Zalmoxis and Kronos
Zalmoxis and Kronos

Summary/Abstract: The paper analyses the information in some sources as the ancient author Hesychius and the Suidas Lexicon on the similitude between Zalmoxis – the ancient king, priest, healer and deity attested in the lands of the Getae – and the ancient Greek god Kronos. On the one hand, the teaching of Zalmoxis about immortality promises eternal happy life, which is reminiscent of the Golden Age of bliss described by Hesiod, during which Kronos reigned. On the other hand, the ancient Greek god ruled also over the generation of heroеs inhabiting the islands of the blessed. These specificities could serve as a basis for bringing the images of Zalmoxis and Kronos closer to one another. The image-idea of Kronos apparently designated the teaching about immortality and about the happy life after death preached by Zalmoxis. These ideas are in total harmony with the information provided by the ancient authors about the faith of the Thracians in immortality and with the archaeological evidence. The entire range of religious and philosophical notions connected with Zalmoxis is at the basis of the later cult of the Thracian Heros. In view of these links between the image of Zalmoxis and the teaching personified by him, on the one hand, and the heroic cult on the other, it seems logical for Zalmoxis to be likened to Kronos by the Greek authors. The syncretism between Zalmoxis and Kronos-Saturn can also be assumed from the Vitae of the Early Christian Saint Dasius of Durostorum. Following this line of thought, there is a possibility that the cult and image of Kronos could be perceived as a starting point for the understanding of Thracian culture, just as, e.g., Dionysos, Ares, Artemis, Hermes, the Thracian Heros and other deities.

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