CHAPTER I.
DESCRIPTION OF SCYTHIA AND THE NEIGHBORING NATIONS.
After the capture of Babylon, Darius made an expedition against the Scythians, for as Asia was flourishing in men, and large revenues came in, Darius was desirous of revenging himself upon the Scythians, because they had formerly invaded the Median territory, and defeated in battle those that opposed them. For the Scythians ruled over Upper Asia for twenty-eight years. But when those Scythians returned to their own country, after such an interval, a task no less than the invasion of Media awaited them; for they found an army of no inconsiderable force ready to oppose them; the wives of the Scythians, seeing their husbands were a long time absent, had married their slaves. The Scythians deprive all their slaves of sight for the sake of the milk which they drink, doing as follows: when they have taken bone tubes very like flutes, they thrust them into the veins of the mares, and blow with their mouth; while some blow, others milk. They say they do this because the veins of the mare, being inflated, become filled, and the udder is depressed. When they have finished milking, they pour the milk into hollow wooden vessels, and having placed the blind men round about the vessels, they agitate the milk: then they skim off that which swims on the surface, considering it the most valuable, but that which subsides is of less value than the other. On this account the Scythians put out the eyes of every prisoner they take; for they are not agriculturists, but feeders of cattle. From these slaves then and the women a race of youths had grown up, who, when they knew their own extraction, opposed those who were returning from Media. And first they cut off the country by digging a wide ditch, stretching from Mount Taurus to the lake Mæotis, which is of great extent, and afterward encamping opposite, they came to an engagement with the Scythians, who were endeavoring to enter. When several battles had been fought, and the Scythians were unable to obtain any advantage, one of them said: "Men of Scythia, what are we doing? by fighting with our slaves not only are we ourselves by being slain becoming fewer in number, but by killing them we shall hereafter have fewer to rule over. So it seems to me that we should lay aside our spears and bows, and that every one, taking a horsewhip, should go directly to them; for so long as they saw us with arms, they considered themselves equal to us, and born of equal birth; but when they shall see us with our whips instead of arms, they will soon learn that they are our slaves, and will no longer resist." The Scythians adopted the advice on the spot; and the slaves, struck with astonishment, forgot to fight, and fled.
As the Scythians say, theirs is the most recent of all nations. The first man that appeared in this country, which was a wilderness, was named Targitaus; they say that the parents of this Targitaus, in my opinion relating what is incredible, were Jupiter and a daughter of the river Borysthenes; and that Targitaus had three sons, who went by the names of Lipoxais, Apovais, and Colaxais; that during their reign a plough, a yoke, an axe, and a bowl of golden workmanship, dropping down from heaven, fell on the Scythian territory; that the eldest, seeing them first, approached, intending to take them up, but as he came near, the gold began to burn; when he had retired the second went up, and it did the same again; but when the youngest approached, the burning gold became extinguished, and he carried the things home with him; and the elder brothers, in consequence of this, giving way, surrendered the whole authority to Alaxais the youngest. The Scythians reckon the whole number of years from their beginning, from King Targitaus to the time that Darius crossed over against them, to be just a thousand years. This sacred gold the kings watch with the greatest care, and annually approach it with magnificent sacrifices to render it propitious. If he who has the sacred gold happens to fall asleep in the open air on the festival, the Scythians say he cannot survive the year, and on this account they give him as much land as he can ride round on horseback in one day. The country being very extensive, Colaxais established three of the kingdoms for his sons, and made that one the largest in which the gold is kept. The parts beyond the north of the inhabited districts the Scythians say can neither be seen nor passed through, by reason of the feathers shed there; for the earth and air are so full of feathers that the view is intercepted. With respect to these feathers I entertain the following opinion: in the upper parts of this country it continually snows, less in summer than in winter, as is reasonable; now, whoever has seen snow falling thick near him, will know what I mean; for snow is like feathers; and on account of the winter being so severe, the northern parts of this continent are uninhabited.
Such is the account the Scythians give of themselves, and of the country above them; but the Greeks who inhabit Pontus give the following account: they say that Hercules, as he was driving away the herds of Geryon, arrived in this country, which was then a desert, and that Geryon, fixing his abode outside the Pontus, inhabited the island which the Greeks call Erythia, situated near Gades, beyond the columns of Hercules in the ocean. The ocean, they say, beginning from the sunrise, flows round the whole earth, that Hercules thence came to the country now called Scythia, and as a storm and frost overtook him, he drew his lion's skin over him, and went to sleep; and in the meanwhile, his mares, which were feeding apart from his chariot, vanished by some divine chance. They add that when Hercules awoke, he sought for them; and that having gone over the whole country, he at length came to the land called Hylæa; there he found a monster, having two natures, half virgin, half viper, of which the upper parts resembled a woman, and the lower parts a serpent: in astonishment he asked her if she had anywhere seen his strayed mares. She said that she herself had them, and would not restore them to him unless he would make her his wife. Hercules agreed. She, however, delayed giving back the mares, out of a desire to detain Hercules as long as she could; but as he was desirous of recovering them and departing, she at last restored the mares, saying: "These mares that strayed hither I preserved for you, but now that you will go away and leave me, tell me what I must do with our three sons when they are grown up; shall I establish them here, for I possess the rule over this country, or shall I send them to you?" He replied: "When you see the children arrived at the age of men, you cannot err if you do this: whichever of them you see able thus to bend this bow, and thus girding himself with this girdle, make him an inhabitant of this country; and whichever fails in these tasks which I enjoin, send out of the country. If you do this you will please yourself and do wisely." Then having drawn out one of his bows, for Hercules carried two at that time, and having shown her the belt, he gave her both the bow and the belt, which had a golden cup at the extremity of the clasp, and departed. When the sons had attained to the age of men she gave them names; to the first, Agathyrsis, to the second, Gelonus, and to the youngest, Scythes; and, in the next place, she did what had been enjoined; and two of her sons, Agathyrsis and Gelonus, being unable to come up to the proposed task, left the country, being expelled by their mother; but the youngest of them, Scythes, having accomplished it, remained there. From this Scythes, son of Hercules, are descended those who have been successively kings of the Scythians; and from the cup, the Scythians even to this day wear cups hung from their belts.
Aristeas, of Proconnesus, says in his epic verses, that, inspired by Apollo, he came to the Issedones; that beyond the Issedones dwell the Arimaspians, a people that have only one eye; beyond them the gold-guarding griffins; and beyond these the Hyperboreans, who reach to the sea: that all these, except the Hyperboreans, beginning from the Arimaspians, continually encroached upon their neighbors; that the Issedones were expelled from their country by the Arimaspians, the Scythians by the Issedones, and that the Cimmerians, who inhabited on the South Sea, being pressed by the Scythians, abandoned their country.
No one knows with certainty what is beyond the country about which this account speaks. But as far as we have been able to arrive at the truth with accuracy from hearsay, the whole shall be related. From the port of the Borysthenitæ, for this is the most central part of the sea-coast of all Scythia, the first people are the Callipidæ, being Greek-Scythians; beyond these is another nation called Alazones. These and the Callipidæ, in other respects, follow the usages, of the Scythians, but they both sow and feed on wheat, onions, garlic, lentils, and millet; but beyond the Alazones dwell husbandmen, who do not sow wheat for food but for sale. Beyond these the Neuri dwell; and to the north of the Neuri the country is utterly uninhabited, as far as I know. These nations are by the side of the river Hypanis, to the west of the Borysthenes. But if one crosses the Borysthenes, the first country from the sea is Hylæa; and from this higher up live Scythian agriculturists, where the Greeks settled on the river Hypanis. These Scythian husbandmen occupy the country eastward, for three days' journey, extending to the river whose name is Panticapes; and northward a passage of eleven days up the Borysthenes. Beyond this region the country is a desert for a great distance; and beyond the desert Androphagi dwell, who are a distinct people, not in any respect Scythian. Beyond this is really desert, and no nation of men is found there, as far as we know. The country eastward of these Scythian agriculturists, when one crosses the river Panticapes, nomads occupy, who neither sow at all nor plough; and all this country is destitute of trees except Hylæa. The nomads occupy a tract eastward for fourteen days' journey, stretching to the river Gerrhus. Beyond the Gerrhus are the parts called the Royal, and the most valiant and numerous of the Scythians, who deem all other Scythians to be their slaves. These extend southward to Taurica, and eastward to the trench, which those sprung from the blind men dug, and to the port on the lake Mæotis, which is called Cremni, and some of them reach to the river Tanais. The parts above to the north of the Royal Scythians, the Melanchlæni inhabit, a distinct race, and not Scythian. But above the Melanchlæni are lakes, and an uninhabited desert, as far as we know.
After one crosses the river Tanais, it is no longer Scythian, but the first region belongs to the Sauromatæ, who, beginning from the recess of the lake Mæotis, occupy the country northward, for a fifteen days' journey, all destitute both of wild and cultivated trees. Above these dwell the Budini, occupying the second region, and possessing a country thickly covered with all sorts of trees. Above the Budini, toward the north, there is first a desert of seven days' journey, and next to the desert, if one turns somewhat toward the east, dwell the Thyssagetæ, a numerous and distinct race, and they live by hunting. Contiguous to these, in the same regions, dwell those who are called Iyrcæ, who also live by hunting in the following manner: the huntsman, having climbed a tree, lies in ambush (and the whole country is thickly wooded), and each man has a horse ready taught to lie on his belly, that he may not be much above the ground, and a dog besides. When he sees any game from the tree, having let fly an arrow, he mounts his horse, and goes in pursuit, and the dog keeps close to him. Above these, as one bends toward the east, dwell other Scythians, who revolted from the Royal Scythians, and so came to this country. As far as the territory of these Scythians, the whole country that has been described is level and deep-soiled; but after this it is stony and rugged. When one has passed through a considerable extent of the rugged country, a people are found living at the foot of lofty mountains, who are said to be all bald from their birth, both men and women, and are flat-nosed, and have large chins; they speak a peculiar language, wear the Scythian costume, and live on the fruit of a tree; the name of the tree on which they live is called ponticon, and is about the size of a figtree; it bears fruit like a bean, and has a stone. When this is ripe they strain it through a cloth, and a thick and black liquor flows from it, to which they give the name of aschy; this they suck, and drink mingled with milk; from the thick sediment of the pulp they make cakes to eat, for they have not many cattle in these parts, as the pastures there are not good. Every man lives under a tree, which, in the winter, he covers with a thick white woollen covering. No man does any injury to this people, for they are accounted sacred; nor do they possess any warlike weapon. They determine by arbitration the differences that arise among their neighbors; and whoever takes refuge among them is injured by no one. They are called Argippæi.
As far, then, as these bald people, our knowledge respecting the country and the nations before them is very good, for some Scythians frequently go there from whom it is not difficult to obtain information, as well as some Greeks belonging to the ports in Pontus. The Scythians who go to them transact business by means of seven interpreters and seven languages, but beyond the bald men no one can speak with certainty, for lofty and impassable mountains form their boundary, which no one has ever crossed; but these bald men say, what to me is incredible, that men with goats' feet inhabit these mountains; and when one has passed beyond them, other men are found, who sleep six months at a time, but this I do not at all admit. However, the country eastward of the bald men is well known, being inhabited by Issedones, who are said to observe this extraordinary custom. When a man's father dies all his relations bring cattle, which they sacrifice, and, having cut up the flesh, they cut up also the dead parent of their host, and mingling all the flesh together, they spread out a banquet; then making bare and cleansing his head they gild it; and afterward treat it as a sacred image, performing grand annual sacrifices to it. A son does this to his father, as the Greeks celebrate the anniversary of their father's death. These people are likewise accounted just; and the women have equal authority with the men.
Above them, the Issedones affirm, are the men with only one eye, and the gold-guarding griffins. The Scythians repeat this account, having received it from them; and we have adopted it from the Scythians, and call them in the Scythian language, Arimaspi; for Arima, in the Scythian language, signifies one, and Spou, the eye. All this country which I have been speaking of is subject to such a severe winter, that for eight months the frost is intolerable, so that if you pour water on the ground you will not make mud, but if you light a fire you will. Even the sea freezes, and the whole Cimmerian Bosphorus; and the Scythians who live within the trench lead their armies and drive their chariots over the ice to the Sindians, on the other side. Thus winter continues eight months, and even during the other four it is cold there. And this winter is different in character from the winters in all other countries; for in this no rain worth mentioning falls in the usual season, but during the summer it never leaves off raining. At the time when there is thunder elsewhere there is none there, but in summer it is violent: if there should be thunder in winter, it is counted a prodigy to be wondered at. So, should there be an earthquake, whether in summer or winter, in Scythia it is accounted a prodigy. Their horses endure this cold, but asses and mules cannot endure it at all; whereas in other places in the world horses that stand exposed to frost become frost-bitten and waste away, but asses and mules endure it. On this account also the race of beeves appears to me to be defective there, and not to have horns; and the following verse of Homer, in his Odyssey, confirms my opinion: "And Libya, where the lambs soon put forth their horns," rightly observing, that in warm climates horns shoot out quickly; but in very severe cold, the cattle do not produce them at all, or with difficulty. Concerning the Hyperboreans, I do not relate the story of Abaris, who was said to have carried an arrow round the whole earth without eating any thing. But I smile when I see many persons describing the circumference of the earth, who have no sound reason to guide them; they describe the ocean as flowing around the earth, which is made circular as if by a lathe, and make Asia equal to Europe.
In length Europe extends along both Libya and Asia, but in respect to width, it is evidently much larger. Libya shows itself to be surrounded by water, except so much of it as borders upon Asia. Neco, King of Egypt, was the first whom we know of that proved this; when he had ceased digging the canal leading from the Nile to the Arabian Gulf, he sent certain Phœnicians in ships, with orders to sail back through the pillars of Hercules into the Mediterranean Sea, and so return to Egypt. The Phœnicians accordingly, setting out from the Red Sea, navigated the southern sea; when autumn came they went ashore and sowed the land, by whatever part of Libya they happened to be sailing, and waited for harvest; then having reaped the corn, they put to sea again. When two years had thus passed, in the third they doubled the pillars of Hercules, arrived in Egypt, and related what to me does not seem credible, but may to others, that as they sailed round Libya, they had the sun on their right hand.[20] Ever since that the Carthaginians say that Libya is surrounded by water.