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43-556: Said to have been so called from the bear's skin (ζάλμος) in which he was clothed as soon as he was born. According to Jordanes ' Getica , he was a learned philosopher, before whom two other learned men existed, by the names of Zeuta and Deceneus . Herodotus writes about Zalmoxis in book 4 of his Histories : 93. ... the Getae are the bravest of the Thracians and the most just. 94. They believe they are immortal forever living in

86-429: A Phrygian word for "foreign slave". The correct spelling of the name is also uncertain. Manuscripts of Herodotus' Historiae have all four spellings, viz. Zalmoxis , Salmoxis , Zamolxis , Samolxis , with a majority of manuscripts favouring Salmoxis . Later authors show a preference for Zamolxis . Hesychius quotes Herodotus, using Zalmoxis . The -m-l- variant ( Zamolxis ) is favoured by those wishing to derive

129-463: A monk , a religiosus or a member of the clergy. Some manuscripts say that he was a bishop, and some even say bishop of Ravenna , but the name Jordanes is not known in the lists of bishops of Ravenna. Jordanes wrote Romana , about the history of Rome , but his best-known work is his Getica , which was written in Constantinople about 551 AD. Jordanes wrote his Romana at

172-514: A γόητα "magician". According to Strabo, king Burebista (82–44 BC) hired Deceneus, who had been in Egypt, to "tame" his people. As a sign of the people's obedience, they consented to destroy all their wines as ordered by Deceneus. The "reform of Deceneus" is the interpretation by the 6th-century bishop and historian Jordanes , who includes the Getae in his history of the Goths (as assumed ancestors of

215-451: A god of the storm proves at least that Gebeleizis was still active in the moment when Dacia was christianised, whatever his name was in this era. It can also be admitted that subsequently a religious syncretism, encouraged by the high priest and the priestly class, ended up on confusing Gebeleizis with Zalmoxis. Jordanes Jordanes ( / dʒ ɔːr ˈ d eɪ n iː z / ; Greek : Ιορδάνης), also written as Jordanis or Jornandes ,

258-568: A high-level notarius , or secretary, of a small client state on the Roman frontier in Scythia Minor , modern southeastern Romania and northeastern Bulgaria . Jordanes was notarius , or secretary to Gunthigis Baza , a nephew of Candac and a magister militum of the leading Ostrogoth clan of the Amali . That was ante conversionem meam ("before my conversion"). The nature and

301-745: A third sphere between the two worlds, separating and uniting them. The identification of nous with the demiurge in the neoplatonic tradition was adopted and developed in Christian gnosticism . Augustine of Hippo follows Plotinus, identifying the nous with logos (the creative principle) as part of the Trinity . Iamblichus multiplied the number of divine entities according to universal mathematical theorems. He conceived of gods, angels, demons and heroes: twelve heavenly gods (whose number increases to 36 or 360), 72 other gods proceeding from them, 21 chiefs and 42 nature-gods. His divine realm extends from

344-640: Is mentioned as skilled in the arts of incantation. Zalmoxis gave his name to a particular type of singing and dancing (Hesych). His realm as a god is not very clear, as some considered him to be a sky-god, a god of the dead, or a god of the Mysteries. The "Zalmoxian religion" is the subject of a scholarly debate that has continued since the beginning of the 20th century. According to some scholars, such as Vasile Pârvan, Jean Coman, R. Pettazzon, E. Rohde and Sorin Paliga , since ancient sources do not mention any god of

387-654: The Suda and Iamblichus' biographer, Eunapius , Iamblichus was born in Chalcis (later called Qinnašrīn ) in Coele , now in northwest Syria . Iamblichus was descended from the Emesene dynasty . He initially studied under Anatolius of Laodicea and later studied under Porphyry , a pupil of Plotinus (the founder of neoplatonism). Iamblichus disagreed with Porphyry about theurgy , reportedly responding to Porphyry's criticism of

430-616: The Alani with their leader, Candac by name, received Scythia Minor and Lower Moesia . Paria, the father of my father Alanoviiamuth (that is to say, my grandfather), was secretary to this Candac as long as he lived. To his sister's son Gunthigis, also called Baza, the Master of the Soldiery, who was the son of Andag the son of Andela, who was descended from the stock of the Amali , I also, Jordanes, although an unlearned man before my conversion,

473-826: The Getae with the Goths. Many historical records which originally related to Dacians and Getae were thus wrongly attributed to Goths. Arne Søby Christensen and Michael Kulikowski argue that in his Getica Jordanes also supplemented his Gothic history with many fictional events such as a Gothic war against Egypt. Caracalla in 214 received the titles "Geticus Maximus" and "Quasi Gothicus" after battles with Getae and Goths. Iamblichus Iamblichus ( / aɪ ˈ æ m b l ɪ k ə s / eye- AM -blik-əs ; ‹See Tfd› Greek : Ἰάμβλιχος , translit.   Iámblichos ; Arabic : يَمْلِكُ, romanized: Yamlīkū; Aramaic : 𐡉𐡌𐡋𐡊𐡅 , romanized:  Yamlīkū ; c.  245  – c.  325 )

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516-530: The Egyptian pharaoh Vesosis (47). The less fictional part of Jordanes's work begins when the Goths encounter Roman military forces in the third century AD. The work concludes with the defeat of the Goths by the Byzantine general Belisarius . Jordanes concludes the work by stating that he writes to honour those who were victorious over the Goths after a history spanning 2,030 years. Jordanes wrongly equated

559-454: The Getae other than Zalmoxis, the Getae were monotheistic . However, Herodotus is the only ancient author who explicitly states that the Getae had only one divinity. The sending of a messenger to Zalmoxis and the fact that Getae shot arrows towards the sky have prompted some authors to believe Zalmoxis was a sky god , but his journey into a cavern has led others to suggest that he was a chthonic divinity. A third group of scholars believe that

602-586: The Getae, like other Indo-European peoples, were polytheistic . They draw on ancient authors such as Diodorus Siculus , who states that the Getae worshipped Hestia as well as Zalmoxis. A number of etymologies have been given for the name. In his Vita Pythagorae , Porphyrius (3rd century) says that he was so named because he had been wrapped in a bearskin at birth, and zalmon is the Thracian word for "hide" ( τὴν γὰρ δορὰν οἱ Θρᾷκες ζαλμὸν καλοῦσιν ). Hesychius (ca. 5th century) has zemelen ( ζέμελεν ) as

645-518: The Goths). Jordanes describes how Deceneus taught the Getae philosophy and physics. Even if it is more probable that Jordanes interjected his own philosophical knowledge into the text, many modern Romanian authors consider that Deceneus was a priest who reformed the religion of the Getae, changing the worship of Zalmoxis into a popular religion and imposing strict religious rules, such as the restriction of wine consumption. Jean Coman deems this prohibition as

688-559: The Monad to material nature, where the soul descends into matter and becomes embodied in human form. These superhuman beings influence natural events and communicate knowledge about the future, and are accessible with prayers and offerings. Iamblichus posited that numbers are independent, occupying a middle realm between the limited and unlimited. He believed that nature was bound by fate , differing from divine things which are not subject to fate and turn evil and imperfection to good ends; evil

731-578: The Mysteries of the Egyptians, Chaldeans, and Assyrians , also known as The Theurgia . Although stylistic and doctrinal differences exist between this book and Iamblichus' other works, it originated from his school at least. Iamblichus also completed a coherent polytheist theological system under the Egyptian pseudonym Abammon . Iamblichus was praised by his followers, and contemporaries credited him with miraculous powers. The Roman emperor Julian , not content with Eunapius' modest eulogy that Iamblichus

774-683: The air against the sky and menace the divinity because they think there is no god other than their own. Herodotus asserts that Zalmoxis was originally a human being, a slave who converted the Thracians to his beliefs. The Greeks of the Hellespont and the Black Sea tell that Zalmoxis was a slave of Pythagoras , son of Mnesarchos, on the island of Samos . After being liberated, he gathered huge wealth and, once rich, went back to his homeland. Thracians lived simple hard lives. Zalmoxis had lived among

817-481: The archaic doctrine of Zalmoxis points to a heritage from before the times of Indo-Europeans, but this is difficult, if not impossible, to demonstrate. Plato claims that Zalmoxis was also a great physician who took a holistic approach to healing body and soul (psyche), being thus used by Plato for his own philosophical conceptions. Strabo in his Geography mentions a certain Deceneus (Dékainéos) whom he calls

860-528: The behest of a brother Castalius, who apparently knew that Jordanes possessed the twelve volumes of the History of the Goths by Cassiodorus . Castalius wanted a short book about the subject, and Jordanes obliged with an excerpt based on memory, possibly supplemented with other material to which he had access. The Getica sets off with a geography/ethnography of the North, especially of Scandza (16–24). He lets

903-522: The behest of a certain Vigilius. Although some scholars have identified this person with Pope Vigilius , there is nothing else to support the identification besides the name. The form of address that Jordanes uses and his admonition that Vigilius "turn to God " would seem to rule out this identification. In the preface to his Getica , Jordanes writes that he is interrupting his work on the Romana at

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946-756: The correct form by the majority of Thracologists, as this is the form found in the older Herodotus manuscripts and other ancient sources. The -l-m- form is further attested in Daco-Thracian in Zalmodegikos , the name of a Getic King; and in Thracian zalmon , 'hide', and zelmis , 'hide' (PIE *kel- , 'to cover'; cf. English helm ). The other name for Zalmoxis, Gebeleizis, is also spelled Belaizis and Belaixis in Herodotus manuscripts. According to Mircea Eliade: The fact that Romanian folk mythology around their prophet Elijah contains many elements of

989-587: The details of the conversion remain obscure. The Goths had been converted with the assistance of Ulfilas (a Goth), made bishop on that account. However, the Goths had adopted Arianism . Jordanes's conversion may have been a conversion to the trinitarian Nicene Creed , which may be expressed in anti-Arianism in certain passages in Getica . In the letter to Vigilius he mentions that he was awakened vestris interrogationibus – "by your questioning". Alternatively, Jordanes's conversio may mean that he had become

1032-413: The following sense: they think they do not die and that the one who dies joins Zalmoxis, a divine being; some call this same divine being Gebeleizis . Every four years, they send a messenger to Zalmoxis, who is chosen by chance. They ask him to tell Zalmoxis what they want on that occasion. The mission is performed in the following way: men standing there for that purpose hold three spears; other people take

1075-407: The history of the Goths commence with the emigration of Berig with three ships from Scandza to Gothiscandza (25, 94), in a distant past. In the pen of Jordanes, Herodotus's Getian demigod Zalmoxis becomes a king of the Goths (39). Jordanes tells how the Goths sacked " Troy and Ilium" just after they had recovered somewhat from the war with Agamemnon (108). They are also said to have encountered

1118-541: The later history of the Goths. Getica has been the object of much critical review. Jordanes wrote in Late Latin rather than the classical Ciceronian Latin. According to his own introduction, he had only three days to review what Cassiodorus had written and so he must also have relied on his own knowledge. Jordanes writes about himself almost in passing: The Sciri , moreover, and the Sadagarii and certain of

1161-400: The legend of the universal king Frode , given in both Ynglingsaga and Gesta Danorum of Saxo Grammaticus , particularly Ynglingsaga 12 and Gesta Danorum , in which Frode disappears into the earth for three years after his death. It is difficult to define the time when a cult to Zalmoxis may have existed. It is only certain that it predates Herodotus. Some scholars have suggested that

1204-530: The name from a conjectured Thracian word for "earth", *zamol . Comparisons have also been made with the name of Zemelo and Žemelė , the Phrygian and Lithuanian goddess of the earth, and with the Lithuanian chthonic god Žemeliūkštis . The Lithuanian word Žalmuo means "corn shoot" or "fresh grass". Žalmokšnis is another possible form of it. The -l-m- variant is admitted to be the older form and

1247-461: The one who is sent to Zalmoxis by his hands and feet and fling him in the air on the spears. If he dies pierced, they think that the divinity is going to help them; if he does not die, it is he who is accused and they declare that he is a bad person. And, after he has been charged, they send another one. The messenger is told the requests while he is still alive. The same Thracians, on other occasions, when he thunders and lightens, shoot with arrows up in

1290-535: The origin of the dietary restrictions followed by the modern Orthodox Church during Lent. According to Iamblichus (280-333 AD), "for instructing the Getae in these things, and for having written laws for them, Zalmoxis was by them considered as the greatest of the gods." Aristotle is said, in the brief epitome of his Magicus given by Diogenes Laertes, to have compared Zalmoxis with the Phoenician Okhon and Libyan Atlas . Some authors assume Zalmoxis

1333-504: The practice in On the Mysteries of the Egyptians, Chaldeans, and Assyrians . He returned to Coele Syria around 304 to found a school in Apamea (near Antioch ), a city known for its neoplatonic philosophers. Iamblichus designed a curriculum for studying Plato and Aristotle , and wrote commentaries on the two which survive only in fragments. Pythagoras was his supreme authority, and he wrote

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1376-459: The reign of Constantine the Great . Iamblichus detailed Plotinus ' neoplatonic formal divisions, applied Pythagorean number symbolism more systematically, and (influenced by other Asian systems) interpreted neoplatonic concepts mythically. Unlike Plotinus, who broke from platonic tradition by positing a separate soul, Iamblichus re-affirmed the soul's embodiment in matter and believed that matter

1419-408: The tale about Salmoxis and his underground chamber; but I think that he lived many years before Pythagoras; [2] and as to whether there was a man called Salmoxis or this is some deity native to the Getae, let the question be dismissed." — Herodotus Scholars have several different theories about this account by Herodotus the disappearance and return of Zalmoxis: This last theory precisely parallels

1462-574: The ten-volume Collection of Pythagorean Doctrines with extracts from several ancient philosophers; only the first four volumes and fragments of the fifth survive. Iamblichus wrote the Exhortation to Philosophy in Apamea during the early fourth century. Considered a man of great culture and learning, he was renowned for his charity and self-denial and had a number of students. According to Johann Albert Fabricius , he died sometime before 333 during

1505-476: The wisest of Greeks, such as Pythagoras, and had been initiated into Ionian life and the Eleusinian Mysteries . He built a banquet hall, and received the chiefs and his fellow countrymen at a banquet. He taught that neither his guests nor their descendants would ever die, but instead would go to a place where they would live forever in complete happiness. He then dug an underground residence. When it

1548-556: Was a Syrian neoplatonic philosopher . He determined a direction later taken by neoplatonism. Iamblichus was also the biographer of the Greek mystic, philosopher, and mathematician Pythagoras . In addition to his philosophical contributions, his Protrepticus is important for the study of the sophists because it preserved about ten pages of an otherwise unknown sophist known as the Anonymus Iamblichi. According to

1591-431: Was a 6th-century Eastern Roman bureaucrat, widely believed to be of Gothic descent , who became a historian later in life. He wrote two works, one on Roman history ( Romana ) and the other on the Goths ( Getica ). The latter, along with Isidore of Seville 's Historia Gothorum , is one of only two extant ancient works dealing with the early history of the Goths . Other writers, such as Procopius , wrote works on

1634-529: Was another name of Sabazius , the Thracian Dionysus , or Zeus . Sabazius appears in Jordanes as Gebelezis. Leaving aside the suffixes -zius/-zis , the root Saba- = Gebele- , suggesting a relationship of the name of the goddess Cybele, as "Cybele's Zeus". Mnaseas of Patrae identified Zalmoxis with Cronos , as does Hesychius , who has " Σάλμοξις ὁ Κρόνος ". In Plato 's writings, Zalmoxis

1677-607: Was as divine as the rest of the cosmos. Iamblichus placed the Monad at the head of his system, from which emanates the Nous (intellect, or demiurge ) and the psyche . Plotinus represented the Nous as three stages: objective being, subjective life, and realized intellect. Iamblichus divided them into two spheres: intelligible (the objects of thought) and intellective (the domain of thought). Iamblichus and Proclus may have introduced

1720-421: Was finished, he disappeared from Thrace, living for three years in his underground residence. The Thracians missed him and wept fearing him dead. The fourth year, he came back among them and thus they believed what Zalmoxis had told them. Zalmoxis may have lived much earlier than Pythagoras and was rumored either to be a divine being or from the country of the Getae. "Now I neither disbelieve nor entirely believe

1763-453: Was generated accidentally in the conflict between the finite and the infinite . Only a fraction of Iamblichus' books have survived; knowledge of his system is preserved in fragments of writings preserved by Stobaeus and others: notes by his successors (especially Proclus ), his five extant books and sections of his work on Pythagoreanism . In addition to these, Proclus attributed to him the On

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1806-528: Was inferior to Porphyry only in style, regarded him as second only to Plato and said that he would give all the gold in Lydia for one of his letters. During the 15th- and 16th-century revival of interest in his philosophy, Iamblichus' name was rarely mentioned without the epithet "divine" or "most divine". [REDACTED]   This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain :  Sorley, William Ritchie (1911). " Iamblichus,

1849-512: Was secretary. Paria was Jordanes's paternal grandfather. Jordanes writes that he was secretary to Candac , dux Alanorum , an otherwise unknown leader of the Alans. Jordanes was asked by a friend to write Getica as a summary of a multi-volume history of the Goths by the statesman Cassiodorus that existed then but has since been lost. Jordanes was selected for his known interest in history and because of his own Gothic background. He had been

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