Dacian symbols
Each symbol has a sheet with what the pages of the site say about it. The sheet clearly separates what is attested (what is seen in the sources and on objects) from what is interpreted (what the older pages say, without a cited source) and from what is debated. If a symbol has nothing attested on the site, the sheet says so; we do not fill in what is not written in the pages.
5 symbols
Forms
The spiral
The spiral often appeared – as a representation of life, of evolution and of the eternal cycle.
Attested (what we know)
- A gold bracelet in the shape of a spiral, with serpent-shaped ends, from the treasure of the Orăștie Mountains. (page Dacian art and literature: from gold to Trajan’s Column)
- The gold spiral bracelets are kept at the National History Museum of Romania. (page Dacian art and literature: from gold to Trajan’s Column)
Interpreted and debated
Interpretation, without a cited source:
- The spiral often appeared – as a representation of life, of evolution and of the eternal cycle. (page Dacian culture: religion, daily life, symbols)
What is not known:
- What the motifs (serpent, animals) meant and who wore them: the written sources do not say. (page Dacian art and literature: from gold to Trajan’s Column)
Where it appears
- The gold bracelets
The gold spiral bracelets, with serpent-shaped ends or animal motifs, found in the Orăștie Mountains, are a symbol of Dacian art.
From the page: Dacian art and literature: from gold to Trajan’s Column
Celestial
The sun
The sun was omnipresent, as a source of life and divine light.
Attested (what we know)
The pages of the site say nothing attested about this symbol (it is not described in a source or on an object). What follows is interpretation only.
Interpreted and debated
Interpretation, without a cited source:
- The sun was omnipresent, as a source of life and divine light. (page Dacian culture: religion, daily life, symbols)
- It lives on in popular traditions, in carols, in customs linked to the sun, mountains and sacred trees. (page Dacian heritage: fortresses and artefacts)
Where it appears
- Dacian culture
The sun was omnipresent, as a source of life and divine light.
From the page: Dacian culture: religion, daily life, symbols
Celestial
The solar eye
The solar eye is a bridge between earth and sky, between the person who looks up and the sky that answers with light and meaning.
Attested (what we know)
The pages of the site say nothing attested about this symbol (it is not described in a source or on an object). What follows is interpretation only.
Interpreted and debated
Interpretation, without a cited source:
- The solar eye is a bridge between earth and sky, between the person who looks up and the sky that answers with light and meaning. (page The Dacians and Dacia: history, culture, symbols)
- It is a symbol of vision, of vigilance and of a divine solar presence. (page The Dacians and Dacia: history, culture, symbols)
Where it appears
- The page Dacians and Dacia
The solar eye is a bridge between earth and sky, between the person who looks up and the sky that answers with light and meaning.
From the page: The Dacians and Dacia: history, culture, symbols
Creatures
The Dacian wolf
The Dacian wolf, with a serpent’s body and the head of a beast, was more than a warrior totem – it was the guardian of the spirit, the protector of the people, a messenger between worlds.
Attested (what we know)
- On Trajan’s Column, in the hands of the Dacian soldiers, there appears a standard with a wolf’s head and a serpent’s body, called in today’s language the draco. (page Dacian legends and myths: Zalmoxis, Kogaionon, the draco)
- A standard with a wolf’s head and a serpent’s body, in the hands of the Dacian soldiers in the scenes of the Column. (page Dacian legends and myths: Zalmoxis, Kogaionon, the draco)
Interpreted and debated
Interpretation, without a cited source:
- The Dacian wolf, with a serpent’s body and the head of a beast, was more than a warrior totem – it was the guardian of the spirit, the protector of the people, a messenger between worlds. (page Dacian culture: religion, daily life, symbols)
Where it appears
- Trajan’s Column
On Trajan’s Column, in the hands of the Dacian soldiers, there appears a standard with a wolf’s head and a serpent’s body, called in today’s language the draco.
From the page: Dacian legends and myths: Zalmoxis, Kogaionon, the draco
Creatures
The dragon symbol
The dragon symbol becomes the sacred mark of initiatory kingship.
Attested (what we know)
- On Trajan’s Column, in the hands of the Dacian soldiers, there appears a standard with a wolf’s head and a serpent’s body, called in today’s language the draco. (page Dacian legends and myths: Zalmoxis, Kogaionon, the draco)
- Arrian writes about such dragon banners, used by peoples of the steppe. (page Dacian legends and myths: Zalmoxis, Kogaionon, the draco)
- What is certain is that the figure was used on the battlefield and that the Romans recognised it as Dacian in the sculpture of their victory. (page Dacian legends and myths: Zalmoxis, Kogaionon, the draco)
Interpreted and debated
Interpretation, without a cited source:
- The dragon symbol becomes the sacred mark of initiatory kingship. (page The history of Dacia and of the Dacians)
What is not known:
- The sources do not say that the draco was a sacred symbol of the Dacians; that meaning came later. (page Dacian legends and myths: Zalmoxis, Kogaionon, the draco)
Where it appears
- Trajan’s Column
On Trajan’s Column, in the hands of the Dacian soldiers, there appears a standard with a wolf’s head and a serpent’s body, called in today’s language the draco.
From the page: Dacian legends and myths: Zalmoxis, Kogaionon, the draco