The Legend of Diyes

The Legend of Diies — is the story about the relocation of the Thracian tribe Dii to the north, in a country of Odin and then to Gardariki.

As is known, this people lived to the north-west of the famous Mount Olympus, in the Greek province Boeotia. Mountain Pieria rises in this area. The Macedonian Dii city was located on its slopes. It is rumored that trees with golden leaves were in this city.

In 413 BC, during the Peloponnesian War, the Athenians hired 1300 Diies (peltast) to participate in the expedition to Sicily.[1] At 21 AD a revolt against the Romans was there, various tribes took part, including the Diies. Then the rumor spread that Rome is going to divide them and mixed with other people, send to distant countries. In 46 BC Thrace was declared as a Roman province.[2] Diies had to leave their places. They wandered for a long time, leaving the references on their way to the north.

It is assumed that we should look for the answer in the relocation of Diies to the north and north-east in the question of Thracian ancestry of the Norse god Odin. In the Eastern Slavic mythology Dii is the result of association with the name of ancient Greek - Zeus.

After the suppression of the revolt by the Romans Diies went to the country of Odin. In the first centuries AD this country stretched from Scandinavia to the current northern Ural and included the area of Gardariki (Land of Cities). Some representatives of Diies had settled on the banks of the Volga River, in the neighborhood of the Finno-Ugrians and Dievo Castle mound became a small settlement close to the future Yaroslavl. Dievo could be the ancient city of cult purpose. According to local legends, barrows were an area of ancient settlement. In the 15th century Prince, the founder of the local fortress, Ivan Diev (Deev), lived there. His name could have come from the fact that the ancient local priest was called Dii.

References

  1. ↑ ЭЛЛИНЫ В ОДРИССКОМ ЦАРСТВЕ В V—IV ВВ. ДО Н. Э.
  2. ↑ ВОСТОЧНАЯ ЕВРОПА. ЗАПАДНОЕ И СЕВЕРНОЕ ПРИЧЕРНОМОРЬЕ В ЭЛЛИНИСТИЧЕСКУЮ ЭПОХУ

Further reading