - Languages Balkan linguistic union - Origins
Balkan linguistic union - Thracian Dacian or Illyrian Balkan linguistic union - Greek Balkan linguistic union - Latin and Romance Balkan linguistic union - Multiple sources
Balkan linguistic union - Timeline of contacts Balkan linguistic union - Features
Balkan linguistic union - Grammatical features Balkan linguistic union - Vocabulary Balkan linguistic union - Phonetics

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Cotys (Kotys) was a Thracian name, borne by a number of Thracians (such as Cotys I), and also by a Thracian goddess (see Kotys). Other related archivesCotys I, Kotys, Thracian

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The Cimmerians (Greek Kimmerioi) were ancient equestrian nomads who, according to Herodotus, originally inhabited the region north of the Caucasus and the Black Sea, in what is now Russia and Ukraine, in the 8th and 7th century BC. Assyrian records, however, first place them in the region of Azerbaijan in 714 BC. Cimmerians - Origins. Their origins are obscure, but they are believed to have been Indo-European. Their language is regarded as being related to either Thracian or Iranian. The Thracian the ...

Including:

Cimmerians - Origins Cimmerians - Historical accounts
Cimmerians - Timeline
Cimmerians - Language Cimmerians - Possible offshoots Cimmerians - Archaeology

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In Greek mythology, Ares ("battle strife"; in Greek, Áρης), is the god of war and before battle people worshipped him. The Romans identified Mars, the god of war (whom they had inherited from the Etruscans) with Hellenic Ares, but among them, Mars stood in much higher esteem. Among the Hellenes, Ares was always mistrusted: His birthplace and true home was placed afar off, among the barbarous and warlike Thracians (IliadIncluding:

Ares - Consorts/Children Ares - Ares in Neopaganism Ares - Cultural References Ares - External link

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In Thracian religious beliefs, Zibelthiurdos was a storm god. Like Zeus, it is said he too was the wielder of lightning and thunderbolts. Variant spellings/forms include Zbelsurdos and Zibelthurdos. Other related archivesThracian, Zeus

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Bendis was a Thracian goddess of the hunt whom the Greeks identified with Artemis, and hence with the other two aspects of the former Minoan Triple Goddess, Hecate and Persephone. She was a huntress, like Artemis, but was accompanied by dancing satyrs and maenads on a 5th Century red-figure stemless cup (at Verona). More than Olympian Artemis, Bendis remained a night-goddess, which linked her with Hecate . Her cult was introduced into Attica by immigrant Thracian residents, and became so popular that in Plato's time (ca. 430 BC ...

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Abaris the Hyperborean was a legendary or semi-legendary sage, healer and priest known to the ancient Greeks. According to Herodotus (4.36) he was said to have traveled around the world with an arrow, eating no food. Plato (Charmides 158C) classes him amongst the "Thracian physicians", who practice medicine upon the soul as well as the body by means of "incantations" (epodai). A temple to Pe ...

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Abydos, an ancient city of Mysia, in Asia Minor, situated at Nagara Point on the Hellespont, which is here scarcely a mile broad. It probably was originally a Thracian town, but was afterwards colonized by Milesians. Here Xerxes crossed the strait on his bridge of boats in 480 B.C. when he invaded Greece. Abydos is celebrated for the vigorous resistance it made against Philip V of Macedon (200 BC), ...

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Biston was the son of Ares in Greek mythology. Biston built the city of Bistonia on the shores of Lake Bistonis in Thrace. Thracians were sometimes referred to as Bistonians. Gradac is the southernmost touristic locality of the Makarska riviera about 40 kilometers distant from Makarska, situated halfway between Split and Dubrovnik. Gradac history The Gradac area was inhabited even in prehistoric times. An evidence of this are the numerous stone piles dating back to the Bronze and ...

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Abydos, an ancient city of Mysia, in Asia Minor, situated at Nagara Point on the Hellespont, which is here scarcely a mile broad. It probably was originally a Thracian town, but was afterwards colonized by Milesians. Here Xerxes crossed the strait on his bridge of boats in 480 B.C. when he invaded Greece. Abydos is celebrated for the vigorous resistance it made against Philip V of Macedon (200 BC), ...

Read more here: » Abydos Hellespont: Encyclopedia - Abydos Hellespont

In Greek legend, Orpheus was the chief representative of the arts of song and the lyre, and of great importance in the religious history of Greece. The mythical figure of Orpheus was borrowed by the Greeks from their Thracian neighbours; the Thracian "Orphic Mysteries", rituals of unknown content, were named after him. Orpheus - Overview. The name Orpheus does not occur in Homer or Hesiod, but he was known in the time of Ibycus (c. 530 BC). Pindar (522—442 BC) speaks of him as “the father of song ...

Including:

Orpheus - Overview Orpheus - Etymology Orpheus - Genealogy Orpheus - The Argonautic expedition Orpheus - Death of Eurydice Orpheus - Death of Orpheus Orpheus - Orphic poems and rites Orpheus - The post-classical Orpheus Orpheus - Spoken-word myths - audio files

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In Greek mythology, Abderus ("son of battle") was a son of Hermes. To fulfill his Eighth Labor, Heracles brought Abderus and some other youths to help him capture the four savage mares of the Thracian King Diomedes. Heracles overpowered the grooms and drove the Mares of Diomedes to the sea and left them in the care of Abderus. While Heracles was away, the horses devoured Abderus. In revenge, Heracles fed Diomedes's still living flesh to his own mares. Heracles founded the city of Abdera near the boy's tomb, where ...

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Labrys is the term for a doubleheaded axe, known to the Classical Greeks as pelekus πέλεκυς or sagaris (the term for a single-bladed axe being hēmipelekus "half-pelekus", e.g. Il. 23.883). Representations of the labrys are on Neolithic finds of "Old Europe", and the labrys is continued in Minoan Thracian, Greek (and Byzantine) art and mythology. It also appears in African mythology (see Shango). Today, it is sometimes used as a symbol associated with female and matristic power. Labrys - Etymo ...

Including:

Labrys - Etymology Labrys - Minoan civilization Labrys - Ancient Greece Labrys - Popular culture

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The Kabeiroi (Cabiri) in Greek myth were a race of gods or god-like beings, closely connected with Hephaistos and with the Mother Goddess. They were associated with metallurgy, magic, and fertility rites, and with other spheres, yet because of the secretiveness of their cult, their exact nature and place within ancient Greek and Thracian religion remains mysterious. The Kabeiroi myth and cult itself probably traces back to the pre-Greek Tyrsenoi of Lemnos, where the Kabeiroi sanctuary maintained an unbroken continuity ev ...

Including:

Kabeiroi - Name Kabeiroi - Myth Kabeiroi - Cult

Read more here: » Kabeiroi: Encyclopedia - Kabeiroi

Menander (342–291 BC), Greek dramatist, the chief representative of the New Comedy, was born in Athens. He was the son of well-to-do parents; his father Diopeithes is identified by some with the Athenian general and governor of the Thracian Chersonese known from the speech of Demosthenes De Chersoneso. He doubtless derived his taste for the comic drama from his uncle Alexis. He was the friend, associate, and perhaps pupil of Theophrastus, and was on intimate terms with Demetrius of Phalerum. He also enjoyed the patrona ...

Including:

Menander - Works Menander - External link

Read more here: » Menander: Encyclopedia - Menander