Zalmoxis - Zalmoxian Religion

Zalmoxian Religion

The "Zalmoxian religion" is a debate dating from the beginning of the 20th century and which has lasted till today. It included very known searchers as Nicolae Densușianu, Vasile Pârvan, Giurescu father and son, Jean (Ioan) Coman, Constantin Daicoviciu, and Mircea Eliade. The most complete summary existing about these debates which often take a political (e.g. communist) or religious (e.g. orthodox) character is Dan Dana, Zalmoxis de la Herodot la Mircea Eliade. Istorii despre un zeu al pretextului, Iași, 2008, work which was only partly published in French and not in English.

The "Zalmoxian religion" would be the Getae (often named jointly with their Dacian relatives, Daco-Getae) monotheist belief in Zalmoxis, which would be the predecessor of the Christian faith in Romania. This has created a debate between the monotheist, the henotheist and the polytheist position.

According to some authors, ancient sources do not present any other god of Getae-Dacians than Zalmoxis. In fact, the only author who states that Getae have only one divinity is Herodotus. Among others, Vasile Pârvan, Jean Coman, R. Pettazzon, E. Rohde and Sorin Paliga consider that Getae-Dacians religion was monotheistic.

Others consider it henotheistic, that is, Zalmoxis would have been the supreme god at whose side exist minor divinities closely associated with him.

Finally, a third group of authors believe that Getae actually had a polytheist religion, like all the other Indo-European peoples. This would be confirmed e.g. by Diodorus Siculus who states that the Getae worship Hestia, following the teachings of Zalmoxis.

Not all the ancient sources consider that Zalmoxis was a god. In fact, there were even some researchers at the beginning of the communist era in Romania, who thought Getae were actually atheists, as shown by Constantin Balmuș in a short article O apreciere a lui Herodot asupra geţilor, ignoring all the ancient sources stating that Zalmoxis was a divinity.

There also have been discussions about the belief in immortality, due to Herodotus affirmation that the Getae "think that they do not really die, but that when they depart this life they go to Zalmoxis". Orthodox authors, like Jean Coman, considered this to be the proof that the presumed ancestors of the Romanians, the Getae or Daco-Getae, had a proto-Christian belief and that, with the Christianisation of Romania, they very easily were able to accept the Christian faith. This idea even entered in Mircea Păcurariu's history of the Romanian orthodox Church, a work which is deemed as an authority by his Church.

The sending of a messenger to Zalmoxis and the fact that Getae shot arrows towards the sky prompted some authors believe Zalmoxis was a uranian, heavenly, god, whereas his journey in a cavern made others write he was a chthonic, infernal divinity.

The most coherent and perhaps also original interpretation about Zalmoxis was made by Mircea Eliade who thought Getae actually had a religion based on a ritual of passage, where ritual death was symbolized by the disappearance in a cavern, and was followed by a ritual rebirth, symbolized by the leaving of the cavern. Zalmoxis was a constant in Eliade's life. His most complete work treating this subject seems to be From Zalmoxis to Genghis Khan, Paris, 1970 (its 1st edition).

Music and dance

Music and dance were an important part of Zalmoxis teachings and this corresponds to the special importance given by Getae-Dacians to the music.

Zalmoxis gave his name to a particular type of singing and dancing (Hesychius).