Satrae

TheSatrae(Greek:"Σάτραι") were, in ancient geography, aThracianpeople, inhabiting part ofMount Pangaeusbetween the riversNestus(Mesta) andStrymon(Struma).

Approximate location of the Satrai

According toHerodotus,they wereindependentin his time, and had never been conquered within the memory of man. They dwelt on lofty mountains covered withforestsandsnow,and on the highest of these was an oracle ofDionysus,whose utterances were delivered by a priestess.

They were the chief workers of thegoldandsilvermines in the district. Herodotus is the only ancient writer who mentions the Satrae, andTomaschekregards the name not as that of a people but of the warlike nobility among theThracianDiiandBessi.

J. E. Harrisonidentifies them with the Satyri (Satyrs), the attendants and companions of Dionysus in his revels, and also with theCentaurs.The name Satrokentae, a Thracian tribe according to Hecataeus (quoted inStephanus of Byzantium), seems to support the second identification.

The GreekHistoriesof Herodotus named the Satrae as a part of theThracetribes which lived in theNestusandStryminValley (Book, VIO, 110), "have continued living in freedom" till his time, and "dwell on high mountains covered with forests of all kinds and snow, and they are excellent warriors". Here, they "possess the place of divination sacred toDionysusis in their highest mountains ", questioning an oracle likethe one of Delphi.

References

• This article incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain:Chisholm, Hugh,ed. (1911). "Satrae".Encyclopædia Britannica(11th ed.). Cambridge University Press.