ТHE THRACIAN HERITAGE

Thracians are the indigenous population of Europe. They had inhabited the Southeast Europe millennia before the Greeks and Romans settled here. They created their own civilization, which in many of its achievements is unique and unrivalled.

The oldest processed gold in the world is a work of Thracians. It dates back to around 4400 B.C. and is found near the present town of Varna. At a later stage of the Thracian development, Homer himself admired their craftsmanship. In his Iliad, after describing the horses and armour of the Thracian king Rhesus, Homer exclaims:

"It is armour fir for a dethless god, not a mere mortal."

The Thracian Orpheus is the most inspiring person of antiquity. Many beautiful poems and legends were written for him; he was depicted on antique objects and mosaics all over the ancient civilization in Europe, and beyond. He is not only the famous Singer, who enchanted people, animals and gods by the harmony of his lyre, but also an enlightener of the human souls. Orpheus is the reformer, who managed to a great extent to eliminate orgies and the barbaric rites of human and animal sacrifices, by replacing them with a humane doctrine of individual faith and personal choice aimed at self-perfection. According to historians, he is buried in the sanctuary near the village of Tatul, where thousands of years he has been revered as a god by people from the entire ancient world.

The man who headed the majorest slave uprising and shook up the foundations of the Roman Empire, was a Thracian. Spartacus refers to the Thracian tribe of the Maedi, which occupied the middle valley of the Strymon River, nowadays Struma, located in the western part of today’s Bulgaria. He has led an army of slaves not for power, wealth, or imaginary causes, but in the name of freedom – one of the most precious human rights. People need freedom. Spartacus certainly well understood this need, as he succeeded to inspire many others to follow him and fight so vigorously about it.

Orpheus and Spartacus, as well as other artists and warriors through the ages, have drawn energy and wisdom from the ancient lands of the Thracians.

As a living relic of the glorious ancient times a variety of grapevine at about 3000 years has survived for us. The grapevine is found in the sanctuary by Tatul village. The ancient Thracians are known to have made renowned wine. This drink has played an important role in their religious rites. They poured wine at altars, set fire and by the height of the smoke they used to tell fortunes. The wine was sacred for Thracians. It was a link between the material and spiritual world. We, the creators of the THRACIAN LEGENDS wines, share this Thracian belief. Good wine is harmonious in aromas and flavours. Furthermore, it creates harmony in one’s soul, and moreover, it stimulates one to enter one’s better world.