Mythology in Gold: The Panagyurishte Treasure of Ancient Thrace
A spectacular group of solid gold vessels embody the wealth of the ancient Thracians and their complex relationships with their neighbors.
Panagyurishte Treasure (Group Shot) (Courtesy Plovdiv Regional Archaeological Museum) (Late 4th—early 3rd century BCE) by Unknown maker. Photo: Todor DimitrovThe J. Paul Getty Museum
The Panagyurishte Treasure, a set of nine solid gold vessels discovered in the territory of ancient Thrace, has become an icon of Thracian riches.
But where did these objects originate? What is the meaning of their imagery? And what does all of this tell us about Thracian culture?
Ancient Thrace comprised most of present-day Bulgaria, and parts of Romania, Greece, and Turkey.
Townscape of Panagyurishte from Memorial hilltop. (Source: Wikimedia Commons) (2010) by Edal Anton LefterovOriginal Source: Panagyurishte
The treasure is named for its place of discovery, the town of Panagyurishte, which lies east of the modern Bulgarian capital of Sofia.
Deikov Brothers (Source: Wikimedia) (1949) by UnknownOriginal Source: Deikov Brothers
Discovery of the treasure
In 1949, three Bulgarian brothers—Pavel, Petko, and Michail Deikov—were employed at a tile factory in Panagyurishte. While digging for clay, they stumbled upon an astonishing discovery: a group of nine gold vessels, buried in the ground and untouched since antiquity.
What is a treasure?
The group is designated as a “treasure,” which is an archaeological term different from our modern use of the word. Treasures are deposits of valuable objects that were evidently gathered together and hidden by their owners at times of political turmoil and never reclaimed.
Installation view of Thrace Exhibition at the Getty Villa (2024) by Cassia DavisThe J. Paul Getty Museum
The Panagyurishte Treasure is believed to have been made around 300 BCE, a time when Thrace was facing invasions from neighboring powers, namely the Macedonians and the Celts. The political turbulence of the period may have led to the objects being buried for safekeeping.
The treasure consists of nine vessels of different types, each used for elite banqueting and wine drinking. The vessels were cast and then worked with tools to create scenes in relief – some show recognizable figures and stories from Greek mythology, while others are more ambiguous.
Goat protome rhyton (profile) (Courtesy Plovdiv Regional Archaeological Museum) (Late 4th — early 3rd century BCE) by Unknown maker. Photo: Todor DimitrovThe J. Paul Getty Museum
Most of the objects are variations of the rhyton, a popular type of vessel in ancient Persia that was adapted by the Greeks and the Thracians. During banquets, wine was poured into the top of the vessel and revelers would imbibe as the liquid streamed out from a small hole near the base.
Amphora Rhyton (Two sides, composite image ) (Courtesy Plovdiv Regional Archaeological Museum) by Unknown maker. Photo: Todor DimitrovThe J. Paul Getty Museum
The largest vessel in the group has a narrow neck framed by two handles. This shape, an amphora-rhyton (or spouted amphora), originated in Persia.
The decorative elements and the iconography are Greek in style, including the centaurs that form the handles.
This Greek influence (and probably Greek workmanship) helps us understand the complex scenes. For instance, the seven men running across rocky ground perhaps represent a group of heroes from Greek mythology known as the Seven Against Thebes.
One lunges forward by raising his sword to strike down a door.
A figure peers out from inside the door with only his arms and face visible. Perhaps his curiosity has given the attackers the opening that they needed…
Amphora Rhyton (musician detail) (Courtesy Plovdiv Regional Archaeological Museum) (Late 4th—early 3rd century BCE) by Unknown maker. Photo: Todor DimitrovThe J. Paul Getty Museum
Below, an older man reclines comfortably. He holds a double flute and a high-handled cup, which identify him as Silenos, a companion of Dionysos, the god of wine. He gestures towards one of the two spouts of this rhyton, as if to refill his cup.
Another of the spouts is visible just below his feet to the left.
Another rhyton also closely resembles Persian vessels with a goat’s body serving as the taper for the drinking horn. Wine would have flowed from the spout between his two front legs. The Greek deities Apollo, Artemis, Hera, and Nike decorate the horn.
The artisan depicted the gods in high relief through careful chisel and hammer work. Here, the goddess Hera lifts her veil as she sits on a throne. Her name is inscribed in Greek above her left hand, and Apollo’s name is visible to her right, beside his characteristic bow.
Three animal-head rhytons. Composite image. (Courtesy Plovdiv Regional Archaeological Museum) (Late 4th—early 3rd century BCE) by Unknown maker. Photo: Todor DimitrovThe J. Paul Getty Museum
The next three vessels take the shape of animal heads and have handles, which traditional Persian drinking horns do not.
Ram Rhyton (Profile Dionysus) (Courtesy Plovdiv Regional Archaeological Museum) (Late 4th—early 3rd century BCE) by Unknown maker. Photo: Todor DimitrovThe J. Paul Getty Museum
This ram’s head has wide, deep eyes that would have been accentuated by inlaid colored stones.
The artist carefully incised circles on the metal surface to create the ram’s soft curls. Other details, like the ears and horns of the animal, were made separately and attached by soldering.
On the neck of the vessel is an apt depiction of the god of wine, Dionysos, with a group of frenzied dancers. The young god’s name is inscribed in Greek over his shoulder with fine dots. He gazes outward, as if presiding over those who drink from the rhyton.
Two stag Rhytons (Courtesy Plovdiv Regional Archaeological Museum) (Late 4th—early 3rd century BCE) by Unknown maker. Photo: Todor DimitrovThe J. Paul Getty Museum
The other two take the form of stag heads. Although they are strikingly similar, the artisan clearly paid special attention to executing fine details.
For instance, we can make out the individual eyelashes that would have framed inlaid eyes, or a cowlick in the fur between the antlers.
A frieze depicting the Judgement of Paris adorns the neck of one of the stag’s head vessels.
Here, the goddess Athena holds her helmet and shield as she gazes towards Paris, the prince of Troy. He must decide which goddess among her, Hera, and Aphrodite he considers the most beautiful.
Paris selects Aphrodite, the goddess of love and beauty, as the winner, which will ultimately result in the Trojan War recounted in the Homeric Iliad.
Composite image, three jugs. (Courtesy Plovdiv Regional Archaeological Museum) (Late 4th—early 3rd century BCE) by Unknown maker. Photo: Todor DimitrovThe J. Paul Getty Museum
The Judgement of Paris scene relates to the next group of jug-shaped rhyta, which may take the form of the three goddesses. Each jug has a handle in the form of a winged sphinx.
Athena, the goddess of war and wisdom, wears a helmet crowned with two griffins.
The two other goddesses are very similar.
Hera wears a necklace with a double row of pendants. In the center is a large pendant shaped like a lion’s head, whose mouth doubles as the spout for the rhyton.
Aphrodite wears a diadem (a jeweled headband) that is just visible between the curls over her forehead.
Above the diadem, a knotted veil gathers her hair. The veil’s delicately embroidered decoration and the row of curls peeking out emphasize the goddess’s divine beauty.
Phialae (front) (Courtesy Plovdiv Regional Archaeological Museum) (Late 4th—early 3rd century BCE) by Unknown maker. Photo: Todor DimitrovThe J. Paul Getty Museum
This shallow, wide offering dish, called a phiale, is the only vessel of the treasure that is not a rhyton. Rather than depicting a myth, the underside of the dish is decorated with five rows of concentric circles. Rosettes at the center are followed by acorns and human heads.
Phialae (detail) (Courtesy Plovdiv Regional Archaeological Museum) (Late 4th—early 3rd century BCE) by Unknown maker. Photo: Todor DimitrovThe J. Paul Getty Museum
Scholars have used the physical features of the heads to identify them as Black Africans. Similar depictions appear on other Greek vessels, both metal and ceramic.
The presence of this vessel in Thrace and its iconography serves to connect very distant geographical areas, from sub-Saharan Africa to the Balkans.
Phialae (back) (Courtesy Plovdiv Regional Archaeological Museum) (Late 4th—early 3rd century BC) by Unknown maker. Photo: Todor DimitrovThe J. Paul Getty Museum
The Greek term for this kind of vessel was an Aethiopian phiale, and examples are recorded in Athenian temple treasuries. Greeks used the term Aethiopian to describe dark-skinned peoples from a mythical kingdom south of Egypt.
Their depiction on these types of vessels may refer to a distant source for gold. The ancient author Pausanias describes a Greek cult statue of the goddess Nemesis who held a similar phiale in her hand.
Phialae (weight inscription) (Courtesy Plovdiv Regional Archaeological Museum) (Late 4th — early 3rd century BCE) by Unknown maker. Photo: Todor DimitrovThe J. Paul Getty Museum
There are two numerical inscriptions on the rim of the vessel recording its weight as 100 Persian darics or 196 1/24 Athenian drachmai. The presence of both weight systems, which were in use in the late fourth century BCE, helps scholars to date the treasure.
Without any associated archaeological context, what can we say about the Panagyurishte Treasure?
It appears that the group was created by Greek artists, but there is no way to be certain. The consistency of style and imagery suggests that they formed a cohesive set.
These objects resemble similar ones excavated from tombs of Thracian royalty and aristocrats.
Perhaps the Panagyurishte Treasure belonged to a Thracian king and was used in an opulent banquet, or maybe it was meant for a religious sanctuary’s treasury.
Panagyurishte Treasure (Group Shot) (Courtesy Plovdiv Regional Archaeological Museum) (Late 4th—early 3rd century BCE) by Unknown maker. Photo: Todor DimitrovThe J. Paul Getty Museum
Regardless, the treasure stands as a symbol of Thracian wealth and materializes its ties to other ancient cultures.
The exhibition Ancient Thrace and the Classical World: Treasures from Bulgaria, Romania, and Greece is part of the Getty Museum’s program The Classical World in Context, devoted to the diverse cultures that interacted with ancient Greece and Rome.
Organized by the J. Paul Getty Museum in collaboration with the Ministry of Culture, Republic of Bulgaria, and the National Archaeological Institute with Museum at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences (NAIM-BAS).
With generous loans from the National History Museum of Romania, Bucharest, and the Hellenic Ministry of Culture.
This exhibition is supported by an indemnity from the Federal Council on the Arts and the Humanities.
© 2025 J. Paul Getty Trust, Los Angeles
To cite this exhibition, please use: "Mythology in Gold: The Panagyurishte Treasure of Ancient Thrace" published online in 2025 via Google Arts & Culture, Getty Museum, Los Angeles.
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