 Established by Queen Hestia and her acolytes, the cult of the fire was known on the entire Thracian territory, from the Baltic Sea to the Mediterranean Sea, from Niper to Tisa, where in the IX century was located the fortress of Vesprem. An important part of Greater Thracia was under Geto-Dacian administration. From the very beginning, the Dacian people are recorded in the documents of the time as being in these lands. And even more. During the matriarchy period (up to 1900 BC), when the family was led by women, the Dacians appear as an independent nation lead by Queen Hestia. She has organized as a ritual, the cult of the Sacred Fire – in the royal residence, in the fortresses, as well as in the homes of the Dacians. The fire was burning day and night.
Even the name Dacia, Dacian, etymologically, with all the controversies among researchers, has to be related to the cult of the fire, with fire in general; to the fire were related all aspects of life, the life of the tribe and the royal life, be it matriarchal or, later, patriarchal. In The Law of Manu, the Indian Daksa was the name of a God, the same as Dachsina = the fire of the sacred ceremonies. Dacia was the Land of the Sacred Fire, of the Eternal Fire. The hydronym “River of Fire” in the village of Comanita, Olt county, can be related to the cult of the fire as well.
Also during matriarchal times was Bendis, who initially was the Queen of the Thracians and was deified after her death. In the Lexicon of Hesighyos of Alexandria (V or VI century), we find “Bendis, the Thracian Artemis; the Athenians have the celebration of Goddess Bendis, Busbaton; Artemis (say the Thracians)… the Great Goddess. Aristophan says about Bendis: for She is a Thracian Goddess”. All these records are about the descendants of Queen Hestia (Vesta), who were leading their prophetic activities around the Sacred Fire. This is where they were issuing prophecies and giving advice that was theuenergical inspired. The Goddess Bendis is represented riding “symbolizing the warrior woman. She carries a branch of spruce (not olive!) in each hand. The male counterpart of Goddess Bendis was (as Herodot says) the God of War, Ares in Greek mythology.” And respectively Mars in Roman mythology. Bendis was the Queen of the Amazons before Queen Hestia. Hadrian Daicoviciu wrote that Bendis was “the Dacian and Thracian female divinity, Goddess of the Moon, of the Forests and of Magic”. The Cult of the Sun and of the Sacred Fire is still to be found in present days. On the great gates posts in all the counties of Romania, are sculpted the symbols of the Sun.
The Dacian culture preserves numerous relics from the matriarchal period. In the Bacau County, near Moinesti at Poduri, “in a sanctuary was discovered a ritual complex of statues comprised of 21 female little statues set in a vase”. Of these, 15 are bigger and sit on a throne, and 6 are smaller and have no throne or decorations. They were named “The gathering of the Goddesses”. A Great Goddess statue was discovered in Trufesti, Botosani County, and more were found in other areas; this specific statue dates 3,000 BC. The burned clay statues “among which a female Goddess embodying the cult of fertility and wealth”, were discovered in Liubcova, Caras Severin county; the clay figurines of Cirna (today Dunareni) in Dolj county; the burned clay necklace with the image of Goddess Diana-Bendis. Vasile Pirvan says, “the Gaetic female divinity was worshipped also as Hestia. The Great Goddess of the Earth, who was in Dacia even before the arrival of the Iranians”.
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Asoc. Cult. Enciclopedia Dacica
