inscriptions iconography monuments - The American School of

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INSCRIPTIONANSD
HESPERIA 7I (2002)
Page2s 09-229 ICONOGRAPHIN Y
THE MONUMENTSOF
TH E TH RACIAN Rl DER
ABSTRACT
The Thracianr iderm onumentsa ree itherf uneraryo r dedicatedt o various
deitiesT. he inscriptionps rovidet he onlyc ertainw ayt o identiljtrh ed eitieso r
the monument'tsy pe.A ftere xaminingth e relationshipb etweeni nscriptions
andi conographyI ,s uggesti n the presents tudythatt heh orsemanis ani cono-
graphicacl onventionf or a god/hero,a nd that his iconographyis borrowed
fromG reeka rt.I nterpretingth e horsemana s a conventionailm ageo bviates
thec urrenvt iewt hath e representas m ultifunctiongaol dc onflatedw ithn early
everyG reek,R oman,T hracian,o r Easternd ivinity,a nd producesa better
understandinogf botht he monumentt ypea ndc ult.
The monumentosf the so-calledT hracianri derp resenat n extremec ase
of ther elationshibpe tweene pigraphayn da rt:t hei nscriptionasr et heo nly
certainw ayt o clarifyth e iconographiyd,e ntitya, ndc ulto f theT hracian
horsemanM.l oreoverth, ei nscriptionfsr equentlpyr ovidteh eo nlyr eliable
evidencteo determinteh et ypeo f monumen(tv otiveo rf unerarys)i,n cei n
manyi nstancetsh e findspotis of littleh elp mostr eliefsa ref oundi n a
secondarcyo ntexta, ndt heirf unctionis unclear.2
The term" Thraciarni der"r eliefi s usedt o describem onumentosf
varyingsi ze,m ostt ypicallsyt ones labs3 0-40 cmw idea nd2 0-30 cmh igh,
whichd epicta ridert, urnedt o the right( seldomt o the left),h is horse
1. The presents tudyo riginateda s a CarolL awtono f LawrencUe niversity zaraG ocevaa ndD imitarP opov,
seminarp aperf or CarolL awton's andK evinC lintono f CornellU niver- despiteo urd isagreemenrte gardintgh e
courseo n votivesg, ivena t the Ameri- sityf ore ncouraginmg e to pursuem y so-calledi nterpretatgiroa ecaI. am also
can Schoolo f ClassicaSl tudiesa t researchon this fascinatinsgu bject gratefutlo the anonymouHs esperia
Athensi n the springo f 2000.A n andf orp rovidingex tremelyh elpful reviewerfso rt heirc orrectionsa,l l of
abridgedv ersionw asd eliveredin San andd etailedc ommentso n numerous whichs ubstantialleyn hancedth e
Diego on 6 January2 001 at the Annual occasionsI. woulda lsol iket o thank clarityo f my argument.
Meetingo f the ArchaeologicaInl stitute DimitarB oyadzhieavn dN ikola All translationasr em yo wn.
of Americaa, s parto f thej ointA PA Theodossievo f SofiaU niversitya nd 2. See the discussiono f specific
andA IA panela Epigraphayn dt he JeffreyR usteno f CornellU niversityfo r monumentas ndt heirf indspotsb elow,
Arts." theirv aluablesu ggestionsI. greatly pp.2 11-220.
I owe immenseg ratitudeto both appreciatteh e expertc riticismo f Zlato-
American School of Classical Studies at Athens
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NORAD IMITROVA
2IO
walkingga,l lopingo,r s tandingst ill.T her ideris called" Thraciabne"c ause
haep pearosn moret han2 ,000r eliefsf3r oma tl east3 50l ocationisn T hrace,
itns eighborintger ritorieasn, do therp lacesc haracterizbedyT hraciapnr es-
enceT.4h e earliesstu rvivinmg onumentasr eH ellenisticb,u tt he majority
datteo Romant imes.T he mostp opulars cenesh aveb eenc lassifieda s
At)h eh orsemafna cinga womana, na ltara, nda snake-entwinetrde e,h is
horswea lkingo rs tandingst ill;B ) theh orsemagna llopinga nda ttackinag
boara;n dC ) the horsemanre turninfgr omh untingc, arryinag deer.5In
additiotnh,e rea rem anyv ariantsa,n dt ypeC canb ev ieweda sa subtypoe f
typBe .T herei s no strictg eographicoarl t emporapla tternin thed istribu-
tiono f theset ypes.
The identityo f the depictedh orsemanis unknownF. ortunatelayp, -
proximateal yth irdo f the monumenthsa vei nscriptionTs.h eya ret ypi-
callby elowt her eliefi,n Greeko rL atin,a nda reg enerallsyt raightforward
inm eaninga ndf ormt:h en ameo f thed eityi n thed ativeu, suallyfo llowed
byt he nameo f the dedicant(si)n the nominativeo;r the nameo f the de-
ceaseds,o metimeps recededb y Dis Manibuso r @£OxK5a xaxOovtoatsn,d
followebdy t ypicael pitaphiainl formatioTn.h e inscriptionasr ee itherv o-
tive( aboutt wo-thirdos f the sample)o r funeraryT.h e votivee xamples
exhibiat n unparallelevda rietyo f namesa nde pithetsa, ll referrintgo the
riderH. e is called0 £O5Y, ipx5x vptog0 £0g,x vptogr lpx5A, pollo,H ades,
AsklepiosH, ephaistosS, abaziusI,u ppiterO ptimusM aximusS, ilvanus,
andt he Dioskouroiin, additionto numeroulso caln amesa nde pithets,6
sucha s KarabasmoKs,e ilade(i)noMs, animazosV, etespio(sO utaspios),
AularchenoAs,u losadenoas,n dP yrmeroulaTsh. e words0 £05 andp xS
areo ftenu sedi nterchangeabolryb otht ogether.7
Scholarhsa ver emarkeodn the extraordinavrayr ietyo f attributeasp -
parentlpy ossessedb y theT hracianh orsemanI.v anV enedikovd'se scrip-
tioni s representativthe:e T hracianh orsemanap pearws itht he attributes
of nearlye veryG raeco-Romadne ity,r angingfr omA phrodite'ssh ellt o
Ares'h elmet,f romt he Sun'sr adiatec rownt o Asklepios'sse rpents taff,
fromA pollo'lsy ret o Silvanuss'sa wt, o nameo nlya few.8
3. This numberis basedo n pub- Britannias,o uthernR ussiaE, gypt, undv on demd reikopfigeHn undd er
lishedm onumentss;i ncem anyo thers AsiaM inorT, unisiaa, ndR ome;s ee Unterwelbt egleitetw irdw ie die trike-
area s yet unpublisheadn do thersa re CCETI,p . 1. phaleG ottind esT odes,H ekate,s o
beinge xcavateda, p reciset otali s im- 5. Theset ypesa red efineda nda p- tragte r aufa nderen allerdingasu Lerst
possiblet o calculateT. he mainc ollec- pliedb y Kacarov",D enkmalerp,"a ssim. seltenv ertreteneDn enkmalern eine
tions( corporaa ndc ataloguesw), hich Theya reb y no meanss trictc ategories, Strahlenkronaeu fs einemH aupteu nd
complemeneta cho theri, nclude butu sedf or conveniencbey Kacarov ist flankiervt on denB ustend es Sol
KacarovaDenkmilerC"C; ETL; IMC andt he editorso f CCETT. his classifi- undd erL una.I n anderenM onumen-
VI.1,1 992,p p. 1018-1081,p ls.6 73- cationi s not usedi n the presenpt aper. tenw irdd erT hrakischRe eitera uf-
719, s.v.H erosE quitans(H . Koukouli- 6. On the epithetso f theT hracian gefaLta ls Gott derF ruchtbarkeuint d
ChrysanthakVi,. M achairaP, .P antos, horsemans,e e especiallyG oceva1 992. haltw ie Aphroditee ineM uschelo der
et al.);I GBulgG; erovI, nscriptiones. 7. E.g., CCETII.13 35 is a dedica- hat sie als Nimbush inters einem
Subsequenrte ferencetso Koukouli- tion 0rx p AsoExv; 331 0rx Ka- Kopfe.E r kannf ernera ngetans einm it
Chrysanthaketi al.i n LIMCV I.1 sv; 365 p KaspNv; II.2 655 demH elm desA res,k anni n seiner
area bbreviateads LIMCV I.1 . and6 56 0rx o Baax8C0La. Handd enf urA sklepiost ypischen
4. Thraciansse rvedin the Roman 8. Venediko1v9 79,p . 2: "Obwohel r Schlangenstahba lten,e rscheinmt it der
armya nda rea ttestedin Pannonia, nura ufw enigenR eliefsd reiK opfeh at Kitharad esA pollon,d emW aldmesser
MONUMENTS OF THE THRACIAN RIDER
2II
The prevailinhgy pothesiiss thatt he Thracianr ideri s an advanced
caseo f religiouss yncretismc,o nflatedw ith nearlye veryG reekR, oman,
Thraciano, r Easternd ivinity.I9n mosto f the relevanstc holarshihpe is
vieweda s an all-purposgeo d,a significanstt epo n the wayt o monothe-
ism,i f not monotheismpe rs e.l°T he mainp roblemw ith the concepto f
religioussy ncretismin thisc asei s that,a lthougho nec ane asilyu nderstand
thep henomenown herebtyw oo rt hreed eitiesf romd ifferenctu lturesb,u t
with moreo r less similarfu nctionsa, rec onflateda s a resulto f historical
interactionit, is muchm ored ifficultto imagineo ne deityb eingm erged
withn umerouost herg odso rh eroesw, hosec ultsa ndt raditionasr eh ardly
compatibleH. ow did thisr eligioucs onceptf unctionH? ow didw orship-
persw hos etu p a thank-offerinogr madea vowi n hopeo f well-beingo, r
individuawls hoe recteda gravem onumenpt,e rceivteh isd eity?
INSCRIPTIONS AND ICONOGRAPHY
My approactho thep roblemo utlineda boveis basedo n a monument-by-
monumenetx aminatioonf the relationshibpe tweenin scriptioann di co-
nographTy.h e difficultieesn counterecda nb e illustratebdy t wog roupso f
examplesG: roupI consistso f differentty peso f monumentws ithi dentical
iconographicfaela turesa;n dG roupI I exhibitst he samed ivinity'ns ame
on monumentws ithd ifferenitc onography.
GROUP I
Thef irstg roupin cludetsh et wom ostp opulasrc enesin theT hraciarni der's
iconographyth: e horsemanfa cinga snake-entwinetdre ea ndt he horse-
mana s a hunterT. he firsto f theses cenesi s illustratebdy CCETI 34, 40,
162, IV 29, andI GBulgI V 2134 (Figs.1 -2). These monumentssh are
identicailc onographicealle mentst:h e horsemanw, earinga chlamysa nd
des Silvanuus nd dem Szepterd es holdingt he reinsi n his righth and,i s turnedt o the right,f acinga snake-
Zeus.S o erscheindt iesere igenartige entwinedtr eea nda n altart;h e horsei s waLcin(gn ots tandingst illo rg al-
undr echtu ngewohnlichteh rakische loping,a s on otherm onumentsN). ormallysu chs imilaritwy oulds uggest
Gott in Funktionenu nd ausgestattet
thatt he figuresd epicteda reo ne andt he same.
mit Attributenfa sta llerg raco-
The inscriptionhs,o weverr,e veaal differenpt ictureC. CETI 34 from
romischenG ottheiten."
9. The extensiveli teraturien which Odessusn, ortheasBt ulgariais, a dedicationto the heroK arabasmos:
theT hracianr ideri s considereda result
AyaOrtiut X[YIt]
of syncretismis not quotedh eref or
purposeos f economyO. ne of the earlier VHpxK apa,BasC£uvxX aptcptovx otvxvoxo x= £pt
andb riefera ccountsc anb e foundi n M£*v . av8poAv soBxvtov xat @£08Xp0V @£08Xp0V
Venedikov1 963.F ora morer ecent [xaxA soB]vtov @£utcrax at
@tXO4£VOV @tXO4£VOV
discussions,e e Werner1 999,p p.5 9- [xax- - -]pa xax A0T£CUL8X,8P OV
£V@VOS
121.T his is alsot he viewe xpressedin H
LIMCVl.l, p. 1066,n . 28. av£0Nxav.
10. E.g.,F ol andM arazov1 977, The monumenwt asf oundi n a LateA ntiquen ecropoliisn thev icinityo f
p. 17:" Onew ondersif this herow as
Pazarenp loshtad(M arketS quare"a)p, parentilny a secondarcyo ntextI.f
not the representatioonf a universal
it hadl ackeda ni nscriptionsc, holarws ouldr easonablhya vec onsidereidt
god,r everedb y allt heT hraciantr ibes,
eacho f whichg aveh im a localn ame." a gravem onument.
t - tCJ t -- t$-3 X 3 [;W22X007 Figure 1. Thracian rider relief.
NORA DIMITROVA
2I2
m X S inv 180 CourtesyM useum
CCET I 40 (Fig. 1), alsof romO dessusi,s a dedicationto the hero
Manimazos:
abover elief: "HtoxM avxFaL,x
belowr elief: 'Esxaxoc,N rxoctovvsr to
v vtxv Nrtoctoovc ax'Aya-
0Nvotoog xatoxcerqtotov.
Them onumenwt asf ounda t 8 NoemvrSi treetn, eart he ruinso f the Ro-
manth ermaea,n dd atest o thel ate2 ndc enturyA .C.11
CCETI 162 (Fig.2 ) fromt he Burgars egions, outheasBt ulgariais, a
Lating ravein scriptiodna tingt o ca. 150-200:
A.D.
abover elief: D]is Manibus
belowr elief: L.T itovioL . lib(ertoD) iadu-
menoF laviaV era
con. 1u. gb1e nem eren. t1
et sibie t suisv ivaf ecit.
Thein scriptiown asf oundi n a secondarcyo ntexti,n thev ineyardnso rth
oft hev illageo f Balgarovo.
CCETIV 29 (Tomiss, outheasRt umaniai)s a eucharisteriofonr g ood
fortune:
'AyaOnt 0Xn
11. SeeI GBulgI 78( =C CETI4 0).
zvxatoxcerqt"oHtotovx aa vrOxav . . . Mihailovc onsidertsh e suggestionth at
(listo f 27 names)
the ruinsi n questionb elongedt o a
Itfsi ndspoits not specified. sanctuaroyf ApolloK arabasmofas r
fromc ertain.
MONUMENTS OF THE THRACIAN RIDER 2I3
Figure2 . CCET I 162, Burgas.
NationalA rchaeologicaMl useum,
Sofia,i nv. 618. CourtesyM useum
IGBulgI V 2134 (Pautalirae gions, outhwesBt ulgariai)s a dedication
to Asklepios:
AAXXYIB=£tOt0 V/5v CaC£v[£05]
£UEa,U£wxaOt £gz wVX[wa v£-]
0NX£ .
The monumenwt asf oundn eart hev illageo f DolnaD ikanjab, utt he ex-
act locationo f the findspotis controversialI.n'2 t his examplea, s in the
othersl isteda bovei,f therew eren o inscriptiono,n e wouldn ot knowt o
whomt he monumenwt asd edicatedor if it wasv otiveo rf unerary.
The snake-entwinetdre ei s one of the majoric onographicfaela tures
of theT hracianh orsemarne liefsI.n CCETit appearosn atl east3 3 of the
roughly3 40 monumentws ithi nscriptionpsu blisheidn thisc orpus(a p re-
cisef igureis impossiblteo determinesi, nces omer eliefsa reb roken).T'3h e
inscriptionlsis t a greatv arietyo f namest o whomt heser eliefsa red edi-
catedK: arabasmMos,a nimazoPs,r opylaioDs,o saenosK, atoikadioAss, kle-
pios,A pollo,P aladeinenoTs,a to.I n additionm, anyo f these3 3 monu-
12. SeeM ihailov'cso mmentaroyn mentsa ref unerary.
IGBulgI V 2134. A naturaal pproacthh ats cholarhs avet akeni n ordert o explaint he
13. CCETI 30, 31, 34, 40, 57, 58,
treea ndt he serpenot n theser eliefsh asb eent o examinee achp articular
59,60,61,83,84,85,86,87,111,158,
casea ndt ryt o understantdh e symbolismof thei magei n its varioucs on-
162;I I 200, 534, 586;I V 3, 5, 26, 30,
48, 63, 64, 108;V 23, 25, 65, 71, 72. texts.T hust he snakeh asb eeni nterpreteidn onew ayi n a dedicationto
vHtoK atoaas[ sic] 'E s[Xtato c,] 'Ara0nvotogo
2I4 NORA DIMITROVA
Asldepios-aso neo fh isa ttributes-andian d ifferentwayaing ravem onu-
ment as a achthonics"y mbol.lT4 he tree,o n the otherh and,h as been
interpreteads "at reeo f life"s ymbolizintgh e rebirtho f nature,la5 s acred
tree,l6o r a landscapbea ckgroundT.l7h eres eemt o be twop roblemws ith
thisa pproachT.h e firsti s thel acko f goode videncfeo rT hracianre ligion
ande specialltyh e culto f its numeroulso cald eitiesT. hisg ivesf reer oom
fors peculationa,n dl ittlec anb e proved( or,o f courser, efutedw) ithc er-
taintyT. he otherd ifficultyis the presencoe f the snake-entwinetdre eo n
similar-lookinrgid erm onumentfsr omt he samer egiona ndt he samep e-
riod.W hy shouldo net hena ssumeth ati t meantd ifferentth ingsi n each
case?
Anotherw ayt o looka tt hisp roblemis to considetrh es nake-entwined
treen ot as an organice lemento f the ideologyb ehinde achs cene,b ut as
ani mporteidc onographicdaelt ail.Thiem ageo f ahorsemafna cinga snake-
entwinedt reei s well knownf rome arlierm onumentfso undt hrough-
outt he Greekw orldI. t occurso n a 3rd-century relieff romA thensa,
B.C.
2nd-century graver elieff romP ergamona, 2nd-century relief
B.C. B.C.
fromE phesosa, ndm anyo thers.lI8t seemsl ogicalt o assumeth att hei m-
age wasb orrowedb y Thraciana rtistsu ndert he stronga ndw ell-docu-
mentedi nfluenceo f Greekc ulturea nd did not evolveb y itself from
a nativet raditionI.f the imageo f theh orsemaint selfw asb orrowefdr om
Greeka rt,l9t hen it is not surprisintgh ati t appearisn Thracet ogether
witho neo f its mostc ommonic onographicaatlt ributes.
The othere xtremelpyo pulasrc enei n thef irstg roupo f examplerse p-
resentsth eT hracianri dera s a hunter.2T0y picallhye carrieas speara ndi s
accompaniebdy a dog ando thera nimalsa ssociatewd ithh untingb: oar,
hare,d eer,l ion.A s in the caseo f the snake-entwinetdre e,h untinga t-
tributeas res eeno nv arioums onumentws,i thn o apparencto nnectiotno a
specificc ult.
Fori nstanceC, CETI5 4 (Fig.3 ), datingt o thel ate2 ndc entury
A.C.,
is a gravem onumenfto undi n a secondarcyo ntexto, n the cornero f Pop
14. See,e .g.,G eorgieva1 965,p p.
Charitona ndK njazC erkazkSi treetsin Odessus: 119-120.S hei nterprettsh e serpentin
theT hracianh orsemanre liefsa s a
Atovootot'Avxt96Bou o xat Exog.
symbolo f the forceso f naturef,e rtility,
the underworlda,n dh ealingd eities.
It is noteworthtyh att heb acko fthe monumenits decoratewd itha nother
15. Fol andM arazov1 977,p p.18-
reliefe, xhibitinga funerabl anquetT. hisi s one of the fewc asesi n which
19.
the typeo f monumencta nb e surmisedfr omi nformatioont hert hant he
16. Georgieva1 965,p .121.
. nscnp. tlon. . 17. Georgieva1 965,p .121.
CCETI8 5,f romt heO dessurs egionin northeasBt ulgariais, a dedi- 18. Fort he reliefsf romA thens,
cationt o the heroK arabasmos: Pergamona,n dE phesoss, ee LIMC
Vl.l, p.1025, nos.6 , 8,9, pl.674. See
alsoL IMC VI .1, pp. 1031-1032,n os.
113-129,p ls.6 80-681,w hichi nclude
OWt0 Tt @TtOLat T[t ]8tag xat T@V
exampleos f the snake-entwinetdr ee
t8txva vr0nxrv sacat
fromR hodesK, os,T hessalya, nd
roxatotot°v
TroadicA lexandreiain, additionto
thosef romT hracea ndi ts immediate
Thed edicanmt ayh aveb eent heg randsoonf EsxtatogN rtxtoum entioned
in CCETI4 0 (Fig.1 ),w hoses onw asn amed'A ra0nvo.T he monument vl. clm. ty. .
19. See the discussionb elow,
wasf oundi n theE arlyC hristiabna silicain GalataT. hisb asilicwa asb uilt
pp.220-224.
upont her uinso f a pagans anctuarwy,h ere1 6 riderr eliefsh adb eenf ound 20. C£ Decev1 945.
OF THE THRACIAN RIDER
MONUMENTS
2IS
Fig3u.r Ce CET I 54, Odessus. E_ X .!1_i.7!t,l. _ | _
MuseumV, arna,
Archaeological
in1v5.4 5.C ourtesyM useum (KCaCrEaTbaI 8s0m-9o85ss)8;. 2 N uamndb9 >er982sw3 -ha89irl eeua9 nr5ei iin sns ascc drrieibdbeie9dcad3a;n itsid ocd Unoer dHriupcap Tt9te;a4 dtv ioas ytah£ tCehh .aT enhrkeo-
orctotlmafhefauofifnm enganCeedtbri rdnCasc9y ioest iasn5,E snfdp iwlg bnUtTao,seoh ece ntfrtcHeero a itodm w veh rpinodo ne eo contedHd flsrhsdeur aistpeo wcoid hnocrfamedtzoiact t hpvhetuttet Xhuapiehe ltddtaeiat eietn bode,mhd r d ass eeyeK ne'c;r it hi i tarhneateiismy eecrrpwos loaodtei mKo nbinesoTrla.reaen ysridhsarihvt semn uoag evifp sbefsaoteor, orhpatssa roh nh wiselmnm madeieeskctt av,w nl noht a lteha.soeiYann o ami simn anewnnt to tbes echo,.tcsro aTar eureunss uihlrethpytipni chnsc witsr opiioeg noihmp nnfssnueiecaTicpnisrnldlnrm .hlueg ft i et obhlesrehtyi raeeeseioo,msm lldu m osrnyi see t neao aohfepn nttsnm9ohici u4ou-r-e s - ns-
m0A1dm£O veeD eXdnnpCioitOsctsvC cLsMa ap,o E8tomitaT4or,4n1etnIt8fr5i o1 r3b a2 t oAuay3otm o srh it4,sa Ath u 8 ea se npm pEgd tooeeiirHnscddoa,igE iro efn6c ii,ti1cadd s tD2 atie 6 oinr5t[obsoo ,ctn aau mAot r ut gtsoh nharE4sioreas,5e] gy iv7,pd5o. e 2tmied oo n Eas oAt6,nnii 5pstdu5yeoi 1smn 0H £0koOe5oAns,n 1 ,aop u4tAOrw.7l teo lntel soo op aBn Afidal ttypaeahtx npohe8olhrCsl4soeso50V,,mI ,u 8t Ia g5 o20, 3h£4tnIO hV6 u,a e -
.l nscnpt. lons. .
NORAD IMITROVA
2I6
II
GROUP
Leut s considern ow the secondg roupo f examplesi,n whicht he same
divinfeig ure as identifiedb y the inscriptionsa ppearosn differenrte -
liefsO. neo f the mostf requentlnya medd eitiesi n the monumentosf the
Thraciahno rsemains ApolloA. mongt heb etter-preservdeedd icationtso
hima reC CETI 33, II 200, and4 45. CCETI 33, fromO dessush, ast he
followintegx t:
[0£O, 'Asok]ov[ts ic] [Kap]aDa[ay]
flpoya0Cxv A[- - - - - -]
'A,uv<XpM EN[-- - - - -]
[- - - - - -]nr S Ap£y[t8Xpov- -]
[av£0Nx]av.
Ther eliefd e*p - ictsa horsemand ressedin a chitona ndc hlamysf,a cinga n
altaarn da treea ndh oldinga paterah, is horsew alking.
CCETII 200,f romM arcianopolniso, rtheasBt ulgariar,e ads:
Z£V6S AVXO4£V£05
AsoBxvt £vxa-
0£O
pLOpLOV aV£0NX£V.
Thisr eliefr epresenats h untingr iderw earinga chitona ndc hlamysh, old-
inga spearh, is horseg allopinga; dog,l yre,t ree,s nakea, nda ltara rea lso
portrayed.
CCETII 445, fromt heT argovishtree gionn, ortheasBt ulgariar,e ads
simply:
A tOy£VNS
'AsoB[v].
It portrayas riderw earinga chiton,h is righth andi n the gestureo f
"benedictliaot ina,f"a cinga womanh, is horsew alking.
Thesem onumentdso note xhibiat ni denticailc onographMy.o res ig-
nificantltyh, eyd o notd epicta ni mageo f Apolloa sd istincftr oma nyo ther
Thraciarni der.
Theseo bservationasl soa pplyt o monumentdse dicatedto otherf re-
quentlynamedde itieso rheroesA: sklepio(se .g.,C CETI 8, 111;I I 542,
612;V 23, 24);K arabasmo(es. g.,C CETI 28, 30, 33, 34, 83, 84, 85, 86,
87); Aulosadas/Aulosaden(eo.sg ., CCET II 457, 458, 460, 483, 484);
Pyrmeroul(aes. g.,K acaro"vD, enkmale3r7"5 ,602,603,608)M; animazos
(e.g.,C CETI 31, 40; IV 36). All thesed eitiesa rer epresenteads riders,
withn o discernibliec onographicpaal tterntsh atm ightr eveatlh eiri den-
tityi n contrastto otherT hracianh orsemenO. nlyt he inscriptionpse rmit 21. The pictureis furtherc ompli-
recognitionof the addresseoef the vow or the type of the monument, catedb y the factt hats ometimeas
whetherv otiveo r funerary.21 foreigng od receivesa localn ameo r
Reliefsd edicatedto Asklepioas ree specialliyl luminatinIgG. BulgI I epithett:h uso ne cans ee dedicationtso
569 (Fig.4 ) is a thank-offerintog Asklepioas ndA phrodite: ApolloK arabasmoAs,s klepios
Keilade(i)noAs,p olloA ulosadas/
['AaxA]z xat'A(ppo8£Cxmap ap- AulosadenoAs, polloT etradeenoas,n d
so on.
tov.
MONUMENTS OF THE THRACIAN RIDER 2I7
Figure4 (leJ:t)I.G Bulg II 569, Glava The reliefs howsa ridert,u rnedto the rightw, earinga chlamyas ndh old-
Panega.N ationalA rchaeological ing a pateraa, nda standingfe malef igureo f the sameh eight,c ladi n a
Museum,S ofia,i nv.3 906. Courtesy chitona ndm antleT. hem onumendta test o the3 rdc entury andc omes
A.C.
Museum
fromt he Asklepieionat GlavaP anegain the Vracar egiono f northwest
BulgariaI.t wasf oundt ogetherw ithn umeroudse dicationtso Asklepios,
Figure5 (right). IGBulg II 512,
someo f whichr epresenhti m as the Thracianr idero, thersi n his tradi-
GlavaP anega.N ationalA rchaeo-
logicalM useum,S ofia,i nv.3 739. tionali conographsyu, cha sI GBulgI I 512 (Fig.5 ):
CourtesyM useum
abover elieJf' A^xAnlstSx aB8nlvt
belowr elieJfI ovALoKge voove uxapori-
*p Lov.
Thes tandaridn terpretatioofnt heser eliefiss to supposteh atA sklepios
hasb eenc onflatewd itht heT hracianri derw, how asw orshippeldo callya s
a healingd eity.2T2h eres eemst o be no differenceh,o weverin, function,
meaninga,n dd ateb etweenth et wok indso f depictionosf AsklepiosI.f his
iconographwye rei deologicallmy eaningfuinl eachp articulacra se,t hen
one wouldh avet o assumeth ato nlyf or someo f the worshipperast this
Asklepieiown ash e a producot f syncretismwi tht heT hracianri derw, hile
foro thersh ew ass tillt het raditionaAls klepioisn hist raditionaiclo nogra-
phy.S ucha situationd oesn ot seemp lausibleI.f , howevero,n e supposes
thatt he imageo f the horsemawn ass implya conventionth, eno nlyt hose
22. See,e .g.,F ola ndM ihailov1 979,
reliefsi n whichA sklepiosis representeidn his traditionaicl onography,
pp.2 60-261.O there xampleos f the
samep henomenonar ef oundi n the withouta horse,s houldb e considereads especiallsyi gnificant-perhaps
Sanctuaroyf Apolloa t the villageo f ane xpressioonf greatecra reo n the parto f thew orshipperws,h od idn ot
Trud,P lovdivr egionI:G BulgI II 1458 set up a standaridm ageu sedf oro therg odsa sw ell.T he abovee xamples
showsA polloi n his traditional,
cant husb e explainedb y the hypothesitsh att he horsemanis an icono-
horselesisc onographwy,h ileI GBulgI II
graphicaclo nventiofno ra god or hero,a ndt hatt he inscriptionsse rvet o
1457,1 460-1466,1468-1470s howa
rider. personaliz(ea ndi dentifyt)h iso therwisne amelescso nventionaiml age.
NORAD IMITROVA
2I8
Figur6e . CCET V 23, Krupac.
EthnographicMal useum,P irot.
Thish ypothesiasl soa ccommodatCesC ETV 23 (Fig.6 ), a late-2nd-
century dedicatiotno Apolloa ndA sklepiofso undi n Krupacin, east-
A.C.
ernY ugoslaviTah. er eliefd epicttsw oi denticahl orsemefna cinge acho ther,
whileth e inscriptiobne neathth e reliefr eads:
AsoVxvt xaxA axAz
BrtoaxrANvroaxxgo gI ItooxXov
rvia,urvoagv rONxr.23
Thuso ne horsemanis presumabAlyp ollo,a ndt he otherA sklepiosT. he
reliefism oste asilyunderstooifd w e explainth er idera sa conventiofno ra
divinitoyf somek ind,p ersonalizeodn lyb y the inscription.
IGBulgI II 1467i s av eryi nterestincga se:it showsA pollos tanding(i n
his traditionailc onographya),n d next to him a horse as thought he
dedicanfte ltt hata reliefportrayian dg eitywouldb e somehowin complete
withouitt . The monumencto mesf romt he Sanctuaroyf Apolloa tT rud,
whereA polloi s depictedin otherr eliefso n horsebacakn d onlyr arely
in his traditionaiml agery.24
The ridero ccasionallays sumesfe aturesa nd attributeosf the deity
fromw hoses anctuartyh er eliefderivetsh: us,i n a sanctuaroyf Apolloo ne
mightf indr idersw ith a lyre.2S5o metimetsh e rideri s representeads a
23.T his exampler uleso ut the CCETIV2 9.T he textr eads": So-and- 24. See aboven, . 22.
possibilityth att heT hracianr ider so dedicateda npxs to (orf or)g ood 25. See,e .g.,t he discussiono f the
mighth aveb eent he dedicanht imself. fortune.T" he numbero f the dedicators Sanctuaroyf ApolloA ulosadaisn
If the horsemanw eret he dedicant, is 27, so it is impossiblteo identify Konstantinoevt al. 1980,p p. 142-172.
thenw e wouldh avet o assumet wo themw itht he singler iderd epicted. On sanctuarieosf theT hracian
dedicantfso rt hisp articularre lie£T he Moreovert,h e texts ayst hat" theyd edi- horsemanse e,a mongo thersC, oncev
inscriptionh,o weverc,l earlyt ellsu s that cateda hero,"a ndn ot" themselves." 1941;B oteva1 985;K oukouli-
the dedicanits one,a ndt he godst wo: Anotherc ounterargumeins tt he fre- Chrysanthakain dM alamidou1 989;
"Gaiuss,o n of Proclusd, edicated[t his quentp resenceo f adorantosn the Ovcarov1 972.A veryh elpfuls ummary
monumentt]o Apolloa ndA sklepios reliefsT. heirf iguresa res ignificantly of sanctuarieins the Romanp rovinceo f
Berakelenohi,a vingm adea vow." smallerin scalet hant he horsemana,n d Thracei s giveni n Goceva2 000.
Anothere loquenpt ieceo f evidenceis thiss peaksin favoro f his highers tatus.