who was connected to the goddess Tereia, that is a local reflex of the Great Goddess who was worshipped in a mountain near Lampsacus the name of Teres's son, Sitalces, was related to one of the epithets of numerous Thracian kings' names such as , , , and contained the terms , , and , meaning "mother," referring to the mother role of the royal names such as , , and were connected to another name of the Great Goddess, Kottyto the king Cotys, whose own name was derived from that of the goddess Kottyto, was called "son of Apollo" in an inscription This conceptualisation of the divine origin of royal power was represented in Thracian art, such as in the Letnitsa Treasure, where the daughter of the Great Goddess is represented holding a bough over a couple, consisting of and the Hero , united in sexual intercourse. 's son, in turn, would rule the land conquered by his father, being thus a representation of the idea of the divine origin of the ruler. Further associations of with kingship are present in his "Dionysian" aspect, who was the founder-deity of a royal dynasty and was depicted on royal insignia, as well as in his "Apollonian" aspect, from whom the Thracian kings also claimed divine descent, which they attested through their paternal ancestry or their names containing a theophoric element and ending in (), meaning "child of," referring to patrilineal descent from a deity. And from the claim of divine descent from the Great Mother Goddess was derived numerous Thracian kings' names containing the terms , , and , meaning "mother," referring to the mother role of . The etymology of royal names, the ritual nature of the royal hunt, and the practice of ritual union with the Mother Goddess are thus evidence that the Thracian kings took over the functions of the Hero in the human realm, and the kings therefore patterned their actions on the divine Hero. The royal feast The Thracian kings exhibited their power through royal feasts to which only notables were invited, and every Thracian royal ceremony included a sumptuous feast, which was an important ritual of Thracian social life. The guests of the royal feasts were members of a limited circle, and being invited to a royal feast was considered a special privilege: participating in the royal feast was considered a privilege among Thracians, and,