Zibelthiurdos is a Thracian god of heaven, lightning and rain, whose name is known mainly from epigraphic monuments. The only known reference to this god so far in ancient literature is in Cicero's speech against Pizon, where he is mentioned under the name Jovi Vrii (Iuppiter Urius).^[1][2] According to Cicero, Jupiter Urius had the most ancient and venerated of the barbarian temples, which was sacked by invading armies and resulted in diseases from which those afflicted never recovered.

There is not enough information to draw clear conclusions about his cult, worship, or functions. The preserved images give reason to connect Zibelthiurdos with the ancient Greek God Zeus the Thunderer; he is depicted holding a lightning bolt in his raised right hand, and to his right an eagle with wings spread out.

Names and epigraphy

In the epigraphic evidence, the deity's name is attested in 12 documents, alternatively written as Zbelthiourdes, Zbelthourdos, Zbelsourdos or Zbersurdos, Zbeltiurdus, Svelsurdus.^[3]

Orientalist Wilhelm Tomaschek reported three Thracian inscriptions:^[4]

• a dedication from Moesia made by a Mucaporis to a Διί Ζβελθιούρδῳ;
• an inscription in Skopia to a DEO ZBELTHIURDO;
• an inscription from Perinthus to a Διί Ζιβελσούρδῳ.

According to epigraphic evidence, the name of Greek god Zeus is found in Thracian inscriptions associated with Zbelthiurdos and variations: Zbelturd, Zbelsurd, Zbeltiurd, Zpelturd. This combination is believed to attest a syncretism between the Greek deity and a local Thracian god of thunder and lightning.^[5][6]

Etymology

His name speculatively means "Lightning Carrier" or "Thunderer",^[7] but it is uncertain whether Zibelthiurdos is his name or an epithet.^[a]

Tomaschek interpreted that Zibel- and Zbel- were the same word, although he believed the former to be the older form (cf. Thracian king Ζιβέλμιος, or Zibelmios).^[9] He also derived Zbel- from a Proto-Indo-European stem *ģʰeib-.^[9]

In another line of scholarship, Dimitar Detschew assumed that the particles Zber- and Zbel- derived from a Proto-Indo-European stem *ģwer- 'briller, éclairer'. As for the second part of the names, despite the grand variation, they all derived from a stem *twer/*tur 'to have', while *dho would indicate a nomen agentis suffix. Thus, his name would mean 'he who has the lightning'.^[10]

Related words

Per Tomaschek, further descendants of *ģʰeib- would include Lithuanian žaibas "lightning", verb žibėti "to shine, to glow", and possibly Croatian zúblja "torch" and Slovene zubelj "flame".^[9] In the same vein, Bulgarian linguist Vladimir I. Georgiev proposed a connection to Lithuanian Žiburys 'light, torch'.^[11][12]

Bulgarian linguist Ivan Duridanov [bg] indicated the word Zbel- is related to Latvian zibele "lightning".^[13]

Legacy

Some scholars have suggested a relation between the Albanian deity name Shurdh and the second part of the theonym Zibelsurdus.^[14][15][16]

Cultic locales

Zibelthiurdos shrines have been found near the village of Golemo Selo in the Kyustendil Region – an area inhabited by the Thracian Dentellets tribe – as well as near Kapitan Dimitrievo village in the Pazardzhik Province. His image was discovered in a relief from the Esquiline Hill, where he is depicted along with Yambadula (or Iambadoule), a figure of an unclear nature.^[17]

At least three inscriptions to deity Zbeltiurdus were found in the ancient Dardanian territory: one in Kaçanik, another in Ljubanac (near Skopje), and the third in Dovezenac, near Kumanovë.^[18]

Other uses

The Zbelsurd Glacier of Antarctica is named after the god.