CULTURAL SYMBOLS OF DACIANS

The Dacians were an Indo-European people,

part of or related to the Thracians. Dacians were the ancient inhabitants of Dacia, located in the area in and around the Carpathian Mountains and west of the Black Sea.

The territory of Dacia, the Getae's

country, was roughly that of today's

Romania, Moldova, Hungary and parts

of Bulgary and Ukraine. During the

reign of king Burebista (1st century BC),

the western border advanced to the

Constanta lake, situated in today's

Switzerland.

The father of history, Herodot, mentions the Dacians in his works as "the bravest and fairest of all the Thracians". He also says that "the Thracian people is the most numerous one in the world; the Thracians have several names,

according to their specific regions, but their habits are more or less

the same".

RELIGION

The Dacians were a warrior people, and their polytheist religion saw death as a liberation. Their belief in the supreme god Gebeleizis made them fearless on the battlefield, and this virtue was passed on even after the old religion was replaced by the cult of Zalmoxe.

The Dacians wore a tunic, a

cloak called zeira, a cap called Alopekis made from the scalp of a fox with the ears visible, other Phrygian cap styles, and fawnskinboots called embades. Thracian clothing was sometimes decorated with intricate patterns. While patterned clothing was not unique to Thracians, the zeira, embadesand the alopekis probably originated from them. Clothing was made from hemp, flax or wool. The Dacians and the Getaewore pantaloons called Bracae.

DACIAN HOMES

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