Marisia - Maros Megyei Múzeum Évkönyve 31/1. (2011)
Articles
THE ICONOGRAPHY OF THE ANTIQUE HERO IN THE BALKAN AREA MariA'Corina Nicolae Romanian National History Museum, Bucharest, RO The iconography of the mounted hero has deep roots in ancient art. On the Balkan territory, this iconography, during Roman times, is well attested especially through the monuments of the Thracian Rider and Danubian Riders. The analysis of the iconographical elements, typology and distribution of the artefacts highlight the fact that although we are dealing with a theme current during all through Antiquity, several local elements, at the iconographical and ideological level, might be identified. Keywords: iconography, Thracian Rider, Hero, Danubian Rider, cult reliefs The history of heroes dates back to ancient Greek times, when they were conceived more than men but less than gods, being usually associated with particular localities and sometimes with tombs. As regarding the etymology of the word heros (г/рщ), ancient authors offer various suggestions. Thus, Plato in Cratylus 398 c-e derives it from iptoq, épcoáv, while Hesychius defines the word as ővvoctóq, íoyvpóq or yevvaioq, all referring to physical and moral strength. Moreover, Servius, on Vergil’s Eclogue 4.35, connects heroes with the underworld, linking ipa with terra (McCauley 1993, 11). In Greek literature, the first occurrence of the word qpcoq is in Iliad, where it seems to mean ‘warrior’, although it cannot be sure whether it referred strictly to aristocratic warrior (Whitley 1994, 218) and, being often used in the singular, it has been believed that its meaning was somehow similar to ‘Lord’ or ‘Sir’ (Nillson 1941, 357). The Iliad uses the word ‘hero’ mainly for the combatants at Troy, more often Achaeans than Trojans, and Hesiod applies it similarly to the Seven against Thebes and to the Greek combatants at Troy. Though the word never lost the association with war and other forms of combat, the Odyssey also applies it to men such as the peaceable king Alcinoos. Thus, the usage of the term in Homeric epic is closer to ‘Lord’ than ‘warrior’. Nevertheless, ‘Lord’, a term which designates a form of respect and at the same time social status (Wilson 2005, 352), was appropriate for ancient warriors and to others who lived in glorious past (Jones 2010, 4). The use of the term ‘hero’ in a cult sense appears beginning with the law code of Draco, dated during the 7th century BC, when reference is made to local heroes (fjpcoaq émywpíovq) worshipped according to ancestral custom. Beginning with this moment on, the word will be used in connection with the cult of supernatural beings who were once human, but achieved supernatural powers after death (McCauley 1993, 21). As regarding the origin of the hero cult, it has been demonstrated that it is connected with the rise of the MARISIA XXXI, p. 159-173
