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Sabazios

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An ancient ivory and gold sculpture of Sabazios, a mythological figure, from the tomb of Alexander IV, showcasing the rich art and cultural fusion of the time.

Sabazios

Sabazios was an old god loved by people from Asia Minor. Two groups, the Phrygians and the Thracians, thought he was a strong sky father who rode a horse.

Over time, Sabazios became known all over the big Roman Empire, especially in the Central Balkans. Today, scholars believe he started as a god of the Phrygians.

Pictures of Sabazios always show him on a horse with a special staff that showed his power. People made bronze hands to use in his worship. These hands had religious symbols and were kept in special places or carried in big walks.

Sabazios was sometimes linked with other gods like Zeus and Dionysus. But he always stayed a rider on horseback, a god who watched over his people from the skies.

Images

An ancient Roman bronze hand from the 1st-2nd century AD, used in the worship of the god Sabazius. This artifact is part of the British Museum's collection.
Ancient symbolic hand artifact representing the god Sabazius, featuring animals and religious symbols from Roman times.
Ancient relief of a Thracian horseman from the Romanian National History Museum.
An ancient symbol known as the Hand of Sabazios, often used in historical and cultural studies.

Related articles

Sky father
Roman Empire
Zeus
Dionysus

This article is a child-friendly adaptation of the Wikipedia article on Sabazios, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

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