Thracian Horseman

Thracian horseman is the conventional term for a recurring motif from the iconography of Paleo-Balkanic mythology during the Roman era.

The tradition is attested from Thrace to Moesia and Scythia Minor, also known as the "Thracian Heros", at Odessos (Varna) attested by a Thracian name as Heros Karabazmos, a god of the underworld usually depicted on funeral statues as a horseman slaying a beast with a spear.

• Sabazios, the Thracian reflex of Indo-European Dyeus, identified with Heros Karabazmos, the "Thracian horseman". He gained a widespread importance especially after the Roman conquest. After Christianity was adopted, the symbolism of Heros continued as representations of Saint George slaying the dragon (compare Uastyrdzhi/Tetri Giorgi in the Caucasus).

• Medaurus, Illyrian protective deity worshipped in Rhizon (present-day Risan, Montenegro).

It has been part of the syncretism of Romanized people; Cult of Apollo, Christianized people; possible connections with warrior saints, e.g. Saint George and Saint Demetrius