За култа към нимфите в провиния Тракия и светилището им в Diocletianopolis
About the cult of the nymphs in Thracia and their sanctuary in Diocletianopolis

Author(s): Bogdana Krivoshieva, Bozhidar Draganov, Mariana Draganova
Subject(s): History, Archaeology, Cultural history, Architecture, Comparative history, Ancient World, Theology and Religion, Religion and science
Published by: Издателска къща "Гутенберг"
Keywords: Antiquity; Cult of the nymph; Pagan Europe; Thracian cults; Balkan history;
Summary/Abstract: The cult of the nymphs in the province of Thracia is a subject that has barely been studied and is unpopular as a whole. It is probably due to this circumstance that there are omissions in the discovery and identification of nymphaeums from Roman times. It was precisely in this period that the tradition of building this type of sanctuary by mineral springs was introduced, along with the so-called thermae spas. To date, four such sanctuaries have been identified on the basis of votive materials: Aquae Calidae, Stara Zagora mineral baths, Diocletianopolis and Pancharevo. Another two nymphaeums of the so-called rural type were uncovered on the territory of Thracia - one near Ognyanovo and the private sanctuary by Kasnakovo. A logically founded and clearly supported with arguments hypothesis about the location of the nymphaeum in the thermal complex of Diocletianopolis has been developed by means of comparative analysis of the finds from the former, the architecture of the latter and the clarification of the essence of the cult.

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