Thana or Tana, goddess of forests and hunting, was called Forest Mother by the Illyrians and numerous magical rituals and beliefs were connected with her, which we can still find in Bosnian magical beliefs about the Mountain faery which women call her in spells “Sister, mother” and they describe her as a beautiful young woman in white clothes with long hair. On one relief she is depicted with unbound hair, clad in a short belted tunic, which actually looks like it is made out of two parts, since the skirt is pleated, while the upper part of clothes is completely smooth with sewn in sleeves.
Thana has her hands half outspread and in one hand she is holding a leafy branch and in the other a fir branch. Thana is often connected with the god Vidasus (Vidas). Four votive monuments were dedicated to them, discovered in Topusko, close to warm stream. Remnants of temples and numerous inscriptions were also found in Topusko, dedicated to the Roman god of forests, pastures and streams, and based on that it was concluded that the Illyrian Vidasus by his attributes matches with that Roman deity and that, according to that fact, his chaperon Thana coincides to the Roman Diana.
It is interesting to note that there is a name Tanija among the Bosnian people.
Thana has her hands half outspread and in one hand she is holding a leafy branch and in the other a fir branch. Thana is often connected with the god Vidasus (Vidas). Four votive monuments were dedicated to them, discovered in Topusko, close to warm stream. Remnants of temples and numerous inscriptions were also found in Topusko, dedicated to the Roman god of forests, pastures and streams, and based on that it was concluded that the Illyrian Vidasus by his attributes matches with that Roman deity and that, according to that fact, his chaperon Thana coincides to the Roman Diana.
It is interesting to note that there is a name Tanija among the Bosnian people.
