Religion

The Thracians were amazed by the natural phenomena, of which they were unable to give any reasonable explanation. They thought that all these phenomena were created by the gods, by which they wanted either to reward them, or to punish them.

The oldest belief is in the Great Goddess – Mother Bendida. According to the Thracians she had the power of giving and taking life, owing of which they honoured her as the sovereign of nature and fertility. Light and warmth were thought to be gifts of the gods – The Sun as a gift to the Earth. That’s why the divinity of the Sun had been much honored. The Thracian horseman was undoubtedly the most popular amongst the Thracians in antiquity. He was considered to be the god of the plants and the animal world.

Besides their common gods every tribe had its own gods. Many Thracians believed that after his death man continued living in another, better world.

This belief in immortality of the soul is found in the doctrine of Orpheus. That’s why the belief is called Orphism. Only the aristocrats were initiated into the sacraments of the doctrine. They were secretly going to Orpheus and drank from the drink which gave immortality.

Owing to the long communication between the Greeks and the Thracians, the first adopted many of the Thracian gods. In their mythology the Greeks changed the names and the powers of some gods. Today these gods are part of the world culture, but unfortunately few people know that many of them have Thracian origin.