11-20-2009, 05:14 PM
Salut Dragos
Well, i looked a little to Sorin Olteanu site (he is a linguist), and i find some interesting stuff there. I will post a link with a page, where he assume pretty much the same opinion with me, as Getae/Dacian language being, along with the greek one spoke inside the Black Sea towns, the language used in Moesia Inferior, but all the peoples there. He even imply that a some dacian words being adopted by peoples there, both getae and greeks, and a kind of religious sincretism existed as well, with a local autochtonus god worshiped. So, daco-getians was enough cultural developed to influence even the supposedly superior greeks.
Damn, i almost forgot the link
http://soltdm.com/sources/inscr/kaga/kaga_r.htm
At the bottom of the page you can acces the english version too, but is not as complete as romanian one
About Zalmoxes, yes, it looks like most of the later views on him to be basaed on what Herodotus said (even if he had a somehow critical point of view on that greek legend, and say that he believe Zalmoxes lived in fact a long time before Pythagora). As well, the fact that later chronicars mentioned the same things about Zalmoxes (and Dacian religion) is a prouve that pretty much Herodotus was right. The fact that Zalmoxis doesnt appear in epigraphiy, doesnt mean he didnt exist, or that he wasnt worshpied anymore. Its just that he was a "new breed" in religion, he make a transformation of old stuff, and introduce a religion of "misteries", similar probably with "orphic misteries", the same a thracian (southern)one, and who influenced the pythagorism too (from this similarities probably greeks believed that Zalmoxis was a slave or student of Pythagora, more from "nationalistic reason, if we can use this word here, but this was pretty much prouved to be false, and likely the otherwise around). His cult was celebrated mostly in the mountains, and mountains peaks, and there is no iconographic representations of him either. So probably his cult doesnt need to have him in inscriptions or images, since anyway this world was a temporary one, and the eternal one was the other world, where he rule. They use to "talk" to him anyway from 4 to 4 (or 5 to 5) years, by sending him a messanger, unlike greco-romans who had big statues of gods and pray in front of them.
Well, i looked a little to Sorin Olteanu site (he is a linguist), and i find some interesting stuff there. I will post a link with a page, where he assume pretty much the same opinion with me, as Getae/Dacian language being, along with the greek one spoke inside the Black Sea towns, the language used in Moesia Inferior, but all the peoples there. He even imply that a some dacian words being adopted by peoples there, both getae and greeks, and a kind of religious sincretism existed as well, with a local autochtonus god worshiped. So, daco-getians was enough cultural developed to influence even the supposedly superior greeks.
Damn, i almost forgot the link
http://soltdm.com/sources/inscr/kaga/kaga_r.htm
At the bottom of the page you can acces the english version too, but is not as complete as romanian one
About Zalmoxes, yes, it looks like most of the later views on him to be basaed on what Herodotus said (even if he had a somehow critical point of view on that greek legend, and say that he believe Zalmoxes lived in fact a long time before Pythagora). As well, the fact that later chronicars mentioned the same things about Zalmoxes (and Dacian religion) is a prouve that pretty much Herodotus was right. The fact that Zalmoxis doesnt appear in epigraphiy, doesnt mean he didnt exist, or that he wasnt worshpied anymore. Its just that he was a "new breed" in religion, he make a transformation of old stuff, and introduce a religion of "misteries", similar probably with "orphic misteries", the same a thracian (southern)one, and who influenced the pythagorism too (from this similarities probably greeks believed that Zalmoxis was a slave or student of Pythagora, more from "nationalistic reason, if we can use this word here, but this was pretty much prouved to be false, and likely the otherwise around). His cult was celebrated mostly in the mountains, and mountains peaks, and there is no iconographic representations of him either. So probably his cult doesnt need to have him in inscriptions or images, since anyway this world was a temporary one, and the eternal one was the other world, where he rule. They use to "talk" to him anyway from 4 to 4 (or 5 to 5) years, by sending him a messanger, unlike greco-romans who had big statues of gods and pray in front of them.
Razvan A.
