Peltast fighting used by peltasts originated in Thrace and the first Greek peltasts were recruited from the Greek cities of the Thracian coast. They are generally depicted on vases and in other images as wearing the typical Thracian costume, which includes the distinctive Phrygian cap made of fox-skin and with ear flaps. They also usually wear a patterned tunic, fawnskin boots and a long cloak, called a zeira, decorated with a bright, geometric, pattern. However, many mercenary peltasts were probably recruited in Greece. Some vases have also been found showing hoplites (men wearing Corinthian helmets, greaves and cuirasses, holding hoplite spears)
Thracian language (meaning "up") and based on several Thracic items, would have meant "upon", "up", and "Utaspios" is theorized to have meant "On horse(back)", parallel to ancient Greek "ephippos (epi-hippos)". The early Indo-European languages had more than one word for horse; for example Latin had "equus" from PIE "*ekwo-" and "mannus" ("a pony") from another IE root, later receiving "cabalus" as a loanword. In many cases in current Thracology, there is more than one etymology for a Thracian lexical item. For example, Thracian "Diana Germetitha" ("Diana" is from Latin while the epithet "Germetitha" is from Thracian) has two different proposed etymologies, "Diana