Zona de contact traco-frigiană ca spațiu de inovație religioasă
The Thracian-Phrygian contact area as a space of religious innovation

Summary/Abstract: In this study I have discussed the concept of Thracian-Phrygian contact zone from the perspective of the relationship to the Greek settlers and their mythographical accounts. The concept, which has been in use for some time in the Bulgarian historiography, has served as a means of understanding cross-cultural interactions, and I have proposed a specific approach of the significance of Northern Aegean mystery cults, such the adoration of the Great Mother, the Orphic cult or the cult of the Great Gods of Samothrace.I have presented some of the conclusions of Alexander Fol and Maya Vassileva and I have analysed whether they lead to a better understanding of the cultural engagement in ancient societies. In the first place, Greek settlers have come into contact with Phrygians in the Propontis region, regarding them as inhabitants of the shore lands. By extending their geographical consciousness, colonists have slowly accustomed themselves to cultural perspectives specific to the Thracian-Phrygian contact zone, such as the relation of the ruler to the Great Mother. This has led to the connection between religious development and political power. The Orphic cult, for instance, has been widely diffused in Greece in the time of the Odrysian kingdom, while the cult of the Great Gods has very much flourished under Hellenistic rule. I have therefore argued that the concept of Thracian-Phrygian contact zone proves to be a useful tool for analysing religious phenomena, particularly mystery cults, by drawing parallels between various local cults of the Northern Aegean space and the Propontis area.

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