The Scene with a Sacrifiicial Bull Depicted on a Votive Relief from Tyras

Abstract

In the article the marble relief of the Thracian Horseman, discovered in 1961 in Tyras, and dated by the first half of the 3rd century AD, is analyzed. The relief was found together with another limestone relief in room no. 29 of the large house no. ІІІ. It depicts a complex scene with multiple members. In the middle of the relief a rider is depicted. He moves to the right, facing full face. The rider holds a spear in his raised right hand. His horse slowly approaches the kneeling bull with its head down. The dog under the body of the horse attacks the bull. The photo and the drawing show Hercules on the right and the man with the torch on the left. In the background (behind the horse’s tail) stands a man with a torch and a tympanum (?). There is an object that looks like a seashell above the man. The author of the article suggests the following interpretation of the scene: the kneeling bull with bowed head is a sacrificial animal, the rider is a priest preparing to perform or performing a sacrifice, and Hercules is the recipient of the sacrifice. The rhyton held by Hercules emphasizes the meaning of the scene, since this vessel is intended for making or receiving a libation. The man standing on the right with ritual attributes is a dedicant. The shell above the man can be a symbol of rebirth after death. The complete analogies to the scenes depicted on the relief haven’t been known yet. However, there are several reliefs with similar individual elements, in particular, those depicting a sacrificial bull. There is no dedicatory inscription on the plate, so nothing is known about the social status and ethnic origin of the dedicant, nor about the name and epithet of the god to whom it was addressed. We can only make the following assumptions: 1. The house in which votive plates were found belonged to a wealthy family. This is evidenced by finds of coins and gold jewellery. The head of the family obviously belonged to the local elite. 2. Perhaps the owner of the house was Thracian by origin. He could have been a veteran of the Roman army or his descendant. It is known that in the 2nd — the first half of the 3rd centuries AD the Roman garrison was located in Tyras. It was recruited in Lower Moesia. 3. Perhaps a marble relief was made to order. In this case, the customer could choose the plot himself, which reflected an episode from his personal experience, in particular, participation in mysteries. The room in which votive plates were discovered probably served as a home sanctuary (a place where the family performed certain religious activities and placed offerings to the gods).