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δαίμονα. H., though he obviously suspects them, so far regards his countrymen's stories as to call Salmoxis δαίμων, not θεός: that Salmoxis was a Thracian god there can be no doubt; for the form of the name cf. Salmydessus; Plato (Charm. 158 B) mentions him with Abaris as a master of ‘incantations’. The rationalizing story of c. 95 is told with variations by Strabo (297-8) and other later Greek writers without a word of question; Diodorus (i. 94) couples Salmoxis with Zoroaster and Moses as a legislator claiming divine sanction; Origen makes Salmoxis teach the Celtic Druids. H.'s better-informed caution, in contrast to all this, is greatly to his credit. Some moderns, however, accept the Greek story, e. g. Creuzer, Comm. H. p. 171 n., who makes Salmoxis the introducer of ‘mysteries’ into Thrace, which are celebrated underground. His name, Gebeleizis, remains a puzzle; one commentator makes it ‘giver of rest’; another even connects it with Βεελζεβούλ!

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