{"database": "deitydb", "table": "entities", "rows": [["ENT_THRA_ZALMOXIS", "Zalmoxis", null, "Thracian", "deity / deified revealer figure", "Mystery Figure", "immortality; afterlife; mystery initiation; soul doctrine; the Getae", null, null, null, "A", null, null, null, null, null, "Deity (or deified human) of the Getae, a Thracian people north of the Danube; also spelled Zamolxis, Salmoxis. Primary source: Herodotus 4.94-96 (c. 430 BCE). Herodotus reports that the Getae \"claim immortality\" \u2014 they believe they do not die but go to Zalmoxis. Every four years they send a messenger to the deity by throwing a man onto spears to communicate their needs. Herodotus also records the Greek rationalist tradition: Zalmoxis was a Thracian who had been a slave of Pythagoras, learned Greek customs, built a hall to entertain notables, then disappeared underground for three years before re-emerging, convincing people he had visited the realm of the dead. Herodotus is sceptical of this story and notes it may predate Pythagoras. Plato (Charmides 156d-157c) cites a Thracian physician of Zalmoxis who teaches that soul must be healed before body \u2014 presenting Zalmoxis as a teacher of holistic soul-doctrine. Eliade (1970) treats him as a shaman-king type; Burkert notes structural parallels with Orphic mystery traditions. Archibald (1998) pp. 299-301.", "deity"]], "columns": ["entity_id", "canonical_name", "greek_name", "tradition", "entity_type", "category", "primary_domains", "tags", "cult_scope", "primary_period", "evidence_confidence", "review_status", "inclusion_basis", "earth_association_score", "chthonic_flag", "serpent_flag", "short_note", "entity_class"], "primary_keys": ["entity_id"], "primary_key_values": ["ENT_THRA_ZALMOXIS"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 79.63617699999759, "source": "jebboone/deitydb", "source_url": "https://github.com/jebboone/deitydb", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://opensource.org/licenses/MIT"}