Installment 20            
  Then after Babylon’s taking there was made against the Scythians Darius himself’s driving. For, when Asia was flourishing with men and much money was coming in, Darius conceived a desire to punish the Scythians, in that those, by earlier having made an invasion against the Median land and prevailed in battle against those opposed, had begun injustice. For the Scythians ruled Upper Asia, as has been said by me before too, thirty years but two, since in their pursuing after the Cimmerians they made an invasion against Asia and were deposing the Medes from their rule, because they before the Scythians had come were rulers of Asia. But when the Scythians had been abroad twenty eight years and after an interval of so long a time were going back, there received them no lesser toil than the Median; for they found opposed to them no small host, since the Scythians’ wives, when their husbands were away a long time, went frequently to their slaves.

Now, all their slaves the Scythians blind because of the milk, of which they drink, since they act this way: whenever they take hold of blowpipes of bone, most similar to flutes, men put those into the female horses’ genitals and blow with their mouths and another group, the one blowing, milks. And they assert that for this reason they do that, that the ducts of the horse are filled, when they are blown, and the udder is let down. Then whenever they milk the milk, after they have poured it into hollow wooden vessels and put round by the vessels the blind, they stir the milk and, after they have skimmed it off, what stands on top of it they consider more honorable and what stands on the bottom inferior to the other. For that reason quite all whomever the Scythians take hold of they blind; for they are not ploughers, but nomads.

From those slaves of theirs indeed it is and their wives, from which grew up youth, who, when they had learned of their birth, opposed them as they were going back from the Medes. And first they cut off for themselves the country by digging themselves a broad ditch that stretched down from the Tauric mountains to the Maeetian lake, right where it is largest and afterwards with the Scythians, when they were trying to make an invasion, they sat down opposite and fought. Then, battle coming about often and the Scythians being unable to have any advantage in the battle, one of them said this: “What kind of things we are doing, Scythian men! By fighting with our slaves, we ourselves, by being killed, become fewer and, by killing those, will rule the remaining time fewer. Now therefore it seems good to me spears and bows to let go and for each to take hold of his horse’s whip and go near them. For, while they were seeing we had arms, then they considered they were similar and born of our similars, but whenever they see for themselves we have whips instead of arms, having learned that they are our slaves and admitted that, they will not abide”.

Having heard that, the Scythians caused it to be brought to completion and their opponents, astonished at what was happening, forgot the battle and fled. Thus the Scythians got the rule of Asia and were driven out again by the Medes and went back in a manner like that above to their own land. And because of that Darius, wanting to punish, gathered together against them an armed force.




Now, as the Scythians say, it’s that theirs is the youngest of all nations and it came into being this way: a man originated first in that land that was desolate, whose name was Targitaus, and of that Targitaus they give the account the parents were --although they give an account not credible to me, they give the account anyhow-- Zeus and Borysthenes the river’s daughter. Of a birth like that indeed was born Targitaus and of that one was born three sons, Lipoxais, Arpoxais and the youngest Colaxais. In the time when those were ruling from the sky were borne golden works, a plough, a yoke, a battleaxe and a libation bowl, and they fell into the Scythian land, and first the oldest saw them and went near them, since he wanted to take hold, but the gold, when he went toward it, burned. So, that man having departed, the second went forward and it again did the same. Them indeed the gold by burning thrust away, but for the third, the youngest, when he went toward it, it completely extinguished and he conveyed it to his house. And the older brothers thereupon yielded and gave over the whole kingdom to the youngest.

Indeed from Lipoxais was descended those of the Scythians who are called Auxatians in race, from the middle one, Arpoxais, who are called Catiarians and Traspians and from the youngest of them the kings who are called Paralatians. And the name of all together is Scolotians, a name derived from their king, but the Greeks name them Scythians. Now, the Scythians say they originated this way and their years since they have originated all together are they say, from the first king, Targitaus, to Darius’ crossing over against them, no fewer than a thousand but so many. And that sacred gold the kings guard in the highest degree and with great sacrifices propitiate and go after it every year and whoever with the sacred gold during the festival in the open air falls asleep, he is said by the Scythians not to live through the year and there is offered to him on account of that all whichever with a horse in one day he himself rides round. Now, since the country was large, three kingdoms for his sons Colaxais established and made one of those the largest, in which the gold was guarded, and the parts inland toward the north wind of those who are settled inland of the country it is not possible still farther to either see or go out through because of heaped feathers; for of feathers both the land and the lower air is full and those are the things that shut off the vision.

The Scythians this way about themselves and the country farther inland give an account, but those of the Greeks who settled round the Pontus this way: while Heracles was driving Geryones’ cows, he came to a land that was desolate, which the Scythians now inhabit. And Geryones settled outside of the Pontus and had a settlement on the island that the Greeks speak of as Erytheia, which is off Gadeira outside of the pillars of Heracles by the Ocean. Now, the Ocean in speech they say begins from the sun’s risings and flows round all the Earth, but in deed they show it forth not. When thence Heracles had come to the country that is now called Scythia, since a storm and frost had overtaken him, he drew on himself his lion’s skin and descended into sleep and his mares from under his chariot, while they were grazing, in that time were made to disappear by divine fortune. Then, when Heracles had awaked, he searched and, having gone out through all parts of the country, he finally came to the land called Hylaea and there he by himself found in a cave mixed with a maiden a viper of a double nature, whose parts above from the buttocks were a woman’s and parts below a viper’s. And after he had seen and marvelled, he asked her whether somewhere she saw mares wandering. So she asserted that she herself had and would not give him them back before he had intercourse with her and Heracles had intercourse for that fee. She indeed delayed the giving back of the mares, since she wanted as much time as possible to be with Heracles and he, after he had conveyed them, wished to depart. Finally indeed she herself offered them back and said, “When indeed those horses there had come hither, I brought them to safety for you and the reward of saving you provided: for I have three sons from you. Those, whenever they become grown, expound you what I must do, whether I am to settle them here, as over this country here I have the mastery myself, or send them off to you”. She indeed asked that and he, they say, thereupon said, “Whenever you see for yourself that my sons have become men, by doing this you would not miss the mark: whoever of them you see is stringing this bow here this way and girding himself with this girdle after this fashion, that one make a settler of this country, but whoever is left behind in those deeds which I have enjoined, send away from the country. And by doing that you yourself will be gladdened and doing what has been enjoined”.

When he indeed had drawn one of the bows --for two indeed Heracles carried to that time-- and showed openly the girdle, he handed over the bow and the girdle with a golden libation bowl on the tip of its clasp and, when he had given it, he departed and she, after the sons born to her had become men, on the one hand gave names to them, to one, Agathyrsus, to him who followed, Gelonus, and Scythes to the youngest and on the other remembered the injunction and by herself did what had been enjoined. And indeed two of her sons, Agathyrsus and Gelonus, proved not able to be enough in pursuit of the proposed prize and were gone out of the country expelled by their begetter, but the youngest of them, Scythes, having brought it to completion, stayed behind in the country and verily from Scythes, the son of Heracles, were descended those who become on each and every occasion kings of the Scythians, while because of the libation bowl still even to this present time the Scythians wear libation bowls on their girdles. And it’s that alone which his mother contrived for Scythes. So that account those of the Greeks who settled round the Pontus give.

Moreover, there is another account also that is so (to which most, when it is given, I myself am attached): the nomadic Scythians settled in Asia and, because they had been oppressed in war by the Massagetians, crossed the Araxes river and were gone against the Cimmerian land --for that which the Scythians now inhabit is said anciently to be the Cimmerians’-- and the Cimmerians at the Scythians’ coming against it took counsel among themselves, on the ground that a large army was coming against it, and indeed their opinions were separate, both intense, but the kings’ better; for indeed the opinion of the people imported that it was advantageous to depart and not run the risk against many, but that of the kings was to fight to the end for the country with those who were coming against it. However, they were not willing to be persuaded, neither by the kings the people nor by the people the kings. The one group indeed took counsel to depart the country without a fight and give it over to those who were coming against it, while to the kings it seemed good to be put in their own land dead and not flee with the people, when they counted all the goods that they had experienced and all the evils that were likely to befall, if they fled from their fatherland. And as that seemed good to them, after they had stood apart and become equal in number, they fought against one another and, when they had all died at their own hands, the people of the Cimmerians buried them by the Tyres river (and their burial-place is still visible) and, having buried them thus, they went out of the country. The Scythians then came against and took hold of the country in its desolation.

Even now there is in the Scythian land Cimmerian walls and there is ferries Cimmerian and there is even a country in name Cimmerian and there is a Bosporus Cimmerian so-called, but manifestly the Cimmerians were fleeing from the Scythians into Asia and colonized the peninsula, on which now is settled Sinope, a Greek city. And the Scythians too are manifest in their having pursued and expelled them into the Median land, although they erred in the way. For the Cimmerians on each and every occasion fled along the sea and the Scythians with the Caucasus on the right pursued until they expelled them into the Median land, when they turned themselves to the inland country on their way. And that is spoken as another account that’s given common to Greeks and barbarians.

Moreover, Aristeas, the son of Caustrobius, a Proconnessian man, asserted in his composing epic verses that he had come to the Issedonians, when he had come to be taken hold of by Phoebus, and as to the Issedonians settled beyond were one-eyed Arimaspian men, beyond those the gold-guarding griffins and from those the Hyperboreans extended to the sea; all those accordingly, except the Hyperboreans, the Arimaspians having made a beginning, on each and every occasion applied themselves to their neighbors and by the Arimaspians the Issedonians were thrust out of the country, by the Issedonians the Scythians and the Cimmerians who settled near the south sea were oppressed by the Scythians and abandoned the country. Thus that man too does not concur about that country with the Scythians.

In fact whence was Aristeas who composed that I have said, but the account that I heard about him in Proconnesus and Cyzicus I will say. For Aristeas, they say, being inferior to none of his townsmen in birth, went to a fuller’s shop in Proconnesus and died and the fuller shut down his workplace and was gone to make an announcement to those related to the corpse. Then, when the account was scattered throughout the city that Aristeas was dead, into disputes with the speakers came a Cyzician man who had come from the city of Artace and he asserted that he had meet with him as he went toward Cyzicus and come into speeches with him and that man disputed vehemently, while those related to the corpse at the fuller’s shop were present with what was needful with the intention that they would take it up. But when the building had been opened, Aristeas appeared neither dead nor living. Then the seventh year afterward he appeared in Proconnesus and composed those epic verses that now are called Arimaspea by the Greeks and, when he had made the composition, was made to disappear the second time.

Those accounts those cities give, but the following things I know occurred to the Metapontinians in Italy two hundred and forty years after the disappearance of Aristeas, as I concluded and found in Proconnesus and Metapontium. For the Metapontinians assert that Aristeas himself appeared to them in their country and bade set up an altar for Apollo and stand a statue by it with the appellation of Aristeas the Proconnesian, as he asserted that to them quite alone of Italians Apollo had come to their country and he himself, the one who was now Aristeas, was his follower, but then, when he was the god’s follower, he was a crow. He in fact said that and was made to disappear and the Metapontinians say that they sent to Delphi and asked the god what the apparition of the human being was and Pythia bade them obey the apparition and, if they obeyed, it would come out better for them. And they accepted that and caused it to be brought to completion. So now there stands a statue with the appellation of Aristeas by the image itself of Apollo and round it laurel trees stand and the image is set up in the public square. Now, about Aristeas let so much be said.

But of the land, about which this account is minded an account be given, no one knows exactly what what’s farther inland is; for indeed from no eyewitness who asserts he knows am I able to learn by inquiry, since in fact not even the very Aristeas, of whom a little before that preceding passage I made mention, not even that man himself farther than the Issedonians, when he wrote poetry in his epic verses, asserted he had come, but the parts farther inland he spoke of on hearsay and asserted that those who spoke of that were Issedonians. But in so far as in fact we prove able to come at the matter exactly with the greatest striving through hearsay, all will be said.

From the Borysthenians’ mart --for that place of those by the sea is the mid-most of all Scythia-- from that the Callippidians are the first to be inhabitants, who are Scythian Greeks, and inland of those is another nation that are called Alizonians, and those and the Callippidians make a practice of all else after the same fashion as the Scythians, but both sow and eat grain as well as onions, garlic, lentils and millet-seeds. And inland of the Alizonians settle Scythian ploughers, who sow grain not with a view to food, but to sale. And inward from those settle Neurians and what’s toward the north wind from the Neurians is a desert without human beings as far as we know. Those are the nations alongside the Hypanis river toward the west of the Borysthenes.

But for one who crosses the Borysthenes from the sea first there’s Hylaea and from that land for one who goes inland the Scythian farmers are settlers, whom the Greeks who settled by the Hypanis river call Borysthenians and themselves Olbiopolitians. Accordingly those Scythian farmers inhabit what’s toward the east over three days of way, who extend down to a river, to which Panticapes is given as a name,and what’s toward the north wind a sailing up the Borysthenes of eleven days, but the land inland of those is desert over a large extent. Then after the desert the Androphagians are settlers, which is a peculiar nation and in no way Scythian. And what’s inland of those is desert by then truly and no nation of human beings so far as we know.
 
 Moreover, what’s to the east of those Scythian farmers for one who crosses the Panticapes river by then Scythian nomads inhabit without sowing or ploughing anything at all --that whole land is bare of trees except Hylaea-- and those nomads inhabit what’s to the east fourteen days’ way, a country that stretches down to the river Gerrus.

Further, on the other side of the Gerrus are those very places called royal and the best and most Scythians and who consider all the other Scythians to be their slaves and those extend down what’s to the south to the Tauric land and what’s to the east up to the very ditch that those born of the blind dug and up to the Maeetian lake’s mart that is called Cliffs and in respect to some of their places they extend down up to the river Tanais. And the places inland toward the north wind of the royal Scythians the Blackcloaks settle, another nation and not a Scythian, and the place inland of the Blackcloaks is lakes and a desert without human beings in so far as we know.

Then for one who crosses the Tanais river it’s no longer Scythian land, but the first of the plots is the Sauromatians’, who begin from the most inland part of the Maeetian lake and inhabit what’s toward the north wind fifteen days’ way, a land that in its entirety is bare of both wild and cultivated trees, and the Boudinians settle inland of those and have the second plot, who inhabit a land in its entirety wooded with forest of all kinds.

Then inland of the Boudinians toward the north first is a desert over seven days’ way and after the desert for one who turns aside more toward the east wind the Thussagetians are inhabitants, a large and peculiar nation, and they live from hunting. Then contiguous to those in the same spaces they are settled down, to whom the name Iyrcians is given, and those live from hunting in a manner like this: one lies in wait, after one has stepped up into a tree (and they are thick throughout the whole country) and a horse taught by each to lie on his belly for lowness is ready and a dog; then, whenever one sees the beast from the tree, at the shooting of an arrow one goes up on the horse and gives pursuit and the dog is next to one. And inland of those what’s to the east for one who turns aside other Scythians settle, who revolted from the royal Scythians and thus came to that place.

Indeed up to the country of those Scythians all that was recounted is a flat and deep-soiled land and from there on it’s stony and harsh. And, for one who goes out through a large place of the harsh land also, human beings settle high mountains’ foothills all said to be proven bald from birth, both male and female alike, who’re snub-nosed and have large chins, utter a peculiar language, use Scythian clothing and live from trees. Ponticum’s the name of the tree from which they live and in size it’s somewhere pretty nearly like the fig-tree; moreover it bears fruit equal to a bean and it has a pit. Whenever that becomes ripe, they strain it with pieces of cloth and there is from it a thick and black outflow and the name of what flows out is “aschu”; that they both lick and, mixing it with milk, drink, and from the thickness of its lees they put together cakes and eat those. For not many cattle are theirs, as the pasturages in the very place are in no way excellent. Moreover down under a tree each has a settlement during the winter whenever the tree wraps round a white watertight felt cloth and during the summer without a felt cloth. Against those no one of human beings commits injustice, because they are said to be holy, and they possess not a martial weapon. Further, on the one hand, for those who settled round them those are the ones who determine their quarrels and, on the other, whoever in fleeing takes refuge with those, is committed injustice against by no one. And their name is Argippians.

Now, up to those bald ones is much all round apparentness of the country and of the nations on this side; for in fact some of the Scythians come to them, from whom it is not difficult to learn by inquiry, as well as of the Greeks from Borysthenes’ mart and all the other Pontic marts, and of whichever Scythians go to them, with seven interpreters and with seven tongues they effect accomplishments.

Indeed up to those it is known, but what’s inland of the bald ones no one knows how to point out exactly; for high mountains are cut offs that are impassable and no one can go over them, but those bald ones give an account, although they give an account not credible to me, that goat-footed men settled the mountains and for the one who goes over those there are other human beings who sleep through six months; that however I do not take in to begin with. Rather, although as to what’s to the east of the bald ones it is known exactly, since it is settled by Issedonians, yet what’s inland toward the north wind of either the bald ones or the Issedonians is not known, except all that those themselves say.

And the Issedonians are said to observe laws like these: whenever a man’s father dies, all his relatives bring forward cattle and thereupon, having sacrificed those and cut up pieces of meat, cut up the one who received them’s dead father; then, having mixed up all the pieces of meat, they put forward for themselves a banquet. Finally having made bare and cleaned out his head, they gild it utterly and thereupon use it as if an image by bringing to completion great yearly sacrifices. So son does that for father, just as the Greeks “the Genesia”. Moreover, in other matters those are also said to be just and the women similarly equal in power to the men.

Indeed those too are known, but as to what’s inland from those the Issedonians are those who say there are the one-eyed human beings and the gold-guarding griffins, from them the Scythians take over and give that account and from the Scythians we, all the rest, have a custom and call them in Scythian Arimaspians; for the Scythians call one arima and an eye spou.

Further, all that country recounted somewhat quite thus is hard in winter: it’s where for eight of the months there comes to be what kind of an unbearable frost, during which by pouring out water mud you will not make, but by kindling fire you will make mud and the sea is made solid as well as the whole Cimmerian Bosporus, while on the ice the Scythians who have settlements on this side of the ditch advance with an army and drive their wagons on it across to the Sindians. Thus indeed eight months winter continues to be, whereas the remaining four cold spells are in the very place, and that winter is separate in its manners in reference to all the winters that come to be in other spots, during which in its season it rains nothing worthy of account, while during the summer it lets not go of raining. And thunderclaps when in the rest of the land they come about, at that time come about not, but in summer are abundant, and if in winter a thunderclap comes about, like a portent it is marvelled at. Moreover, horses hold themselves up in and bear that winter, while mules and asses do not hold themselves up to begin with, but in the rest of the land horses that stand in frost completely mortify, while asses and mules hold themselves up.

And also the hornless race of the cows seems to me on account of that to grow no horns in the very place and an epic verse of Homer in the Odyssey that is the following too bears witness to my judgement,

And Libya, where lambs forthwith are born with horns

since it is spoken truly that in the heat spells swiftly the horns come to be present. But in the strong cold spells either the cattle grow no horns to begin with or, if they grow them, they grow them with difficulty.

Now, there on account of the cold spells that comes about, but I marvel (for indeed my account was searching for additions from the beginning) at why in all the Elean country mules cannot come to be, although neither is the place cold nor any other cause visible. And the Eleans themselves assert mules come not about for them because of a curse, but whenever the hour goes forward for the mares to conceive, they drive them to their neighbors and thereafter to them in the land of those near they put the asses, until the mares should be with child in womb; then thereafter they drive them off back.

And about the feathers, with which the Scythians say the lower air is filled up, and because of which it is not possible either to see the farther part of the mainland or go through and out of it, I have this judgement about them: the inland parts of that country on each and every occasion are snowed on and with less in the summer than in the winter, just as is also reasonable; by now then whoever from near saw thick snow falling knows what I am saying; for the snow is like feathers. And on account of that winter that is like that what’s to the north of that mainland is unsettleable. Therefore as the feathers by making a likeness the snow the Scythians and those settled round, I think, speak of. Now, those parts that are accounted farthest have been spoken of.

About Hyperborean human beings then neither the Scythians say anything at all nor any others among those who have their settlements there, except after all the Issedonians, and as I think, not even those say anything; for the Scythians too would give an account, as about the one-eyed ones they give an account. But by Hesiod statements are made about the Hyperboreans and they are also by Homer in the Afterborn, if indeed really at any rate Homer wrote those epics.

Further, somewhat far the most about them the Delians say by asserting for themselves that sacred offerings bound in straw of pieces of wheat are borne from the Hyperboreans and come to the Scythians, from the Scythians by then each group of neighbors receive and convey them the farthest to the west to Adries, thence, when they are sent forth to the south, the Dodonians are the first of the Greeks to receive them, from those they go down to the Melian gulf and make their way through to Euboea, and finally city to city sends them up to Carystus and from there on they leave out Andrus; for their conveyers to Tenus are the Carystians and to Delos the Tenians. Now, thus those sacred offerings come they say to Delos and first the Hyperboreans sent two maidens with the sacred offerings, whom the Delians name to be Hyperoche and Laodice, and together with those for safety’s sake the Hyperboreans sent five men among their townsmen as escorts, those who now are called Perpherians and have great honors in Delos; then when for the Hyperboreans those sent off were not returning back off and they thought awful if it would befall them on each and every occasion, when they were dispatching them off, not to receive them back, then indeed they, bringing to their borders the sacred offerings bound in pieces of wheat’s straw, they entrusted them to their neighbors and bade them send them forth from themselves to another nation. Those in fact, sent forth thus, came, they say, to Delos, and I myself know this is done similar to those sacred offerings: the Thracian and the Paeonian women, whenever they sacrifice to royal Artemis, not without pieces of wheat’s straw perform the sacred offerings.

In fact those indeed those women I know do and for those girls from the Hyperboreans who met with their end in Delos both the maidens and the boys of the Delians shave themselves; the former, after cutting from themselves a lock before marriage and making a winding round a spindle, put it on the tomb (and the tomb is for one who goes within, into the Artemision, on the left hand and there is grown on it an olive-tree), while all who are boys of the Delians make a winding round a green shoot and those too put some of their hairs on the tomb. Those indeed have that as an honor from Delos’ settlers and those same assert also that Arge and Opis, who were girls from the Hyperboreans, by those same human beings made their way and came to Delos still earlier than Hyperoche and Laodice; now, those for Eileithyie brought away in return for quick childbirth the tribute that they had imposed on themselves and came, but Arge and Opis together with the gods came they say and to them other honors were given by them; for in fact the women make a collection for them and call on them by naming their names in the hymn that Olen, a Lycian man, composed for them and the islanders and Ionians, having learned from them, hymn Opis and Arge, while they call on them by naming and make a collection (and that Olen composed also all the other ancient hymns, when he had gone from Lycia, that are sung in Delos), and when the thigh-bones are burning on the altar, that ash is used up by being thrown on the tomb of Opis and Arge. And their tomb is behind the Artemision turned to the east nearest the Ceians’ banquet hall.

Let that in fact be said about the Hyperboreans. For the account about Abaris, who was said to be a Hyperborean, I give not, that he brought an arrow round through the whole earth, while he ate nothing. And if there are any Hyperborean human beings, there are also Hypernotian others. Moreover I laugh on seeing many by now depict earth’s ways round and none expounds in a way that has sense, as they depict Ocean as flowing around the earth that is circular like from compasses and since they make Asia equal to Europe. For in few words I will make clear the size of each of them and what a kind is each for depicting.

The Persians are settlers who extend down to the south sea that is called Red and inland of those toward the north wind the Medes are settlers, inland of the Medes the Saspeirians and inland of the Saspeirians the Colchians who extend down to the north sea, in which the Phasis river discharges. Those four nations are the settlers from sea to sea.

Thence then regarding what’s toward the west two promontories from it stretch to the sea, of which I for my part will offer a relation. On one side the one promontory regarding what’s toward the north begins from the Phasis and is stretched along the Pontus and the Hellespont up to Trojan Sigeium and regarding what’s toward the south that same promontory from the Myriandian gulf that lies near Phoenician land stretches over what’s to the sea up to Triopium, a headland. And thirty nations of human beings settle on that promontory.

Now, that’s one of the promontories and the other indeed begins from the Persians and is stretched to the Red sea, the Persian and, when it receives out territory from that land, the Assyrian and, when from the Assyrian, the Arabian. Then that comes to a stop and comes to a stop not if not by convention at the Arabian gulf, into which Darius from the Nile led a trench. Now, up to Phoenicia from the Persians a broad and large place exists and regarding what’s from Phoenicia that promontory extends through this sea along Palaestinian Syria and Egypt, at which it comes to an end. In it are three nations alone.

Those are the places that extend to the west of Asia from the Persians and along the ones inland of the Persians, the Medes, the Saspeirians and the Colchians, that are to the east and the sun’s rising up, on one side the Red sea extends and toward the north the Caspian sea and the Araxes river, as it flows to the sun’s going up. Then up to the Indian land Asia is settled and from there on is desert by now what’s to the east and no one is able to point out precisely what kind of a spot it is.

Asia is like that and like that size and Libya is on the other promontory; for from Egypt Libya by now receives out territory. Now, at Egypt that promontory is narrow, as from this sea to the Red sea are ten myriads of fathoms and those would be a thousand stades, and from that narrow place on the promontory is in fact very broad that is called Libya.

Therefore I marvel at those who draw boundaries up for and divide up Libya, Asia and Europe, because their differences are not small, as in length Europe extends along both and about breadth not even worth comparing appears to me to be. For Libya makes itself clear that it is surrounded by water, except all of it that borders on Asia, since Necos the Egyptians’ king was the first of those whom we know to make the discovery, who, when he had stopped digging the trench that extends through from the Nile to the Arabian gulf, sent away Phoenician men with boats and enjoined that on the way back through Heracles’ pillars they should sail out until they should come to the north sea and thus to Egypt. Accordingly the Phoenicians set off from the Red sea and sailed the south sea and, whenever it came to be autumn, they put in and sowed the earth, where in Libya on each occasion in their sailing they came to be, and awaited the harvest; then they did the summer work on the wheat and sailed so that, two years having gone past, the third year they bent round Heracles’ pillars and came to Egypt. And they gave an account not credible to me, but to some other, that in sailing round Libya they had the sun on their right.

Thus that land was known at the first and afterward the Carchedonians are its speakers, since at any rate Sataspes, the son of Teaspis, an Achaimenid man, sailed not round Libya, although he had been sent for that purpose itself, but rather in fear of the length of the sailing and the desolateness came back away and brought not to completion the contest that his mother had imposed on him. For he violated the daughter of Zopyrus, the son of Megabyxus, a maiden; thereafter, when he was, on account of that cause, to be impaled by King Xerxes, the mother of Sataspes, being Darius’ sister, brought about a begging off by asserting that she herself would inflict on him a greater penalty than indeed he; for it would be a necessity for him to sail round Libya, until he should come in his sailing round it to the Arabian gulf. Then, when Xerxes had agreed to that condition, after Sataspes had come to Egypt and taken a ship and sailors from those, he sailed to Heracles’ pillars and, having sailed out through and bent round the headland of Libya, whose name is Soloeis, he sailed to the south and, after he had passed many a sea in many months, since there was need of more on each and every occasion, he turned away and sailed away back to Egypt. Then on coming from there to King Xerxes he spoke and asserted at his farthest he sailed by small human beings that constantly used clothing made of palm, who, when they led themselves down to the shore by ship, fled to the mountains and left behind their cities, while they themselves refused to do any wrong in their going in, but took cattle alone from them. So as the cause of his not sailing round Libya completely he said this, that the boat was not able any longer to go forth farther, but was held fast. Xerxes however would not admit to him that he spoke truly and, since at any rate he had not brought to completion the proposed contest, impaled him and imposed as penalty the former just sentence. Then that Sataspes’ eunuch ran away to Samos, as soon as he had learned by inquiry that his master had met with his end, with much money, which a Samian man gained hold of, whose name I know and willingly forget.

The greater parts of Asia were found out by Darius, who wanted about the Indus river, that which is the second of all rivers to furnish crocodiles, about that river, to know where it discharges into the sea, and sent with boats others, whom he trusted would speak the truth, and, in particular, Scylax, a Caryandian man. Then they, having set off from the city of Caspatyrus and the Pactyan land, sailed down the river to the east and the sun’s risings up into the sea and in their sailing through the sea to the west the thirtieth month came to that place whence the Egyptians’ king dispatched the Phoenicians, whom I spoke of previously, to sail round Libya. And after those men’s sailing round Darius subjected the Indians and used that sea. Thus regarding Asia too, except the parts toward the sun’s going up, in all the other respects the land is discovered to furnish things similar to Libya.

Europe is manifest in being known by none, neither the parts toward the sun’s rising up nor those to the north, whether they are surrounded by water, but in length is known that it extends along both lands. I am both unable to conjecture after what to the earth, although it is one, three names are given, with the appellations of women, and as it boundaries the Egyptian Nile river is placed as well as the Colchian Phasis (some say the Maeetian Tanais and the Cimmerian ferries), and to learn by inquiry the names of those who drew the boundaries and whence they gave the appellations. For by now Libya after Libya, an autochthonous woman, is said by the greater number of the Greeks to have its name, and Asia after Prometheus’ wife its appellation. And yet the Lydians take for themselves a share of that name and assert for themselves that after Asies, the son of Cotys, the son of Manes, Asia is called and not after Prometheus’ wife, Asia; that after him the tribe in Sardis too is called Asian. And indeed Europe neither whether it is surrounded by water is known by any human beings nor whence it took hold of that name nor does it appear who was the one who give it it, if we will not assert that from the Tyrian Europe the country took the name; previously then after all it was nameless just as the others. But that woman at any rate manifestly was from Asia and came not to that land that is now called Europe by the Greeks, but as far as from Phoenicia to Crete and from Crete to Lycia. Now, let those statements be said to so great an extent; for we will make use of those of them that are customarily made.

The Euxine Pontus, against which Darius advanced with an army, of all countries furnishes outside of the Scythian the stupidest nations; for we neither can put forward for ourselves any nation of those within the Pontus concerning wisdom nor know a man proved a spokesman, apart from the Scythian nation and Anaxarsis. So of the Scythian race, although one thing, the greatest of all human matters, in the wisest way has been found out of all that we know, yet all else I admire not. And the greatest so has been discovered by them as for both no one to escape, if he goes against them, and if they want not to be found out, it to be not possible to overtake them; for if by them neither towns nor walls have been founded, but all, being carriers of their homes, are horse-archers and live not from ploughing, but from cattle, and their buildings are on chariots, how would those not be unconquerable and unmanageable in mixing with?

Installment 22            
 That then has been found out by them, their land being suitable and its rivers being their allies; for that land, being level, is grassy and well-watered and rivers flow through it not a great deal fewer in number than the trenches in Egypt. So, all those of them that are named and navigable from the sea I will mention by name. There’s the five-mouthed Ister and afterwards the Tyres, the Hypanis, the Borysthenes, the Panticapes, the Hypacyris, the Gerros and the Tanais and those flow in this fashion: the Ister, being the largest of all the rivers that we know, itself on each and every occasion flows equal to itself in both summer and winter and, being the first of those in the Scythian land to flow over what’s to the west, has become the largest in a fashion like this, that other rivers in fact discharge into it. And these are those that make it large: indeed through the Scythian country the five that flow on one hand, the one that the Scythians call the Porata and the Greeks the Pyretos, and another, the Tiarantos as well as the Araros, the Naparis and the Ordessos --the first of the rivers spoken of, large and flowing to the east, communicates its water to the Ister, while the second spoken of, the Tiarantos, is more to the west and smaller, whereas indeed the Araros, the Naparis and the Ordessos flow through the middle of those and pour into the Ister-- those on one hand are the Scythian rivers original to the place that join in filling it; on the other from the Agathyrsians the Maris river flows and is mixed with the Ister and from Haemos’ peaks three other large ones flow to the north wind and pour out into it, the Atlas, the Auras and the Tibisis, while through Thrace and the Crobuzian Thracians flow the Athrys, the Noes and the Aptanes and they discharge into the Ister, from the Paeonians and a mountain, Rhodope, the Scios river splits the Haemos in its middle and discharges into it, from the Illyrians flows to the north wind the Angros river and pours into the Triballician plain and into the river Brongos and the Brongos into the Ister (thus the Ister receives both that are large) and from the country further inland of the Ombricians the Carpis river and another, the Alpis, even those, to the North wind flow and discharge into it. For indeed the Ister flows through all Europe by beginning from the Celts, who farthest toward the sun’s sinkings after the Cynetes are settled of those in Europe, and in flowing through all Europe pours into the sides of the Scythian land.

Therefore, those described and many other bodies contributing their water, the Ister proves the largest of rivers, since, at least to compare one water to one, the Nile in volume is surpassing; for indeed into that neither a river nor any spring by discharging contributes to its volume. Moreover, the Ister flows equal on each and every occasion in summer and winter in accordance with something like this, as it seems to me: in the winter it is just as large as it is and becomes a little larger than its nature, because that land is rained on in the winter altogether little and makes use of snowfall in all its parts, while in the summer the snow that fell in the winter, being abundant, is melted on all sides and discharges into the Ister. That snow indeed in discharging into it joins in its filling and many violent showers with it; for indeed it rains during the summer. The more water then the sun draws to itself in the summer than in the winter, the many times larger what is mixed with the Ister is within the summer than within the winter and that by being put in opposition becomes a weight in opposition so as for it to manifestly be equal on each and every occasion.

Indeed one of the rivers of the Scythians is the Ister and after that is theTyres, which sets off from the north wind and begins flowing from the large lake that borders the Scythian and the Neurian land, and by its mouth have settled down the Greeks, who are called Tyresians.

Then a third, the Hypanis river, sets off from the Scythian land and flows from the large lake, around which graze wild white horses, and that lake is correctly called the mother of the Hypanis. From that therefore rises up the Hypanis river and flows over five days’ sailing’s extent still shallow and sweet and from then on toward the sea four days’ sailing it’s awfully bitter. For a bitter spring discharges into it and is somewhat quite so bitter that, although it is small in size, it mixes with the Hypanis, although it is large like few, and that spring is in the borders of the country of the ploughing Scythians and Alizonians and the spring’s name and the place’s whence it flows in Scythian is Exampaeus and according to the Greeks’s tongue Sacred Roads. So the Tyres and the Hypanis draw together their limits at the Alizonians and from there on in turning away each one flows and broadens the space between.

Then there’s a fourth, the Borysthenes river, which is the greatest after the Ister of those and the most sufficient for much according to our judgements not only in some respect of the Scythian rivers, but also of all the others together, except the Egyptian Nile; for to that it is not possible to compare another river, but of the remaining the Borysthenes is the most sufficient for much, which furnishes itself the most beautiful and most well cared for pasturages for cattle and the pre-eminently best and most fish, is the most pleasant to be drunk and flows pure beside turbid bodies, while by it the best sown produce is produced and the deepest grass, where the country is not sown. Moreover, salt-deposits on its mouth on their own are made solid abundantly and large sea beings without spines, which they call ‘antacaeans’, it furnishes itself for pickling and many other things worth marvelling at. Now, up to a place, Gerrus, to which is forty days’ sailing, it is known in its flowing from the north wind, while regarding what’s farther inland the human beings, through whom it flows, no one can point out, but it manifestly flows through a desert to the farming Scythians’ country; for those Scythians alongside it over ten days’ sailing’s extent are inhabitants. Further, of that river alone and the Nile I cannot point out the springs and not, I think, anyone of the Greeks. Near the sea indeed the Borysthenes in its flowing comes to be and the Hypanis is mixed with it by discharging into the same marsh. Finally, what’s between those rivers, being the country’s tongue, is called Hippolaus’ promontory, on it a shrine for Demeter is set up and opposite to the shrine by the Hypanis the Borysthenians have settled down.

That’s what’s from those rivers and after those there’s another river, a fifth, whose name’s Panticapes and that too flows from the North and out of a lake and what’s between that and the Borysthenes the farming Scythians inhabit; then it discharges into Hylaea and, after it has passed that by, is mixed with the Borysthenes.

Then sixth is the Hypacyris river, which sets off from a lake and flows through the middle of the pastoral Scythians and discharges by the city of Carcine by skirting to the right Hylaea and what is called Achilles’s course.

Then the seventh river, the Gerrus, is split away from the Borysthenes at that point in the country, to which the Borysthenes is known. Now, it is split from that place and has the very name that the place itself does, Gerrus, while it flows to the sea and borders the country of the pastoral ones and that of of the royal Scythians; then it discharges into the Hypacyris.

Then indeed there’s the eighth river, the Tanais, which flows in its origin by setting off from a large lake and discharges into a still larger lake called Maeetian that borders the royal Scythians and the Sauromatians. And into the Tanais there another river pours, whose name is the Hyrgis.

Indeed with those named rivers quite thus somehow the Scythians are furnished and for the cattle the grass that grows in the Scythian land is most productive of bile of all grasses that we know and, when the cattle are opened, it is possible to judge that that is so.

The most important things thus are easily gotten by them and the remaining customs are established for them in accordance with the following: they propitiate these gods alone, Istia, in addition Zeus and Ge, as they believe Ge is Zeus’ wife, and after those Apollo, heavenly Aphrodite, Heracles and Ares. All those the Scythians have had customarily, while the royal Scythians sacrifice to Poseidon too. These are named in Scythian: Istia Tabiti, Zeus (called most correctly at least according to my opinion) Papaeus, Ge Api, Apollo Goetosyrus, heavenly Aphrodite Argimpasa and Poseidon Thagimasadas. Further, images, altars and temples they are not accustomed to make except for Ares; so for that one they are accustomed.

And the same way of sacrificing is established concerning all the sacred animals alike, since it is performed this way: the sacred victim itself, bound at its feet, its front feet, is in a standing position and the sacrificer, in a standing position behind the animal, draws the beginning of the cord and throws it down; then, as the sacred victim falls, he calls on whichever god he is sacrificing to and thereafter with a noose he then encircles its neck; then, after he has inserted a stick, he gives a twist around and causes strangulation, as he neither kindles fire nor performs an initiatory rite nor pours libations. Finally, having caused strangulation and completed flaying, he turns to boiling.

So, since the Scythian land is awfully woodless, this way for the boiling of the pieces of meat a finding has been made: whenever they flay the sacred victims, they strip the bones of their pieces of meat and thereafter they throw them into native cauldrons, if in fact they have them, approximately like Lesbian bowls, except that they’re far larger. Having thrown them into those, they boil them by burning the bones of the pieces of meat underneath. So if no cauldron is by them, they then, after they have thrown into the bellies of the sacred victims all the pieces of meat and admixed water, burn the bones underneath, and they blaze most beautifully, while the bellies contain easily the pieces of meat made bare of their bones. And thus a bull boils itself thoroughly and all the other sacred victims, each itself. Then, whenever the pieces of meat are boiled, the sacrificer takes the first-fruits of the pieces of meat and the inwards and casts them into the place before him. And they sacrifice both all the other cattle and horses most.

Indeed to all the rest of the gods they sacrifice thus and those of the cattle, but to Ares this way: district by district for each of the places of rule had been set up by them a shrine for Ares like this: bundles of firewood are piled together approximately over three stades’ extent in length and breadth, but the height’s less. And above that a square plane has been made and three of its sides are precipitous, but at one it’s accessible. So each year they pile on a hundred and fifty wagons of firewood; for indeed it subsides on each and every occasion through the agency of the storms. On that pile indeed an iron sword has been set up anciently for each group and that is Ares’ image. Then to that sword they bring yearly sacrifices of cattle and horses and, what’s more, to these objects right here they sacrifice still more than to all the other gods. Of all of their enemies whichever they take alive, from a hundred one man they sacrifice not in the same manner as the cattle, but in another: for, whenever they pour a libation of wine down on their heads, they cut the throat of the human beings into a vessel and thereafter they bring up, up on the pile of the pieces of firewood, and pour down on the sword the blood. Up indeed they carry that and down by the shrine they do this: all the right shoulders of the men cut on their throats they cut away together with their arms and throw into the lower air and thereafter they finish off all the other sacred victims too and depart; so the arm, wherever it falls, lies and apart is the corpse.

Now, those are the sacrificings established for them and those use boars customarily not at all and are entirely not willing to rear them in their country.

What relates to war is disposed for them this way: whenever a Scythian man overthrows his first man, he takes a drink of his blood, and all the heads of those whomever he kills in the battle he brings away to the king; for, if he brings away a head, he takes a share of whatever booty they take a hold of and, if he does not bring one away, he does not. Then he flays it in a manner like this: having cut in a circle round the ears and taken hold of the head for himself, he shakes it out, afterward, when he has removed the flesh with a bull’s rib, he kneads it with his hands and, when he has worked it, he possesses it as if a cloth for wiping hands and to the bridles of the horse that he himself rides, to that, he ties it and glories; for, whoever has the most clothes for wiping the hands, that one is judged the best man. And many of them from the scalps make cloaks to put on themselves too by sewing them together just according as coats of skin, many flay the right hands of hostile men, when they are corpses, with nails and all and make themselves covers for their quivers (a human being’s skin is after all, as it turned out, both thick and brilliant, almost the most brilliant of all skins in whiteness) and many, after they have flayed even whole men completely and stretched them on pieces of wood, on horses bring them round.

Those usages indeed thus has been practiced customarily by them, whereas to the heads themselves in no way of all, but of the most hostile, they do this: one saws off all below the brows and performs a cleaning out and, if one is a pauper, one stretches round outside rawhide only and uses it thus, and if one is rich, one stretches round the rawhide and, having inside gilded it utterly, thus uses it as a drinking cup. And they make that also out of those of their house, if they come to be hostile to them and if one prevails over another with the king. Then, when foreigners have come to one whomever one considers of account, one brings by those heads and says in explanation that they, being those of his house, imposed war and over them he himself prevailed, since they speak of that as manly goodness.

Then once each year each district ruler in his own district mixes a bowl of wine, from which those of the Scythians drink by whomever enemy men have been taken off, whereas they by whomever that has not been worked out taste not of the wine, but rather dishonored sit down apart and that is the greatest disgrace for them, while all those of them whoever have taken off quite very many men, then have and drink two cups together at once.

Now, there are many prophets among the Scythians, who prophesy with many wands of willow this way: whenever they bring themselves large bundles of wands, they place on the ground and completely unroll them and, as they place each wand one by one, they prophesy; finally, at the same time as they make those statements, they wrap the wands back together and again one by one put them together. That is their fathers’ way of prophesying and the Enarees, the men-women, say Aphrodite gave prophecy to them; hence, they prophesy with a lime tree’s bark; whenever one splits the lime tree in three, as he entwines it thoroughly in his fingers and unlooses it thoroughly, he proclaims an oracle.

Further, whenever the king of the Scythians falls ill, he sends for the three most well esteemed men among the prophets, who prophesy in the said manner, and those say generally approximately this, that by the royal hearths has sworn falsely such and such --and they say among their townspeople precisely whomever they say. (By the royal hearths a law for Scythians especially is to swear then whenever they are willing to swear the greatest oath.) So forthwith that one is taken a hold of and brought precisely whoever they assert swore falsely and, on his having come, the prophets make an accusation against him, that he swore falsely manifestly in their prophecy by the royal hearths and on account of that the king is sick. Then he makes a denial with the assertion for himself that he did not swear falsely and complains indignantly. So, that one making denial, the king sends for twice as many other prophets and if those too look to their prophecy and convict of swearing falsely, then they straightway cut off his head and the first of the prophets divide by lot his things, but if the prophets who come after make an acquittal, other prophets are present and again others. If therefore the greater number acquit the human being, it is thought good for the first of the prophets themselves to be destroyed.

So they destroy them in a manner like this: whenever they fill a wagon with sticks and yoke bulls underneath, after they have fettered the prophets, bound hands back and gagged mouths, they shut them up in the middle of the sticks and, when they have set them on fire, they release the bulls off by frightening them. Indeed many bulls are burned up with the prophets and many burnt round flee away, whenever their pole is burnt up. They also burn up in the said manner on account of other reasons too the prophets and call them false prophets. And of those whomever the king kills he leaves not even the sons; rather he kills all the males, but does no injustice to the females.

Now, the Scythians make oaths this way with whomever they make them: into a large earthen cup they pour wine and mix in blood of those who are swearing the oath; they strike with an awl or cut superficially with a knife a little of the body and thereafter dip away into the cup a sword, arrows, a battle-axe and a javelin. Then whenever they do that, they make many prayers and thereafter drink up, those who are making the oath themselves and among their followers those worth most.
 
Installment 23            
 Now, the burial-places of the kings are among the Gerrhi, to which spot the Borysthenes is navigable. There, whenever their king dies, they dig a large quadrangular excavation of earth and, having made that ready, they take up the corpse, the body waxed over and the belly slit open and cleansed and full of beaten galingale, incense, celery’s seed and anise sewn back together, and convey it on a wagon to another nation. Then they whoever receive the corpse near, when it has been conveyed, do precisely what the royal Scythians do: they cut themselves on their ear, shave themselves hairs all round, cut themselves arms all round, scratch themselves utterly forehead and nose, thrust themselves arrows through their left hand. Then thence they convey in a wagon the dead body to another nation of those that they rule and they follow them to whom they came to earlier. So whenever they go round all in their conveying the dead body, they are among the Gerrhi who have settled themselves down the farthest settlements of the nations that they rule and among the burial-places. And thereafter, whenever they put the dead body in the tombs on a pallet, after they have fixed spears close here and there by the corpse, they stretch above pieces of wood and thereafter roof it over with a mat; then in the remaining broad space of the tomb they strangle one of the concubines, the wine-pourer, cook, horsegroom, minister, message-carrier and horses and bury them as well as the rest of all together’s first-fruit and gold drinking-bowls, but they make use of silver not at all and not bronze. Then, when they have done that, they all heap a large heap as they compete and are eager to make it as large as possible. So, when a year goes round, again they act like this: after they have taken hold of the most suitable of the remaining servants (and they are native Scythians; for those are servants whomever the king himself bids and theirs are no servants bought with silver), and of those ministers then, whenever they strangle fifty and fifty horses who are the most beautiful, of them, have removed and cleansed the guts, they fill them in with chaff and perform a sewing together. Then, when a wheel’s half on two pieces of wood they have stood inverted and the other half of the wheel on another two, when they have stuck fast in a manner like that many of those things, thereafter through the horses’ lengths thick pieces of wood they drive completely up to their throats and make them go up on the wheels and of them the front wheels hold the shoulders of the horses underneath and the ones behind alongside the thighs take hold of the bellies underneath. So both kinds of legs are hung in mid air. Then bridles and bits they put into the horses and stretch down to their front and thereafter tie to pegs. Then indeed of the fifty young men who have been strangled each one they cause to go up on his horse and cause to go up this way: whenever alongside each corpse’s backbone a straight piece of wood they drive through up to the throat, then below projects of that piece of wood that which they fix into a socket of the other piece of wood through the horse. Finally, they erect in a circle round the tomb horsemen like that and drive away.

Thus they bury the kings and all the other Scythians, whenever they die, their nearest relatives bring round among their friends as they lie in wagons and each of them entertains and feasts their followers and puts by the corpse from all, from which he does by all the others. Then forty days thus the private people are brought around; thereafter they are buried. And, having performed a burial, the Scythians cleanse themselves in a manner like this: having soaped themselves and washed off for themselves their heads, they do concerning their body this: whenever they stand up three pieces of wood that are leaned on each other, round those wool cloths they stretch and, having closed them tight as much as possible, they throw stones glowing from fire into a dish that lies in the middle of the pieces of wood and the cloths.

And there is for them hemp that is grown in their country except for thickness and size most similar to the flax-plant, but in that respect the hemp far excels. That both of its own and sown is grown and from it Thracians for their part make even clothes most similar to the linen ones. Not even anyone who should not be very conversant with it would distinguish whether they are of the flax-plant or hemp and he who not yet saw hemp will think the clothing is linen.

Concerning that hemp accordingly the Scythians, whenever they take hold of its seed, slip under the cloths and thereafter throw the seed on the glowing stones and it is burnt, when it is thrown on, and furnishes from itself so great a vapor that not even a single Greek vapour-bath could surpass it. Then the Scythians are pleased by the vapour-bath and howl; that for them is in place of a bath; for indeed they wash not for themselves with water entirely their body, but their women with the admixing of water pound down round a rough stone cypress, cedar-wood and a frankincense-tree’s wood and thereafter that which is pounded down, being thick, they plaster for themselves down on all their body and face and partly a good odor gets a hold of them from that and partly, when they take away the second day the plastering down, they prove to be clean and glossy.




Now, of foreign customs those too flee awfully that they should make no use, neither of any others, and of the Greeks quite least, as Anacharsis and next afterwards Scyles showed plainly. For on the one hand Anacharsis, after he, having seen the sights of much land and shown forth throughout it much wisdom, was being conveyed to the customary abodes of the Scythians, sailed through the Hellespont and touched at Cyzicus and, because he had found for the mother of the gods the Cyzicians were celebrating a festival very magnificently, Anacharsis made a prayer to the mother that, if safe and sound and healthy he returned back to his own place, he would sacrifice in accordance with the same things, in accordance with which he saw the Cyzicians were acting, and would establish an all-night festival; then, when he had come to the Scythian land, having slipped down into the so-called Hylaea (it is alongside the Achillean course and in fact the whole is full of all kinds of trees) into that indeed having slipped down, Anacharsis brought to completion the whole festival for the goddess, as he had a drum and fastened to himself images, and one of the Scythians observed that he was doing that and made an indication to the king, Saulius; then he, even himself, having come, when he had see that Anacharsis was doing that, shot arrows and killed him. And now if anyone asks about Anacharsis, the Scythians assert they know him not, on account of that, that he went abroad to Greece and thoroughly made use of foreign habits. Moreover, as I heard from Tymnes, Ariapeithes’ guardian, it’s that he was Idanthyrsus the Scythians’ king’s paternal uncle and the son of Gnourus, the son of Lycus, the son of Spargapeithes. If then of that house was Anacharsis, let him know at his brother’s hands he died. And yet by now I heard some other account given by the Peloponnesians, that by the Scythians’ king Anacharsis, having been sent away, became a pupil of Greece and, having returned back again, asserted to the one who had sent him away that all Greeks were not leisurely toward all wisdom except the Lacedaemonians and of those alone was giving and receiving an account rationally. But that account was made as a joke by the Greeks themselves; anyhow, the man, just as was said previously, was destroyed. Now, that one precisely thus fared on account of foreign customs and intercourses with Greeks. Then, very many years later Scyles, the son of Ariapeithes, suffered things similar to that one. For to Ariapeithes, the Scythians’ king, was born with other sons Scyles and that one was born from a woman of Istria and in no way of the country, whom his mother herself taught the Greek tongue and letters. And afterwards a time later Ariapeithes met with his end by treachery at the hands of Spargapeithes, the Agathyrsians’ king, and Scyles took over the kingdom and the wife of his father, whose name was Opoea. That Opoea then was a townsperson, from whom was Oricus, a son for Ariapeithes. So, being king of the Scythians, Scyles was pleased with the Scythian way of living in no way, but far more to Greek things was turned in consequence of the education, with which he was educated, and was acting like that: whenever he led the host of the Scythians to the Borysthenians’ town (and those Borysthenians say they themselves are Milesians), to those whenever Scyles went, the host he left behind in the suburb and he himself, whenever he went into the wall and the gates he shut, having put off from himself the Scythian dress, he took hold of Greek apparel and with it he frequented the public square, neither lance-bearers following nor any other (and they were guarding the gates lest any of the Scythians should see him with that dress); both in all other respects he made use of the Greek way of living and to gods he made sacred offerings in accordance with the laws of the Greeks. So whenever he spent a month or more than that, he departed after he had put on the Scythian dress. That he did many times and he built for himself a house in Borysthenes and as wife took in marriage into it a native. Then, when it had to turn out badly for him, it turned out from a cause like this: he conceived a desire to be initiated in the rite of Bacchic Dionysus and for him, when he was to bring for himself into his hands the rite, there came about a very great apparition. There was his in the Borysthenians’ city a large and costly home’s circuit, of which I also had a mention somewhat a little before that present matter, round which sphinxes and griffins of white stone stood; into that the god hurled a missile. And although it was burnt down entirely, yet Scyles none the less because of that brought to completion the rite. But the Scythians concerning being a Bacchante reproach the Greeks, because they assert it is not reasonable to find out as a god that one who induces human beings to be mad. So when Scyles had been initiated in the rite of the Bacchic one, one of the Borysthenians hurried through to the Scythians and said: “Since you laugh at us, o Scythians, because we are Bacchantes and the god takes hold of us, now that divinity has taken hold of your king too and he is a Bacchante and at the hands of the god is mad. And if you disbelieve me, follow and I will show you.” There followed of the Scythians those who were chiefs and them the Borysthenian led up secretly on a tower and seated. Then when there went by with a band of revellers Scyles, and the Scythians had seen that he was a Bacchante, they considered it a very great misfortune and, having gone out, they were indicating to all the host what they had seen. So when after that Scyles drove out to his customary abodes, the Scythians stood before themselves his brother, Octamasades, born of Teres’ daughter, and stood up against Scyles. And he, having learned what was being done against him and the cause on account of which it was being performed, fled down to Thrace and, when Octamasades had learned that by inquiry, he advanced with an army against Thrace. Then when he had come to be by the Ister, the Thracians encountered him and, when they were to join, Sitalces sent to Octamasades and made statements like this: “Why must we make trial of each other? You are my sister’s son and have my brother. Give you me back that one and I hand over to you your Scyles. So a host neither endanger you nor let me”. That to him Sitalces sent and had delivered by herald; for there was with Octamasades Sitalces’ brother, since he had fled that one. Then Octamasades consented to that and he gave up his maternal uncle to Sitalces and took hold of his brother Scyles. And Sitalces took over and led away for himself his brother, while concerning Scyles Octamasades there on the very spot cut off his head. Thus the Scythians maintain their customs and to those who try to acquire additionally foreign laws give penalties like that.




Now, the multitude of the Scythians I proved unable to learn by inquiry exactly, but different accounts about the number I heard, namely that in fact they are very many and few, so far as they are Scythians. However they brought forth to light so much in my sight: there is between the Borysthenes river and the Hypanis a place and its name is Exampaeus, of which I also had a mention somewhat a little before that present matter, when I asserted myself that in it a spring of bitter water exists, from which the water flows out and makes the Hypanis undrinkable. In that place lies a bronze vessel, in size in fact six times larger than the bowl at the mouth of the Pontus, which Pausanias, the son of Cleombrotus, dedicated. So for him who saw that not yet,
in this way I will make clear: six hundred amphorae easily the bronze vessel among the Scythians holds and in thickness that Scythian bronze vessel is of six fingers, Accordingly that, said the natives, was made of arrowheads. For, when their king, whose name was Ariantas, wanted to know the multitude of the Scythians, he bade all Scythians convey each one arrowhead and anyone who conveyed it not he threatened with death. Indeed a great quantity of arrowheads was conveyed and to him it seemed good from them a memorial to make and leave behind. From those indeed that bronze vessel he made and dedicated in that Exampaeus. That precisely about the multitude of the Scythians I heard.

Moreover, no marvellous things that country has except that it does rivers by far the largest and in number the most and what it furnishes worth marvelling at, apart from both the rivers and the size of the plain, will be said: a footprint of Heracles, they bring to light, is in a rock that resembles a man’s footstep. And it is in its size two cubits long beside the Tyres river. Now, that is like that and I will go back to the account that at the beginning I was going to give.




When Darius was making preparations against the Scythians and sending round messengers to impose on some to furnish a foot army and on some ships and on some to bridge the Thracian Bosporus, Artabanus, the son of Hystaspes, being the brother of Darius, requested that in no way should he make an expedition against the Scythians and described the Scythians’ unapproachability. But, since he could not persuade, although he was giving him good advice, the one was at a stop and the other, after all had been prepared by him, drove his army out of Susa.

Thereupon among the Persians Oeobazus requested from Darius that, because three sons were his and all were advancing with the army, one should be left behind for him. Then he asserted to him that, on the ground that he was a friend and requested moderate things, he would leave behind all his sons. The one indeed, Oeobazus, was very glad, since he supposed that his sons were released from military service, but the other bade those in charge of that kill all Oeobazus’ sons. And those were cut by their throats and there on the very spot left.

Then Darius, when in making his way from Susa he had come in Calcheddonia to the Bosporus, where the bridge had been thrown, there he went into a ship and was sailing to the so-called Cyaneae, which the Greeks assert previously were wandering, and, sitting on the promontory, he beheld the Pontus that was worth beholding; for of all open seas together it is by nature the most marvellous, of which the length is eleven thousand one hundred stades and the breadth, where it itself is its broadest, is three thousand three hundred stades. Of that open sea the mouth is in breadth four stades and the mouth’s length, the neck, precisely which is called Bosporus, precisely across which the bridge had been thrown, is over the extent of a hundred twenty stades. And the Bosporus stretches to the Propontis. Then the Propontis, being in breadth of five hundred stades and in length of a thousand four hundred, issues into the Hellespont, being in narrowness seven stades and in length four hundred. And the Hellespont disembogues into a chasm of open sea precisely which is called Aegean.

Now, those measurements have been made this way: a ship on the whole accomplishes on a long day approximately about seventy thousand fathoms and at night sixty thousand. By now accordingly to the Phasis from the mouth (for that is the Pontus’ largest part) is nine days’ sailing and eight nights’; those come to be a hundred and eleven myriads of fathoms and of those fathoms are eleven thousand one hundred stades. And to Themiscyres on the Thermedon river from the Sindic country (for at that spot is the Pontus’ broadest part) is three days and two nights’ sailing and those come to be thirty three myriads of fathoms and three thousand three hundred stades. Now, that Pontus and the Bosporus and Hellespont have been measured by me thus and in accordance with what has been said are by nature and the Pontus furnishes itself also a lake that disembogues into it not a great deal smaller than itself, which is called Maeetian and mother of the Pontus.

So Darius, when he had beheld the Pontus, sailed back to the bridge, whose architect Mandrocles the Samian came to be, and having beheld the Bosporus, he stood two pillars by it of white stone, after he had had cut in with letters, into the one Assyrian and into the other Greek, all the very nations that he led and he led all that he ruled. Of those myriads were numbered out, apart from the fleet, seventy with horsemen and six hundred ships were gathered together. Now, those pillars, when the Byzantines had conveyed them to their city, later than that they used for the altar of Orthosian Artemis, except for one stone, and that was left behind beside Dionysus’ temple in Byzantium full of Assyrian letters. Moreover, in the Bosporus that place that King Darius had bridged, so far as it seems to me when I reckon, is in the middle between Byzantium and the shrine by the mouth.

Then Darius, having taken pleasure in the bridge of boats, its architect, Mandrocles the Samian, presented with “ten of everything”. From the first-fruits of those it was Mandrocles had painted as pictures the whole bridging of the Bosporus, King Darius’s sitting down on his front seat and his army’s stepping across and, having had that painted, made a dedication in the temple of Hera with this inscription:

Fishy Bosporus on bridging, dedicated
Mandrocles to Hera pontoon’s monument,
Since on himself crown he put, on Samians fame,
By acting wholly with King Darius’ mind.

Now, those proved monuments of him who threw the bridge and Darius, having given Mandrocles a present, crossed over to Europe, after he had announced to the Ionians they should sail into the Pontus up to the Ister river and, whenever they came to the Ister, there they should wait for him while they bridged the river. For indeed the Ionians, the Aeolians and the Hellespontians were leading the fleet. Indeed the naval army, having sailed through and out of the Cyaneae, set sail straight to the Ister and, having sailed up river two days’ sailing from the sea, the river’s neck, from which the mouths of the Ister are split, it bridged. Then Darius, when he had crossed over the Bosporus along the pontoon, made his way through Thrace and, having come to the Tearus river’s springs, encamped three days.

The Tearus then is said by those settled round to be the best of rivers in all else that leads to healing and in particular in healing scurvy for men and horses. Moreover, its springs, flowing from the same rock, are forty but two and some of them are cold and some hot. And the way to them is equal from Heraeum, a city beside Perinthus, and from Apollonia on the Hospitable sea, each of two days. Further, that Tearus disembogues into the Contadesdus river, the Contadesdus into the Agrianes, the Agrianes into the Hebrus and it into the sea by Aenus, a city.

Then having come to that river, Darius, when he had encamped, took pleasure in the river and set up a pillar there too, after he had had written on letters that said this: “The Tearus river’s head-waters furnish themselves the best and most beautiful water of all rivers and to them came in driving an army against the Scythians the best and most beautiful man of all human beings, Darius the son of Hystaspes, the Persians and all the mainland’s king.” That indeed was written.

Darius then, having set off thence, came to another river, whose name is Artescus, which flows through the Odrysians. To that river it was, to which he came and acted like this: having shown forth a spot to the host, he bade every man pass out by and put one stone on that spot shown forth. And when the host had brought that to completion, then having left behind large hills of the stones, he drove away the host.

But before he came to the Ister, first he took the Getians who think themselves immortal. For indeed the Thracians who have Salmydessus and have settlements above Apollonia and Mesambria, a city, and are called Scyrmiadians and Nipsaeans, without a fight gave themselves up to Darius, but the Getians turned to senselessness and immediately were enslaved, who were the Thracians’ bravest and most just.

Now, they think themselves immortal in this manner: they believe both they die not and he who perishes goes to Salmoxis, a divinity (and some of them name that same one Gebeleizis). Then at intervals of five years’ time him of them who obtained it as his portion by lot on each and every occasion they send away as a messenger to Salmoxis and make injunctions of whatever on each occasion they ask. So they send him this way: some of them are appointed and have three javelins and others take thorough hold of the hands and the feet of him who is being sent to Salmoxis and by tossing him up in mid air cast him onto the spears. If indeed he dies by being pierced through, to them then the god seems to be propitious, but if he dies not, they blame the messenger himself and assert for themselves that he is a bad man and, having blamed him, they send away another. And they enjoin the injunctions on one who still lives. Those same Thracians also on the occasion of thunder and lightning shoot arrows up toward the sky and threaten the god, since they believe no other god exists except their own.

Moreover, as I have learned by inquiry from the Greeks who settled the Hellespont and Pontus, it’s that that Salmoxis, being a human being, was a slave in Samos and was a slave to Pythagoras, the son of Mnesarchus, and thence he, having become free, acquired numerous things and, having made an acquisition, went away to his land; then, seeing that the Thracians were living badly and somewhat more senseless, that Salmoxis, knowing the Ionian way of living and habits more profound than among the Thracians, inasmuch as he had associated with Greeks and among the Greeks with not the most strengthless wiseman, Pythagoras, prepared himself a men’s apartment, in which he, receiving as host all the first men of his townpeople and treating them well, taught them thoroughly that neither he himself nor his symposiasts nor the descendants from those on each and every occasion would die, but they would be present in that place, where on each and every occasion surviving, they would have all the good things. And in the time when he was doing what has been described and was saying that, in that time he built an underground house. Then when the house was entirely complete for him, from the Thracians he was made to disappear and, having gone down, down to the underground house, he lived for three years. So they missed him and mourned him on the ground that he was dead and the fourth year he appeared to the Thracians and thus it proved credible to them what Salmoxis was saying. That, they assert, he did.

But I about that one and the underground house neither disbelieve nor accordingly believe anything very much, but think that that Salmoxis lived many years earlier than Pythagoras. Moreover, let whether Salmoxis proved a human being or that one is a native divinity of the Getians go its way. Those indeed used a manner like that and, when they had been worsted by the Persians, followed the rest of the army.

Then Darius, when he had come and the foot army together with him to the Ister, then, all having gone across, Darius bade the Ionians, after they had broken the pontoon, follow him by the mainland, them and the army from the ships. But when the Ionians were to perform the breaking and do what was bade, Coes, the son of Erxandrus, being the general of the Mytilenians, said to Darius this, after he had asked previously whether it was dear to him to receive an opinion from one who wants to show it forth from himself: “O king, because you are to advance with an army against a land, in which manifestly neither will be anything ploughed nor a settled city, now allow you that bridge there to stand in place and leave as its guards those very ones who threw it. And so if we act in accordance with our mind, after we have found the Scythians, there is a way out for us, and even if we are not able to find them, at any rate the way out ‘s safe for us; for not yet did I fear lest we be worsted by the Scythians in battle, but rather lest we be not able to find them and suffer something significant in our wandering. Indeed this, someone may assert, I say for my own sake, that I may remain behind, but I for my part, although the opinion that I found best for you, king, I bring to your midst, yet myself will follow you and would not be left behind”. Darius took very much pleasure in the opinion and replied to him with this: “Lesbian foreigner, when I have been brought back to safety to my house, appear by me by all means, that you in return for good advice with good deeds I may repay”.

Having said that and tied up sixty ties on a thong, he called to speeches the Ionians’ tyrants and said this: “Ionian men, let the opinion that was shown forth previously with regard to the bridge be abandoned by me and with this thong do this: as soon as whenever you see I am making my way against the Scythians, beginning from that time, undo one tie each day and, if in that time I am not present, but the days of the ties go through and out of their way, sail away to your own land; up to that time, however, since thus there has been made a change in thinking, guard the pontoon and furnish from yourselves every kind of eagerness for saving and guarding. And by doing that you will gratify me greatly”. Darius then said that and hurried to the farther place.

And before the Scythian land Thrace, the part into the sea, lies. Then, a gulf of that land being led out, the Scythian land follows after and the Ister disembogues into it, since it’s turned in respect to its mouth toward the East wind. So I am going to indicate what’s from the Ister to the sea in the Scythian country itself with regard to measurement. From the Ister by now that ancient Scythia is and it lies to the South and the South wind up to the city called Carcinitis. From that land on, the land that bears itself over the same sea’s extent, being a mountainous country and jutting forward over what’s in the Pontus, the Tauric nation inhabits up to the what is called the harsh peninsula, and that land extends to the sea that’s toward the East wind. For there is in the Scythian land the two parts of the borders that bear themselves to the sea, the land to the South and the land to the East, just as in the Attic land, and parts similar to that land the Taurians also inhabit in the Scythian land, as if in the Attic land another nation and not the Athenians should inhabit the Sounian high ground, did it jut out more into the open sea, that is from Thoricus up to the deme Anaphlystus. And I give an account to the extent that it is possible to compare those small things there to large. The Tauric land is like that. But for one who has not sailed by those places in Attic land, I then in another way will make them clear; it’s as if in Iepygia another nation and not the Iepygians, beginning from Brentesium, a harbor, should make a cutting off for themselves up to Tarentum and inhabit the promontory. And although I spoke of those two places there, I say many others are similar, which the Taurian land resembles.

Then from the Tauric land on by now the Scythians inhabit what’s inland of the Taurians and the parts toward the eastern sea, the parts toward the Cimmerian Bosporus’ west and the Maeetian lake’s up to the Tanais river, which disembogues into the innermost part of that lake. By now then from the Ister in respect to the inland parts that bear themselves to the interior the Scythian land is shut off by the Agathyrsians first, afterwards the Neurians, thereafter the Maneaters and last the Blackcloaks.

In the Scythian land, on the ground that it is quadrangular, two parts extending to the sea, every way the part to the interior and that by the sea is equal. For from the Ister to the Borysthenes is ten days’ way and from the Borysthenes to the Maeetian lake another ten’s. And what’s from the sea to the interior, to the Blackcloaks that have their settlements inland of the Scythians, is twenty days’ way. Now, a day’s way at two hundred stades has been reckoned by me; thus would be in the Scythian land the cross-wise parts of four thousand stades and the straight parts that bear themselves into the interior of another so many stades. Now, that land is in size so large.

Then the Scythians, having given an account to themselves, that they were not able to thrust aside from themselves Darius’ army in a stand-up fight alone, sent to their neighbors messengers and of those in fact indeed the kings, having gone together, were taking counsel, on the ground that a large army was marching in opposition. And the kings who went together were the Taurians’, the Agathyrsians’, the Neurians’, the Maneaters’, the Blackcloaks’, the Gelonians’, the Boudinians’ and the Sauromatians’.

Of those the Taurians for their part use laws like this: on the one hand they sacrifice to the virgin the shipwrecked and whomever of the Greeks they take hold of, when they are brought out to sea in opposition, in a manner like this: having performed the initiatory rite, with a club they strike the head. Some indeed say that they thrust the body down from the cliff (for on a cliff the shrine is set up) and the head they impale; others, although they give the same account concerning the head, yet give an account that the body is not thrust from the cliff, but is concealed with earth. And that divinity, to which they sacriifice, the Taurians themselves say is Iphigenia, Agamemnon’s daughter. And to the enemy men whomever they worst they do this: each, having cut off a head, carries it away for himself to his house; thereafter on a large piece of wood he impales and stands it projecting far over his home and most over the smoke-vent. They assert then that those are suspended above as guardians of the whole home. And they live from plunder and war.
 
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 The Agathyrsians for their part are the most luxurious men and wearers of gold in the highest degree. Moreover, they have their intercourse with the women promiscuously, that they may be kinsmen of each other and all, being of one house, may use neither envy nor enmity in regard to each other. But in respect to all the other customs they have approached near to the Thracians.

The Neurians for their part use Scythian laws, and one generation earlier than Darius’ driving of an army it befell them to abandon all their country by snakes’ agency. For the country brought up to light many snakes for them and the greater number from inland from the deserts on them fell, until they, oppressed, settled with the Boudinians and their own land abandoned. And those human beings run the risk of being wizards. For they are the subjects of an account given by the Scythians and the Greeks that have settlements down in the Scythian land, that once each year each of the Neurians becomes a wolf a few days and again back to the same state is reestablished. Now, although they give that account, they persuade me not, but they give the account nonetheless and even swear, when they give the account.

The Maneaters for their part have the most savage habits of all human beings, as they neither employ justice customarily nor use any law. Moreover, they are pastoral and they wear clothing similar to the Scythian, but have a peculiar tongue and eat human beings alone of those.

The Blackcloaks for their part all wear black garments, after which they have their appellations too, and use Scythian laws.

The Boudinians for their part, being a large and numerous nation, is all mightily blue-eyed and ruddy. And a city among them has been built, a wooden city, and the name of the city is Gelonus. Of its wall then in size each side is of thirty stades and high and all wooden. And their homes are wooden and their shrines. For indeed there is in the very place Greek gods’ shrines adorned in the Greek way with images, altars and wooden temples and for Dionysus festivals in a third year they celebrate and are Bacchantes, because the Gelonians are anciently Greeks and, having stood up from the marts, they settled among the Boudinians; further they use a tongue partly Scythian and partly Greek.

The Boudinians use not the same tongue as the Gelonians and there’s no same way of living; for the Boudinians, being autochthonous, are pastoral and eat lice alone of those there, and the Gelonians are earth’s workers, bread-eaters and possessors of gardens, in no respect similar in their appearance and their coloring. However, by the Greeks the Boudinians too are called Gelonians, although they are called not correctly. Moreover, their country in its entirety is wooded with forests of all kinds and in the greatest forest is a large and wide lake and a marsh and reed round it. In that then otters are taken and beavers as well as other beasts with square faces, whose skins along their jerkins are sewn, and their testicles are useful for wombs’ healing.

About the Sauromatians for their part an account is given this way: when the Greeks fought the Amazons (and the Scythians call the Amazons Oiorpata and that name means according to the Greek tongue mankillers; for they call a man oior and that pata is to kill), then there’s an account that the Greeks, having won in the fight on Thermodon, sailed away and led off with three boats all of the Amazons that they were able to take alive and they on the open sea made an attack and cut off the men. Yet they knew not boats and could not use rudders, sails and oarage, but when they had had cut off the men, they were borne according to wave and wind and came in the Maeetian lake to the Cliffs (and the Cliffs are in the land of the free Scythians). Thereupon, having stepped off the boats, the Amazons made their way to the settled land. Then, having met up with a herd of horses first, they seized that completely and, on those doing their horseriding, they plundered the things of the Scythians.

Now, the Scythians were not able to comprehend the matter; for neither speech nor clothing nor the nation did they know, but were in a state of marvel about whence they had gone and thought they were men who had their first youth; in short, they engaged in a fight indeed with them. Then after the fight the Scythians got mastery over the corpses and thus came to know that they were women. Hence, to them, when they were taking counsel, it seemed good no longer to kill them in any manner, but to send away their own youngest males to them, after they had made a multitude like precisely all that those females were, for those males to encamp near those females and to do too precisely whatever those did and, if they pursued them, to fight not, but to flee from under, and whenever they stopped, for them to go and encamp near. That counsel the Scythians took, because they wanted children to be born from those females.

So, sent away, the young men did what had been enjoined. And when the Amazons had come to learn that they had come for no harm, they let them be, and they appoached nearer, camp to camp, on each day. Further, the young men too had nothing, just as in fact the Amazons, except weapons and horses, but lived the same life as those, as they hunted and plundered.

Now, the Amazons at midday acted like this: they came to be dispersed by ones or twos, because they separated quite far from each other for easement. And having come to learn, the Scythians also did that same thing. And one male, when the females had been made alone, to one of them drew close and the Amazon would not perform a thrusting away from herself, but overlooked being used. And she was not able to speak, because they could not understand each other, but she with her hand pointed out that the morrow he should go to the same spot and bring another-by making an indication there should come to be two-and that she herself would bring another. Then the young man, when he had gone away, said that to those remaining and the next day that one himself went to the spot and brought another and he found the second Amazon herself was awaiting. So the remaining young men, when they had learned of that by inquiry, even themselves, tamed the remaining of the Amazons.

Then afterwards having joined their camps in intercourse, they settled together, each with that woman, with whom at the first he had been joined in intercourse. And, although the speech of the women the men were not able to come to learn, yet that of the men the women comprehended. So when they had come to understand each other, the men said to the the Amazons this: “Ours are parents and are possessions. Now therefore let us no longer more time have a way of living like this, but let us go away to our multitude and have our dwelling. And as wives we will have you and no others.” Then they thereupon said this: “We would not be able to settle with your women; for not the same customs are ours and theirs. We for our part shoot bows, throw javelins and ride horses and have not come to learn women’s works, while your women nothing of that that we have recounted do, but women’s work they work at, while they remain in their wagons, without going either to hunting or anyplace else. Therefore we would not be able have an agreement with those. But if you want as wives to have us and to be thought to be most just, go to your parents and get as your share your part of their possessions and thereafter let us go and settle by ourselves.”

The young men were persuaded of and did that. And when, having got as their share that of the possessions that fell to them, they had gone back to the Amazons, the women said to them this: “Of us has a hold a fear and a dread of how we must settle in this place, after on the one hand we have deprived you of fathers and on the other hand have harmed your land much. But since you think worthy to have us as wives, do this together with us: come, let us stand up out of this land and, having passed the Tanais river, let us settle.”

The young men were persuaded of that too. Then, having gone across the Tanais, they made their way toward the sun’s going up three days’ way from the Tanais and three’s from the Maeetian lake toward the north wind. Then, having come to that place, down in which now they have their settlements, they settled that. And as a way of life from that time the Sauromatians’ women use the ancient, as they go out constantly to hunting on horses, together with the men and apart from the men, go constantly to war and wear the same dress as the men.

And as a language the Sauromatians make use of the Scythian customarily, although they have been solecizing in it from the ancient time, since the Amazons came to its complete learning not well. And what’s concerning marriages this way by them is laid down: no maiden is married before she should kill a man among their enemies and some of them meet with their end aged, before they get married, because they are unable to fulfill the law.

Hence, to those nations recounted’s kings, when they were gathered, came the Scythians’ messengers and said in offering a complete teaching that the Persian, when by him all on the other mainland had been subjected, having thrown a bridge on the neck of the Bosporus, had gone across to this mainland and, having gone across and subjected the Thracians, he was bridging the river Ister, since he wanted to bring all this here too under himself. “You then do not in any manner, sitting down out of our midst, overlook our being destroyed, but with the same mind let us go in opposition to the incomer. You will not then do that? We for our part, being oppressed, either will abandon our country or, remaining, we will make use of an agreement. For what suffering are we to undergo, if you do not want to offer succour? Moreover, yours after that will be nothing lighter; for the Persian has come in no way at all against us rather than also against you and it will not suffice for him to subject us and keep himself away from you. And we will say to you a significant piece of evidence for these accounts of ours: if in fact the Persian were driving an army against us alone, because he wanted to carry out punishment for his former slavery, he would have to keep himself away from all the others and go thus against our land and would make clear to all that he is driving against the Scythians and not against all the others. But as it is, as soon as he had gone over to this mainland, he began taming all who on each and every occasion came to be at his feet. All the other Thracians indeed he has under himself and, in particular, the Getians who are our neighbors.”

The Scythians having announced that out, the kings who had come from the nations took counsel with themselves and their opinions were split. The Gelonian, the Boudinian and the Sauromatian, having come to be in the same way, promised to succour the Scythians, while the Agathyrsian, Neurian, Maneater and those of the Blackcloaks and Taurians this answer to the Scythians did give: “If you were not the ones who had previously acted unjustly against the Persians and begun war, in requesting that which now you are requesting you would appear to us to give correct accounts and we, heeding, would do the same as you. But as it is, you, having made an attack on their land without us, gained mastery over the Persians all the time that the god gave over to you, and those, since the same god stirs them up, give back the like to you. But we neither then did any injustice to those men at all nor now will earlier try to do injustice. However, if he goes also into our land and begins doing injustice, we also will not suffer it. Yet, until we should see that, we will remain in our own place; for we think the Persians have come not against us, but against those who proved the cause of the injustice.”

When the Scythians had learned by inquiry that that had been brought back, they took counsel to engage in no stand-up fight in the open, when indeed to them those at any rate as allies would not be added, but while they performed a going out secretly and performed a driving out secretly, to bring together heaps in the wells, by which they themselves went out, and in the springs and to rub out the grass from the earth, after they had divided themselves up in two, and that with one of the parts, of which Scopasis was king, the Sauromatians should join --those indeed should lead themselves slowly off, if to that part the Persian turned himself, and flee a little straight to the Tanais river alongside the Maeetian lake and, the Persian driving away, should go after and give pursuit (that for its part was for them one part of the kingdom and was appointed that very way that has been stated)-- and that two of the kingdom’s parts, the large one, of which Idanthyrsus was ruler, and the third, of which Taxakis was king, after they had gone together to the same spot and the Gelonians and the Boudinians had been added, those too, should keep a day’s way in front of the Persians and lead themselves away slowly by going off slowly and performing the counsels that had been taken, that, now, first they should lead themselves away slowly straight to the countries that had refused their alliance, that those too they might stir up to war, because, if they undertook not willingly at any rate the war against the Persians, yet unwillingly they should stir them up to war, and after that they should turn back to their own land and lay on hands, if indeed to them, when they were taking counsel, it seemed good.

Having taken that counsel, the Scythians went to meet Darius’ host, after as forerunners they had dispatched their horsemen’s best. And the wagons, in which their offspring dwelled as well as all their wives, and all their cattle, except all that was sufficient for their food, because they had left behind so many, all the other together with the wagons, they sent forth, when they had given the injunction to drive on each and every occasion over what’s toward the north.

That indeed was conveyed forth and the Scythians’ forerunners, when they had found the Persians were approximately three days’ way distant from the Ister, those, having found those, keeping a day’s way in front, encamped and ground up what was being grown from the earth. Then the Persians, when they had seen that there had appeared forth the Scythians’ horse, went out on the track of those as they on each and every occasion led themselves secretly off. And thereafter (for they went straight to one of the parts) the Persians pursued toward the east and the Tanais. So, when those had gone across the Tanais river, the Persians went across after and were giving pursuit, until they went out through the Sauromatians’ country and came to the Boudinians’.

Indeed all the time that the Persians went through the Scythian and the Sauromatian country, they then were able to do no harm, seeing that the country was barren, but when they made an invasion into the Boudinians’ country, then indeed they, having come upon the wooden wall, when the Boudinians had performed an abandonment and the wall had been emptied of everything, burned it down. Further, having done that, they followed on each and every occasion farther on the track, until they, having gone out through that land there, came to the desert. And that desert is inhabited by no men and lies above the Boudinians’ country; it is in breadth of seven days’ way. And above the desert the Thyssagetians settle and four large rivers flow from them through the Maeetians and disembogues into the lake called Maeetian, to which as names are given these: Lycus, Oarus, Tanais and Syrgis.

Hence, when Darius had gone to the desert, he ceased from his running and seated his host on the river Oarus. Then, having done that, he began building a walling of eight large walls that were equally distant from each other, somewhere pretty near about sixty stades, whose ruins still to my time had been preserved. And while that one had turned himself to that, the Scythians that were being pursued, having gone round the parts inland, turned back to the Scythian land. So, after those had been made to disappear entirely, when no longer they appeared to them, thus indeed Darius let go of those walls half-worked and himself, having turned back, went to the west, since he thought those were all the Scythians and to the west they were fleeing.

Then in driving the quickest way the army, when he had come to the Scythian land, he met with both parts of the Scythians and, having come upon them, he pursued them as they kept ahead a day’s way. And because Darius would not let go of going after, the Scythians in accordance with the counsels that had been taken fled a little to those who had refused their alliance’s and first to the Blackcloaks’ land. So, when in making their invasion the Scythians and the Persians had disturbed those, the Scythians performed a leading down into the Maneaters’ places and, when those had been disturbed too, they led themselves in retreat to the Neurian land and, when those too were being disturbed, the Scythians went and fled a little to the Agathyrsians. But the Agathyrsians, seeing that both their neighbors were fleeing at the hands of the Scythians and were disturbed, before the Scythians should make an invasion of them, sent a herald and forbade the Scythians to set foot on their borders by proclaiming that, if they would make trial by invading, with them they would first fight to the end. The Agathyrsians, having proclaimed that, came to the rescue to their borders, since they had in mind to check those who were trying to go within, but the Blackcloaks, the Maneaters and the Neurians, when the Persians had made an invasion together with the Scythians, both turned not to valor and, having forgotten their threat, they fled on each and every occasion over what’s to the north to the desert, since they had been disturbed. So the Scythians against the Agathyrsians, because they had spoken their forbidding, no longer came, but they from the Neurian country to their own led down the Persians.

Now, when that proved prevalent and was not stopping, Darius sent a horseman to the Scythians’ king, Idanthyrsus, and said this: “Divine among men, why do you flee on each and every occasion, it being permitted to you to do the other of these matters here? For if you seem to yourself to be sufficient to oppose my affairs, then, after you have come to a stand and ceased from wandering, fight, but if you admit for yourself that you are weaker, then, also after you have ceased from running thus, with earth and water as gifts for your master come to speeches.”

Thereupon the Scythians’ king, Idanthyrsus. said this: “Thus my way is, o Persian: I not yet in fear of any among human beings fled neither previously nor now you am I fleeing and of nothing newer am I the doer than also in peace I was wont to do. And why not immediately am I fighting with you, I that too will indicate; ours are neither towns nor planted land, concerning which, in fear lest they be taken or it be cut down, more quickly with you we would join for battle. But if by all means you should have to come to that with speed, in fact ours are our fathers’ graves. Come, find out and try to confound them and you will know then whether we will fight with you about the graves or maybe will not fight, but earlier, unless a reason takes hold of us, we will not join battle with you. About fighting let so much be said and as to my masters I consider Zeus, my ancestor, and Istia, the Scythians’ queen, to be my only. So to you instead of earth and water as gifts I will send gifts like those that it is fitting to come to you and instead of that which you asserted, that you are my master, that you should weep I say.” That was the statement from the Scythians.

The herald indeed was gone to announce that to Darius, but the Scythians’ kings, having heard slavery’s name, were filled with anger. Indeed the part that had been stationed with the Sauromatians, of which Scopasis was the ruler, they sent and bade come to speeches with the Ionians, those who were guarding the bridging of the Ister, and to those of them who were being left behind it seemed good to make the Persians wander no longer, but on each occasion when they were taking up pieces of food, to attack them. Hence, when they were observing that Darius’ men were taking up pieces of food, they performed the counsels that had been taken. Indeed the horse of the Scythians routed their horse on each and every occasion and the Persians’ horsemen in fleeing fell on the foot and their foot would come to their aid, while the Scythians, having forced in their horse, turned back, because they feared their foot. And the Scythians also during the nights performed similar assaults.

Now, what was allied to the Persians and opposed to the Scythians, when they were attacking Darius’ camp, a very great marvel, I will say, the asses’ voice and the mules’ looks. For neither ass nor mule does the Scythian land produce, as has been made clear by me also previously, and there is not in all the Scythian country entirely either ass or mule on account of the cold spells. Hence, by behaving insolently the asses were disturbing the horse of the Scythians and often, in the midst of their driving against the Persians, whenever the horse heard the asses’ voice, they were disturbed and were turned back, and were in a state of marvel and stood their ears upright, seeing that they had neither heard a voice like that previously nor seen looks. Now, that prize during a short space of the war men were winning.

Now, the Scythians, whenever they saw there Persians were alarmed, that they might remain near for a longer time in the Scythian land and by remaining near be distressed, because they were in need of everything, acted like this: whenever some of their own cattle they left behind with the herdsmen, they drove out secretly to another place and the Persians, having gone in, took the cattle and, having taken them, were encouraged by what had been done.

So, when it happened like that often, finally Darius was held in the grip of difficulties and the Scythians’ kings, having learned that, sent a herald with gifts for Darius: a bird, a mouse, a frog and five arrows. And the Persians asked the bringer of the gifts about the meaning of what was being offered and he asserted that no other injunction had been enjoined on him than to give the gift and depart the quickest way and he bade the Persians themselves, if they were wise, to come to know what the gifts meant to say. Having heard that, the Persians took counsel.

Now, Darius’ opinion was that the Scythians were offering themselves to him as well as earth and water, because with the use of likenesses he thought this way, that a mouse is born on earth and feeds on the same fruit as a human being, a frog is in water, a bird most resembles a horse, and they gave over the arrows as their valor. That opinion was shown forth by Darius, but at odds with that opinion was that of Gobryes,one of the seven men who had taken down the Magus, who with the use of likenesses thought about the gifts, that said: “Unless you become birds and fly up to the sky, o Persians, or become mice and sink down under the earth or become frogs and leap into the lakes, you will not return back round when you are shot by these arrows.”

The Persian indeed with the use of likenesses thought about the gifts, while the one part of the Scythians that had been appointed previously to keep guard alongside the Maeetian lake, but then to go to the Ister to speeches with the Ionians, when they had come to the bridge, said this: “Ionian men, freedom for you we have come with, if in fact at least you are willing to listen. For we have learned by inquiry that Darius has enjoined on you sixty days only to guard the bridge and, if he does not come to be present in that time, to depart to your land. Therefore now by doing this you will be outside of blame on his part and outside it on ours: after the proposed days you have remained by, from that point on depart.” Now, those, when the Ionians had promised they would do that, hurried back the quickest way.

But against the Persians after the gifts’ having gone to Darius were arrayed the Scythians who had been left behind with foot and horses with the intention that they would give battle. Then for the Scythian in their array a hare into the space between darted across and, when each group of them was seeing the hare, they gave pursuit. So, the Scythians disturbed and making use of shouting, Darius asked about his opponents in war’s commotion and, having learned by inquiry they were pursuing the hare, he said now to the very ones that he was wont to speak everything else also: “Those men think very slightly of us and to me now Gobryes appears to have spoken about the Scythian gifts correctly. On the ground therefore that by now they are thought to myself too to be thus, there is need of good deliberation on how there will be the way of being conveyed safely for us the distance back.” Thereupon Gobryes said, “O king, although I almost knew by word of mouth too those men’s unapproachability, yet having gone, I came to learn it more thoroughly, when I saw they were mocking at us. Therefore now it seems good to me, as soon as whenever night comes on, after we have enkindled fires as we are wont to do also at other times, once we have utterly deceived those of our soldiers most lacking in strength for hardships and tied down all the asses, to depart, before maybe the Scythians should go straight to the Ister to break up the bridge or maybe something should seem good to the Ionians which will be able to work us mortally.” Gobryes advised that and afterward night came about and Darius made use of that advice; the worn out among the men, those of whom would be the least account, if they were perishing, and all the asses, after he had performed a tying down, he left behind there in the very place, in the camp, and he left behind the asses and those of the host lacking in strength for these reasons, that the asses might furnish from themselves a shout, while the human beings were left behind because of lack of strength and this pretext quite obviously, that he himself with the sound part of the army might be to attack the Scythians and those might guard the camp during that time. Darius, having suggested that to those who were being left behind and enkindled fires, the quickest way hurried to the Ister. Then the asses, having been deserted by the crowd, thus indeed far more uttered from their voice and the Scythians, having heard the asses, wholly supposed that the Persians were in place.

Now, when it had come to be day, those left behind, having come to know that they had been betrayed by Darius, stretched forth for themselves their hands to the Scythians and spoke of the present situation, and they, when they had heard that, having been joined together the quickest way, the two parts of the Scythians, the part with the Sauromatians, the Boudinians and the Gelonians, pursued the Persians straight to the Ister. So seeing that the greater part of the Persian army was foot and knew not the ways, on the ground that ways were not cut, and the Scythian was a horseman and knew the short cuts of the way, they missed each other and the Scythian were far before the Persians in coming to the bridge. And having come to learn that the Persians had not yet come, they said to the Ionians who were in their ships: “Ionian men, the days for you have gone by the number and you are not doing just acts by still remaining near. But since you were remaining previously because you were afraid, now break the passage the quickest way and go away with impunity free with an acknowledgement of gratitude to the gods and the Scythians, and the one who was previously your master we will set by for ourselves so as for him to advance with an army no longer against any human beings.”

Thereupon the Ionians took counsel. Of Miltiades the Athenian, being general and tyrant of the Chersonesitians on the Hellespont, the opinion was to be persuaded by the Scythians and to liberate Ionia and of Histiaeus the Milesian the opposite to that, as he said that now on account of Darius each of them was tyrant of a city and, if Darius’ power were taken down, neither he himself would be able to rule the Milesians nor anyone any; for each of the cities would want to be governed by the people rather than to be governed by a tyrant. So, when Istiaeus was showing forth that as an opinion, immediately all were turning themselves to that opinion, although previously they were choosing that of Miltiades.

Those who cast their pebble differently and were of account in the king’s eyes were on the one hand tyrants of the Hellespontians, Daphnis the Abydian, Hippoclus the Lampsacian, Herophantus the Parian, Metrodorus the Proconnesian, Aristagores the Cyzician and Ariston the Byzantian; those on the one hand were those from the Hellespont and from Ionia on the other hand were Strattis the Chian, Aeaces the Phocaeian and Histiaeus the Milesian, whose was the judgement that was proposed as opposite to that of Miltiades. And of the Aeolians was present worth mentioning only Aristagores the Cymian.

As to those then, when they were choosing the judgement of Histiaeus, it seemed good to them to that to add these deeds and words: a breaking of the parts of the bridge that were near the Scythians and a breaking over as much distance as an arrow reaches, that both they might seem to do something, although they did nothing, and the Scythians might not attempt by using force to go across the Ister along the bridge, and a saying, when they were breaking the part of the bridge that extended to the Scythian land, that they would do everything that was in pleasure’s place for the Scythians. That they added to the judgement and afterwards out of all answered Histiaeus by saying this: “Scythian men, you have come with good things and at the right time hurry. Both what’s from you for us is led out as a way well and what’s from us to you is being performed as a service suitably. For, as you see, we both are breaking the passage and will have every kind of eagerness, since we wish to be free. And while we are breaking this, for you it is the right time to look for those and, when you have found them, on behalf of us and yourselves to punish thus as it is fitting those.”

The Scythians, having put their trust for the second time in the Ionians to give true accounts, turned back to seeking the Persians and missed their going through and out. And the Scythians were the cause of that, because they had destroyed the pasturages of the horse there and brought together heaps in the waters. For if they had not done that, it would have been possible, if they had wanted, easily to discover the Persians. But as it was, because of that counsel that seemed to them to have been taken best they were tripped up. Now, the Scythians the land there in their own country, where was fodder for their horses and waters, went through and out and looked for their opponents in war, because they thought those too through parts like that were fleeing in their flight, but indeed the Persians over their track that had been made previously, as they were keeping to that, went and thus with difficulty found the passage. And seeing that they had come at night and arrived at the bridge, when it had been broken, they came to every kind of fear lest the Ionians had abandoned them.

Now, there was round Darius an Egyptian man with the loudest voice among human beings; that man stand down on the lip of the Ister Darius bade and call Histiaeus the Milesian. He indeed did that and Histiaeus, having given a hearing to the first bidding, furnished all the ships together to ferry across the host and threw the bridge.

Now then, the Persians thus fled off and the Scythians looked for and, also for the second time, missed the Persians, and on the one hand, on the ground that the Ionians were free, judged them to be the worst and most unmanly of all human beings together and, on the other hand, on the ground that they were presenting an account of the Ionians as slaves, asserted they were servants master-loving and undisposed to fleeing most.

Those insults indeed by the Scythians onto the Ionians were cast off and Darius, making his way through Thrace, came to Sestus on the Chersonesus. Then thence he himself went through with his ships to Asia and left as general in Europe Megabazus, a Persian man, to whom Darius once had given an honor, when he had said a saying like this among the Persians: when Darius was set off to eat pomegranates, as soon as he had opened the first of the pomegranates, his brother asked him what he would want his to become so great in multitude as seeds in the pomegranate, and Darius said that Megabazuses so many in number his to become he would want rather than Greece a subject. Indeed among the Persians by saying that he honored him and at that time him he left behind as general with eight myriads of his host.
 
Installment 25               
 That Megabazus, having said this following saying, left for himself a deathless remembrance on the Hellespontians’ part; for having come to be in Byzantium, he learned by inquiry that seventeen years earlier than the Byzantines the Calchedonians had founded their country and, having learned by inquiry, he asserted that the Calchedonians during that time in fact had been blind, because, the more beautiful place having been available to found, they would not have chosen the uglier, if they had not been blind. That Megabazus at that time it was indeed then, who, left as a general in the country of Hellespontians, was subjecting those who were not medizing.

Now, that one was doing that and during the same time was being made against Libya another large expedition of a host, on account of a cause that I for my part will relate forth, after I have made thoroughly earlier the following relation: those who had embarked on the Argo’s children’s children, driven out by the Pelasgians who from Brauron had carried off as booty the Athenians’ women, by those driven out from Lemnos, were gone sailing to Lacedaemon and, sitting on Teugetum, they enkindled a fire. Then the Lacedaemonians, having seen, sent a messenger to learn by inquiry who and whence they were, and they to the messenger, when he was asking, said that they were Minyae, were children of the heroes who had sailed on the Argo and those, after they had touched at Lemnos, had begotten them. So the Lacedaemonians, having heard the account of the generation of the Minyae, sent for the second time and asked wishing what they had come to their country and enkindled a fire, and they asserted that, thrown out by the Pelasgians, they had come to their fathers, because it was most just that that was done thus, and that they requested to settle with those, while they had a share of a portion of honors and had received a part of the land by lot. And the Lacedaemonians it pleased to receive the Minyae on the conditions, on which they themselves wished, and most the sailing of Tyndaridae on the Argo induced them so as for them to do that. Then having received the Minyae, they gave them a share of land and distributed them into tribes, and they immediately married in marriages and the women whom they had brought with themselves from Lemnos they gave away to others.

But, not much time having gone by, immediately the Minyae acted very insolently by demanding a share of the kingdom and doing other not holy acts. Therefore to the Lacedaemonians it seemed good to kill them and they seized and threw them down into prison. Now, the Lacedaemononians kill whomever they kill at night, but in the day no one. Therefore when they were to use them mortally, the wives of the Minyae, being townspeople and the first Spartiates’ daughters, begged to go within, into the prison, and into speeches to go, each with her own husband, and they let them go, because they thought there would be no treachery from them. Then the women, when they had gone in, acted like this: all the clothing they had they gave over to their husbands and they themselves took hold of that of their husbands. So the Minyae, having put on the women’s clothing, as if women, went out outside and, having fled away in a manner like that, they sat in Teugetum.

Now, during that same time, Theras, the son of Autesion, the son of Teisamenus, the son of Thersander, the son of Polynices, was dispatching people for a colony from Lacedaemon. And that Theras was, being in birth a Cadmeian, the mother’s brother to Aristodemus’ sons, Eurysthenes and Procles, and, while those sons were still infants, Theras held the kingdom in Sparta as given to his guardianship, but when his nephews had grown up and taken over the rule, thus indeed Theras, considering awful to be ruled by others, when he had tasted of rule, asserted that he would not stay in Lacedaemon, but would sail away to his kin. Now, there were on the island now called Thera and that same previously Calliste, descendants of Membliareus, the son of Poeciles, a Phoenician man. For Cadmus, the son of Agenor, in looking for Europe, touched at the land now called Thera and, when he had touched, either probably the country pleased him or maybe for another reason he wished to do that following action; for he left down on that island others of the Phoenicians and, in particular, of his own kin, Membliareus. Those inhabited the land called Calliste for eight generations of men before Theras went from Lacedaemon.

Those it was indeed then, to whom Theras with a folk from the tribes dispatched to settle with those and in no way to drive them out; rather he was claiming them as his own. So when also the Minyae, having run away from the prison, were sitting in Teugetum, the Lacedaemonians wanting to destroy them, Theras both brought about a begging off, that killing might not be performed, and himself promised to lead them out of the country. Then the Lacedaemonians having agreed to his opinion, with three thirty-oared ships to Membliareus’ descendants he sailed and in no way led all the Minyae but some few. For the greater number of them turned to the Paroreatians and the Cauconians and, having driven those out of the country, they divided up themselves into six parts and thereafter founded these cities among them: Lepreum, Macistus, Phrixae, Pyrgus, Epium, Noudium. And of those the greater number in my time the Eleans plundered. And the island’s appellation was made after its settler, Theras.

Now, because his son asserted he would not sail with him, therefore he asserted he would leave him as an oin en lykoisi, a sheep among wolves; after that saying the name of the young man become Oiolykus and somehow that name prevailed. Then to Oiolykus was born Aegeus, after whom the Aegeidae are called, a large tribe in Sparta. And because the men in that tribe’s offspring persisted not, they set up on the basis of a divine message a shrine of the Erinyes of Laius and Oedipus, and after that that same thing persisted also in Thera for those born to those men there.

Now, up to that account the Lacedaemonians give an account after the same fashion as the Theraeans, but from that point on only the Theraeans give an account that it happened thus: Grinnus, the son of Aesanius, being a descendent of that Theras and being king of Thera the island, came to Delphi and brought from his city a hecatomb. And there followed him both others of his fellow-citizens and, in particular, Battus, the son of Polymnestus, being in birth a Euphemid of the Minyae. Then to Grinnus the king of the Theraeans who was consulting the oracle about other matters Pythia proclaimed that he should found a city in Libya. And he replied by saying, “I for my part, o lord, am too old by now and heavy to raise myself; bid you then one of these younger men do that”. At the same time he said that and pointed to Battus. Then so much, but afterwards having gone away, they maintained a lack of taking account of the oracle, because they neither knew Libya, where on earth it was, nor dared to an obscure matter to dispatch off a colony.

So for seven years after that it would not rain on Thera, in which all the trees on the island for them, except one, were dried up. Then to the Theraeans, when they were consulting the oracle, Pythia brought forth the colony to Libya. So since there was no remedy for them for the ill, they sent to Crete messengers who were looking for whether any of the Cretans or metics had come to Libya. And wandering round it, those came also to Italus, a city, and in that land they communed with a fisherman for purple, whose name was Corobius, who asserted that, carried off by winds, he came to Libya and in Libya to Platea, an island. Then with a fee they persuaded and brought that one to Thera and from Thera sailed men, spies, at the first not many. So when Corobius had performed the leading down to that very island, Platea, they left Corobius and left behind near food for so and so many months and they themselves sailed the quickest way to make an announcement back to the Theraeans about the island.

Now, when those were abroad a longer time than the agreed on, everything failed Corobius and afterwards a Samian ship, the captain of which ship was Colaeus, while it was sailing to Egypt, was carried away to that Platea. Then the Samians, having learned by inquiry from Corobius the whole account, left behind for him foods for a year and they themselves, brought out from the island and striving for Egypt, sailed and were carried away by an eastern wind and, because the wind would not let up, they passed out through the Pillars of Heracles and came to Tartessus, persons divinely sent. And that mart was untapped during that time so that those, having returned back from it, had quite the greatest profits from wares of all the Greeks, of whom we have knowledge for a certainty, at least after Sostratus, the son of Laodamas, an Aeginetan; for with that one it is not possible for another to contend. So the Samians, having removed the tithe of the profits, six talents, had made for themselves a bronze vessel in the manner of an Argolic bowl and round it were griffins’ heads ranged in rows. Then they made a dedication in the temple of Hera and set under it three bronze colossuses seven cubits tall supported by their knees. Hence for the Cyrenians and Theraeans towards the Samians from that deed first great friendships were cemented.

Now, the Theraeans, when they had left Corobius on the island and come to Thera, announced back that by them an island had been founded off Libya. So it pleased the Theraeans to send a brother from a brother, when he had obtained the thing as his portion by lot, and from all their places together, which were seven, men, and to be of them both leader and king Battus. Thus indeed they dispatched two penteconters to Platea.

The Theraeans then give that account and in the remaining parts of the account by now the Theraeans agree with the Cyrenians. For the Cyrenians in repect to the matters concerning Battus in no way give an account similar to the Theraeans. For they give an account thus; there is in Crete Oaxus, a city, in which Etearchus became king, who in charge of a motherless daughter, whose name was Phronime, in charge of that one, married another woman. And she went in afterwards and thought just also in deed to be a step-mother by furnishing evils and contriving everything against her and finally she imputed lechery to her and persuaded her husband that that was thus. Then he, convinced by his wife, contrived a deed not holy against his daughter. For indeed there was a Themison, a Theraean man, a merchant, in Oaxus; that one Etearchus took over for entertainments and made swear that yea verily he would do whatever service he requested. When indeed he had made him swear, he led out and gave over his own daughter to him and he bade throw that one down into the sea, after he had led her away. But Themison, having become incensed at the deceit of the oath and broken off his foreign friendship, acted like this: he took over the child and sailed off and, when he was coming to be in the open sea, by way of fulfilling as a sacred duty the oath exacted by Etearchus, with ropes he bound thoroughly and let her down into the open sea; then, having drawn her up, he came to Thera.

So thereafter, having taken up Phronime, Polymnestus, being an esteemed man among the Theraeans, kept her as a concubine. Then, time going round, there was born out to him a son hesitant in speech and lisping, to whom as a name was given Battus, as the Theraeans and Cyrenians say, but, as I say, some other, and Battus he was renamed, when he had come to Libya, since because of the oracle given in Delphi and because of the honor that he had gotten hold of he had taken his appellation; for the Libyans call a king battus and because of that I think that, prophesying, Pythia called him it in the Libyan tongue, since she knew that he would be king in Libya. For when that one had become a man, he went to Delphi about his voice and to him, when he was speaking his question, Pythia proclaimed this:

Battus, you came for voice; Lord Phoebus Apollo
To sheep-rearing Libya sends you a founder.

just as if she should say with the use of the Greek tongue, “O basileu (king), you came for voice”. And he replied with this: “O lord, I came to you to consult the oracle about my voice and you make me other proclamations of impossible things, as you bid colonize Libya. With what power? With what kind of band?”. Although he said that, he could not persuade him to make him other proclamations and, when she was prophesying after the same fashion as previously, Battus left her behind in the midst and was gone to Thera.

But afterwards for that one himself and all the other Theraeans things came out adversely and, being ignorant about their misfortunes, the Theraeans sent to Delphi about their present ills. Then Pythia proclaimed to them, if they joined with Battus in founding Cyrene in Libya, they would fare better. TheTheraeans dispatched off after that Battus with two penteconters. And those, having sailed to Libya, because they knew not what else they were to do, departed back to Thera, and the Theraeans were throwing missiles at them as they were led down and would not let them touch at the land, but bade sail back. So they, compelled, sailed off back and founded an island that lies off Libya, whose name, as was said previously too, was Platea and the island is said to be equal to the city of the Cyrenians now.

Settling on that two years, because nothing came out good for them, they left behind one of them and all the remaining sailed off to Delphi; then having come to the oracle, with the oracle they consulted, as they asserted for themselves that they settled on Libya and fared in no way better, although they settled. So Pythia thereupon proclaimed to them this:

If you than I sheep-rearing Libya know better,
Who went not than who went, much I awe your wisdom.

And having heard that, Battus and those in his circle sailed off back; for indeed the god would not let them go away from the colonization at all before they should come to Libya itself. Then having come to the island and taken up whom they had left, they founded in Libya itself a place opposite the island, whose name was Aziris, that the most beautiful glades on both sides surround, and a river flows by its places on one side.

That place they settled six years and the seventh year the Libyans begged them off by saying that they would lead them to a better place and convinced them to make an abandonment. Then the Libyans brought them thence, after they had made them stand up to the west, and the most beautiful of the places, that in their going through and out the Greeks might not get a look, by measuring out the hour of the day, at night they brought them by. And that place’s name is Irasa. So having brought them to a spring that was said to be Apollo’s, they said, “Greek men, here it’s suitable for you to settle; for here the sky is pierced”.

Now, in the time of Battus the founder’s life, who ruled for forty years, and of his son Arcesileus’, who ruled sixteen years, the Cyrenians, being so many as in the beginning were dispatched to the colony, were settlers, but in the time of the third, Battus who was called “the Happy”, Pythia urged all Greeks by proclamation to sail to join with the Cyrenians in settling Libya; for the Cyrenians were inviting them with a view to a redistributing of land. And she made a proclamation that was thus:

Whoever goes to much-loved Libya later than
Land’s giving, I say one day it will repent him.

So, when a large crowd had gathered together at Cyrene, the Libyans settled round, having had many a land of theirs cut off all round, and their king, whose name was Adicran, seeing that they were deprived of their country and treated very insolently by the Cyrenians, sent to Egypt and gave themselves to Apries, Egypt’s king. Then he gathered together a large army of Egyptians and sent to Cyrene, and the Cyrenians, having advanced out with an army to Irasa, a place, and up to the Theste spring, gave battle to the Egyptians and won in the battle. For seeing that the Egyptians had not previously made trial of the Greeks and were despising them, they were so destroyed that some few of them returned back to Egypt. In revenge for that and finding that fault with Apries, the Egyptians stood apart from him.

Then to that Battus a son was born, Arcesileus, who, when he had become king, first was factious with his own brothers, until those left him behind and were gone to another place in Libya and, having cast it on themselves, founded that city that then was and now is called Barce. And at the same time as they were founding it, they made the Libyans stand up from the Cyrenians. So afterwards Arcesileus against those of the Libyans who were receiving them and those same who had stood apart advanced with an army, and the Libyans in fear of him were gone fleeing to the eastern of the Libyans, while Arcesileus followed them as they fled, until in Leucon in Libya he was coming to be in his pursuing after and it seemed good to the Libyans to make an attack on him. Then having given battle, they prevailed over the Cyrenians so greatly as for seven thousand hoplites among the Cyrenians to fall there and after that blow, when Arcesileus was ill and had drunk a drug, his brother Learchus strangled him, and the wife of Arcesileus killed Learchus with treachery, whose name was Eryxo.

Now, the kingdom of Arcesileus Battus his son inherited, who was lame and not sound of foot. And the Cyrenians in regard to the misfortune that had befallen sent to Delphi to ask having established for themselves what manner would they settle most beautifully and Pythia bade that from Mantinea among the Arcadians they should bring for themselves a mediator. Hence the Cyrenians made the request and the Mantinians gave the most esteemed man among their townsmen, whose name was Demonax. That man, having come to Cyrene and learned each of the details, on the one hand made them three-tribed by setting them out in this way --of the Theraeans and those settled round he made one part, another of the Peloponnesians and Cretans and a third of all islanders-- and on the other hand having removed precincts and priesthoods for Battus, everything else that the kings had had previously he put into the midst of the people.

Indeed in the time of that Battus things continued to be thus, but in the time of the son of that one, Arcesileus, much disturbance came about concerning the honors. For Arcesileus, the son of the lame Battus and Pheretime, asserted that he would not hold up according as Demonax the Mantinian had made appointments, but he demanded back his ancestors’ honors. Thereafter being factious, he was worsted and fled to Samos, and his mother fled to Salamis in Cyprus. Now, of Salamis during that time Euelthon was master, who dedicated the censer at Delphi, which is worth beholding, that is situated in the Corinthians’ treasury, and Pheretime, having come to that one, asked for a host that would bring them back down to Cyrene. So Euelthon was offering her everything rather than a host and she, taking what was being offered, asserted this also was beautiful, but more beautiful was that giving to her at her asking a host. Because she said that in the case of everything that was offered, in the end Euelthon sent away to her a golden spindle and distaff, and wool too was attached, and when Pheretime again had said about it the same saying, Euelthon asserted that women were presented with things like that, but not with a host.

Then Arcesileus, being during that time in Samos, gathered together every man for a redistribution of land and, while a large army was being collected, Arcesileus was dispatched to Delphi to consult the oracle about his going back down. And Pythia proclaimed to him this: “For the time of four Battuses and four Arcesileuses, eight generations of men, Loxies grants you to be king of Cyrene; however, more than that he advises not even to attempt. But be at peace and go back down to your own land. And if you find the oven full of amphorae, bake not the amphorae completely, but keep sending them away with a fair wind and, if you will bake the oven completely, go not to the land surrounded by water and, if not, you will die, both yourself and the bull that is most beautiful”.

That Pythia proclaimed to Arcesileus. Then having taken over those from Samos, he went back down to Cyrene and, having gained mastery over its affairs, he remembered not the prophecy, but he demanded acts of justices against the men of the opposite faction for his exile. So some of them departed from the country entirely and some others Arcesileus worsted and dispatched off to Cyprus for destruction. Now, the Cnidians, when those had been borne off to their land, rescued and dispatched them to Thera and some others of the Cyrenians, when they had fled down to a large private tower of Aglomachus, Arcesleus heaped wood round and burnt up. And having come to learn after things had been worked out that that was the prophecy, the fact that Pythia would not allow him, if he found the amphorae in the oven, to bake them completely, he willingly kept away from the Cyrenians’ city, because he feared the death given in the oracle and thought Cyrene was the land surrounded by water. And he had as a wife a kin of his and a daughter of the Barcians’ king, whose name was Alazeir; to that one he came and him Barcian men and some of the exiles from Cyrene, when they had learned completely that he was in the public square, killed and in addition his father-in-law Alazeir too. Now, Arcesileus either willingly or unwillingly missed the meaning of the oracle and fulfilled his portion.

Now, his mother, Pheretime, as long as Arcesileus was dwelling in Barce and had worked out evil for himself, she then herself had her son’s honors in Cyrene as she was both possessing all else and sitting by in council, but when she had come to learn that her son had died in Barce, she was gone in flight to Egypt; for there existed the benefactions done by Arcesileus for Cambyses, the son of Cyrus, as Arcesileus was that one who had given Cyrene to Cambyses and undertaken to pay tribute. So having come to Egypt, Pheretime sat a suppliant of Aryandes and bade him to succour her, as she put forward as a pretext that her son on account of his medizing had died.

That Aryandes was the subordinate ruler of Egypt established by Cambyses, who a time later than that in trying to make himself equal to Darius was destroyed. For having learned by inquiry and seen Darius was desiring to leave for himself as memorial of himself that which had not been worked out by another king, he imitated that one, until he took hold of his fee. For Darius, having boiled off the purest gold to the greatest degree possible, struck for himself coin, and Aryandes, ruler of Egypt, made silver that same and now the Aryandic is the purest silver. Then Darius, having come to know that he was doing that, imputed to him another charge, that he was standing up against him, and killed him.

But at that time that Aryandes, having taken pity on Pheretime, gave her the whole army of Egypt, both the foot and the naval, and as general, of the foot he showed forth Amasis, a Maraphian man, and of the naval Badres, who was a Pasargadian in birth. Then before he dispatched the host, Aryandes sent to Barce a herald and inquired who was the killer of Arcesileus, and the Barcians themselves made admission all; for they had suffered many evils at his hand. So having learned that by inquiry, Aryandes thus indeed dispatched off the host together with Pheretime. Now, that proved the alleged cause, the pretext of the account, but the host was sent, so far as it seems to me, for the Libyans’ subjecting. For indeed among the Libyans are many nations and of all kinds and, although the few of them were the king’s subjects, yet the greater number took no thought of Darius.




Now, the Libyans settle after this fashion: beginning from Egypt, the Adyrmachidians are the first of the Libyans to have settlements down, who use Egyptian laws in respect to the greater number of matters and wear the clothing like this very that all the other Libyans, and their women wear a bronze bangle round each of their shins and grow their hair long on their heads and the lice, whenever each takes hold of her own, she bites back and thus casts away. Those then are the only ones of the Libyans to do that and to the king they are the only ones to display the maidens when they are to cohabit, and she whoever proves pleasing to the king is deprived of her maidenhood by that one. And those Adyrmachidians extend from Egypt to the harbor, whose name is Plynus.

Then next to them are the Giligamians, who inhabit what’s to the west, the country up to the island of Aphrodisias and in that place between the island of Platea lies offshore, that the Cyrenians founded, and on the mainland is the harbor Menelaus, and Aziris, which the Cyrenians settled. Also the silphium begins from that spot and there extends from the island of Platea up to the mouth of the Syrtis the silphium. And those use laws pretty near to the others’.

Then next to the Giligamians are in what’s to the west the Asbystians; those settle inland of Cyrene. And the Abystians extend not down to the sea; for the Cyrenians inhabit what’s along the sea. Further, they are drivers of four-horse chariots not least, but most among the Libyans, and they seek to imitate the greater number of the laws of the Cyrenians.

Then next to the Asbystians are in what’s to the west the Auschisians; those settle inland of Barce and extend down to the sea at Euhesperidae. And at the Auschisians’ country’s middle settle Bacalians, a little nation, and they extend down to the sea at Tauxeira, a city of the Barcian country; they then use the same laws as those that those inland of Cyrene also do.

Then next to those, the Auschisians, in what’s to the west are the Nasamonians, being a large nation, who during the summer leave their cattle by the sea and go up to Augila, a place, and gather fruit off the palm-trees; they then are grown many and large, all being fruit-bearing. Further, the locusts, whenever they hunt them, having dried them in the sun, they grind down and thereafter, sprinkling them into milk, they drink. Moreover, they are accustomed to have many wives and they each have intercourse with them promiscuously in a manner pretty near to that in which the Massagetians do; whenever they set up in front a staff, they have intercourse. Also first, when a Nasamonian man marries, it is the law for the bride on the first night to go out through all the banqueters and have intercourse; then, when each of them has had intercourse with her, he offers whatever gift he has and was bringing with himself from his house. And they use oaths and a way of prophesying like this: they swear by those said to have proven most just and best, by those, by laying hands on their tombs, and prophesy by going to their ancestors’ graves and, having prayed, they lie down on them; then whatever dream in one’s vision one sees, one uses that. And they use pledges like this: from one’s hand one makes an offer of drink and oneself from the other’s drinks and, if they have nothing moist, they then take of the dust from the ground and lick.

Then bordering on the Nasamonians are the Psyllians. Those have perished utterly in a manner like this: the south wind for them by blowing dried up their reservoirs of water, and all their country for them, being within the region of the Syrtis, was waterless; then they took counsel with common consent and advanced with an army to the south (I say that which the Libyans say) and, when they were coming to be in the sand, the south wind blew and covered them over with a heap. And since those perished utterly, the Nasamonians have their country.

Then inland of those toward the south wind in the beast-filled place settle the Garamantians, who flee from every man and everyone’s company and neither possess any martial weapon nor know how to defend themselves.

Those indeed settle inland of the Nasamonians and in what’s along the sea to the west the Macians are next, who shave themselves crests by letting the middle part of their hairs go to grow and shaving the parts on one side and on the other side at the skin and for war hides of sparrows of the ground they wear as shields. And through them the Cinyps river flows from the hill that is spoken of as of the Graces and disembogues into the sea and that hill of the Graces is wooded with trees, the rest of the Libya described previously being bare; from the sea then to it is two hundred stades.

Then next to those, the Macians, are the Gindanians, whose women each wear many anklets of hides after a fashion like this, as it is said: for each man that has had intercourse with one one ties oneself round an anklet and that one whoever has the most is thought to be the best on the ground that she has been loved by the the most men.

Then the promontory that extends forth into the sea of those Gindanians the Lotuseaters inhabit, who live by eating the fruit of the lotus alone. And the lotus’ fruit is in size just as large as a mastich-tree’s and in sweetness like the palm-tree’s fruit. Further, from that fruit the Lotuseaters make themselves wine too.

Then next to the Lotuseaters in what’s along the sea are the Machlyans and, although those too use the lotus, nevertheless less at any rate than those spoken of previously. And they extend down to a large river, whose name is Triton, and that disembogues into a large Tritonian lake; also in it is an island , whose name is Phla, and that island for the Lacedaemonians, they assert, there was a prophecy to found.

Then there is also this account that is given, that Jason, when the Argo had been worked to completion underneath Pelion, after he had put for himself into it another thing, a hecatomb, and, what’s more, a bronze tripod, sailed round the Peloponnese, because he wanted to come to Delphi. And him, when in his sailing he had come to be off Malea, a north wind overtook and carried away to Libya and, before he caught sight of land, he came to be in the shallows of the Tritonian lake. Further, to him, when he was at a loss regarding his drawing out, there is an account Triton appeared and bade Jason give him the tripod, while he asserted for himself to them that he would both show the passage and dispatch them off unharmed. So, since Jason was persuaded, thus indeed the way of sailing through and out of the shallows Triton showed them and the tripod he put in his shrine, after he had spoken divinely over the tripod and to those with Jason indicated the whole account that, whenever any of the descendants of those who sailed together in the Argo conveyed away for himself the tripod, then a hundred Greek cities to settle round the Tritonian lake there was every necessity. Having heard that, the natives among the Libyans hid the tripod.

Then next to those Machlyans are the Ausians, and those and the Machlyans settle around the Tritonian lake, while the Triton borders their midst. Moreover, while the Machlyans wear their hair long on the back parts of their head, the Ausians do on the front parts of their head. And in a yearly festival for Athena their maidens, having stood apart in two, battle against each other with stones and pieces of wood and say they bring away to completion their fathers’ practices for the god original to the place, whom we call Athena. Now, those of the maidens who die from their wounds they call false maidens. And before they let them go to battle, they do this: jointly the maiden who is most beautiful on each occasion, after they have adorned her with a Corinthian helmet and a Greek panoply and made her step up onto a chariot, they lead round in a circle. So with what anciently they had been adorning the maidens before the Greeks were made to settle by them, I am unable to say; anyhow, I think they were adorned with Egyptian arms, because from Egypt both the shield and the helmet, I assert, have come to the Greeks, And Athena, they assert, was the daughter of Poseidon and the Tritonian lake, and she, having found some fault with her father, gave herself to Zeus and Zeus for himself made her his daughter. That account they give and have intercourse with their women promiscuously, since they both cohabit not and engage in intercourse like animals. Then, whenever a woman’s small child comes to be fully formed, the men go regularly together to the same spot in the third month and of that one whichever of the men the small child resembles it is considered the child.

Now, those by the sea among the pastoral Libyans have been spoken of, while inland of those into the interior is the beast-filled Libya and inland of the beast-filled a ridge of sand extends down and stretches out from Egyptian Thebes to Heracles’ Pillars. And on that ridge approximately at an interval of ten days’ way are broken pieces of salt in large lumps on hills and on the peaks of each hill darts up from the middle of the salt cold and sweet water. Then round it human beings settle, the last toward the desert and inland of the beast-filled land, first from Thebes at an interval of ten days’ way the Ammonians with their shrine originating from Theban Zeus; for in fact what’s in Thebes, as has been said by me previously too, ram-faced, is Zeus’ image. And in fact also other water is theirs from a spring that during the dawn becomes warm and, when the public square is full, colder; it is midday and it becomes very cold. So at that time they water their gardens and, when the day declines, it gradually lets go for itself of the cold, until the sun sinks and the water becomes warm. Then over a greater extent going to the hot, it draws near the middle of the nights and at that time boils with a bubbling up; the middle of the nights go by and it is made cold up until dawn. And by name that spring is called the sun’s.
 
Installment 26            
 Then after the Ammonians through the ridge of the sand at an interval of another ten days’ way is a hill of salt similar to the Ammonian and water and human beings are settled round it. Now, that place’s name is Augila. To that place the Nasamonians go frequently and gather the fruit of the palms.

Then from Augila at an interval of ten other days’ way is another hill of salt and water and many fruit-bearing palms, just according as also in the other places. And human beings are settled in it, whose name is the Garamantians, a mightily large nation, who put earth on the salt and thus sow. Now, there is a shortest route to the Lotuseaters; of thirty days is a way to them, among whom in fact are born the backward grazing cattle and they are backward grazing on account of this: they have horns bent to what’s forward. On account of that they go back backwards and graze; for to what’s forward they are not able to go as their horns would stick forward into the earth. And they differ in no other way from all the rest of the cattle except in that and in their skin in respect to thickness and wear. Those Garamantians indeed hunt the cavedwellling Ethiopians with their four-horse chariots; for the cavedwelling Ethiopians are swiftest of feet of all human beings, concerning whom we have heard speeches brought away. Moreover, the cavedwelling ones feed on serpents, lizards and those of the creeping things like that and have customarily used a tongue nearly similar to no other, but are squealers just according as the bats.

Then from the Garamantians at an interval of another ten days’ way is another hill of salt and water and human beings are settled round it, whose name is the Atarantians, who are the only nameless ones among the human beings that we know; for theirs all together is the name Atarantians, but to each one of them no name is given. Those at the sun’s rising over curse and in addition to that use all kinds of shameful abuse, in that it burns and wears them down, the human beings themselves and their country. Then afterwards at an interval of another ten days another hill of salt and water and human beings are settled round it. And near to that salt is a mountain, whose name’s Atlas, and it is narrow and circular every way and is spoken of as something quite so high as for it to be not possible to see for oneself its peaks: for at no time in fact do snows abandon them in either summer or winter. That is the pillar of the sky say the natives. After that mountain the human beings came to be named, as indeed they are called Atlantians. Further, they are said to neither feed on anything animate nor see dreams.

Indeed up to those Atlantians I am able to recount the names of those settled down on the ridge, but in respect what’s after that no longer. Anyhow, the ridge extends through up to the Pillars of Heracles and what’s outside of that and there is a mine of salt on it at an interval of ten days’ way and human beings who are settled. Moreover, the houses of all those are built out of salt lumps; for those spots in Libya by now are rainless, as the walls, being salt, would not be able to remain, if it were raining. Further, the salt in that very place both white and purple in its looks is dug up and inland of that ridge, in respect to what’s toward the south and into the interior of Libya, desolate, waterless, beastless, rainless and woodless is the country and of moisture there is in it nothing.

Thus up to the Tritonian lake from Egypt are pastoral meateating and milkdrinking Libyans, and both taste nothing of female cattle, on the very account that not the Egyptians too, and keep no pigs. Now, of female cattle not even the Cyrenians’ women think just to eat on account of Isis in Egypt, but both fasts for her and festivals bring to completion, while the Barcians’ women not pigs too in addition to cows taste.

That indeed is thus and in respect to what’s toward the west of the Tritonian lake no longer are pastoral Libyans since they both use not the same laws and concerning their small children do not anything of the kind that also the pastoral ones are wont to do. For indeed the Libyans’ nomads, whether all, I am not able exactly to say that, but some of them act like this: of their small children, whenever they become four years old, with wool-grease of cattle they burn the veins on their pates and several of them those on their temple for this reason, that not them for all time in its flowing down from the head phlegm may injure. And on account of that they say they are the healthiest. For how truly are the Libyans of all human beings the healthiest that we know; whether on account of that I am not able exactly to say; anyhow, they are the healthiest. Then if on their burning their small children a convulsion supervenes, there has been found out by them a remedy; for by sprinkling goat’s urine they rescue them. I say then what the Libyans themselves say.

Further, the ways of sacrificing of the pastoral ones are these: whenever they take the first-fruits of the ear of the victim, they cast it over the house and, having done that, they wring its neck. And they sacrifice to the sun and moon only. Now, to those all Libyans sacrifice, but those who dwell round the Tritonian lake to Athena most and afterwards to Triton and Poseidon.

So after all the clothing and the aegises of the images of Athena after the Libyan women the Greeks made for themselves; for except that the clothing of the Libyan women is leather and the tassels of their aegises are not snakes but made of thongs, all the other dress then after the same fashion has been made. And indeed even the name makes an accusation that from Libya has come the dress of the statues of Pallas; for the Libyan women throw round their clothing hairless tasselled aegeae smeared with madder and from those aegeae the Greeks changed the name to aegises. Moreover, the cry in shrines too seems to me at any rate there first to have come about, as the Libyan women use that very much and use it beautifully. And the Greeks have learned to yoke together four horses from the Libyans.

Further, the pastoral ones bury their dead just according as the Greeks, except the Nasamonians, and those bury them sitting down and are on guard, whenever one lets go of one’s soul, that they will seat one down and one will not die on one’s back. And houses are constructed of asphodel stalks twined round reeds and those are portable. Laws like that those use.

Now, in what’s toward the west of the Triton river next to the Ausians are by now the ploughing Libyans and accustomed to possess homes, to whom the name Maxyians is given, who wear their hair long on the parts on the right of their heads and shave the parts on the left and smear their body with red ochre. And those assert they are descended from the men from Troy and that country and the remaining part of Libya toward the west is much more beast-filled and more wooded than the country of the pastoral ones. For indeed that toward the east of Libya, which the pastoral ones inhabit, is low and sandy up to the Triton river, but from that spot what’s toward the west, that of the ploughing ones, is very mountainous, wooded and beast-filled; for in fact there are the very large snakes and the lions among them as well as the elephants and bears and asps and the asses with their horns and the dog-headed ones and those with their eyes in their chests, as indeed they are spoken of at any rate by the Libyans, and the wild men and wild women and in multitude many other beasts unfalsified.

But among the pastoral ones is no one of those, but others like this: white-rumps, gazelles, antelopes and asses, not those with their horns, but others undrinking (for indeed they drink not) as well as oryxes, whose horns are made the lyres’ side-pieces (and in size that beast is like a bull), foxes, hyenas, porcupines, wild rams, dictyses, jackals, panthers, boryses, land crocodiles approximately of three cubits, most like lizards, subterranean sparrows and small snakes, each with one horn. Those indeed in that very place are the beasts and the very that are in all the other land, except deer and wild boar; so deer and wild boar in Libya altogether is not. Moreover. of mice three kinds are in that very place; some are called two-footed, some zegeries (and that name is Libyan and means in the Greek tongue “mounds”) and some bristly. And there are also weasels that originate in silphium, most similar to the Tartessian. Now so many beasts the pastoral Libyans’ land has,as far as we by inquiring over the greatest extent proved able to come out to.

Then next to the Libyan Maxyians are the Zauecians, for whom the women hold the reins of the chariots for war.

Then next to those are the Gyzantians, among whom bees work out much honey and much more still it is said that craftsmen make. Anyhow, all those smear themselves with red ochre and eat monkeys and for them those are abundant that originate in the mountains.

Then off those the Carchedonians say lies an island, whose name is Cyrauis, in length of two hundred stades, in breadth narrow, able to be walked to from the mainland and full of olive-trees and vines. And a lake is on it, from which the maidens of the natives with feathers of birds smeared with pitch out of the mud bring up dust of gold. That whether it is truly I know not, but what is said I write. Yet everything could be, inasmuch as in fact in Zacynthus from a lake and water pitch’s being brought up I myself saw. The lakes in that very place are in fact more; anyhow, the largest of them is of seventy feet every way and in depth two fathoms. Into that a pole they let down when on the end a myrtle-branch they have attached and thereafter they bring up with the myrtle-branch pitch with asphalt’s odor and in all other respects better than Pierian pitch. Then they pour it into a reservoir dug near the lake and, whenever they collect much, thus into jars from the reservoir they pour it down. So whatever falls into the lake goes under the earth and reappears in the sea and it is distant approximately four stades from the lake. Thus then also what’s from the island that lies off Libya is resembling truth.

The Carchedonians say also this, that there is a place and human beings settled down outside of the Pillars of Heracles, by whom, whenever they come and take out for themselves their wares, they put them in a row alongside the breaking of the waves and, when they have stepped into their boats, they cause a slow burning with smoke; then the natives, after they have seen for themselves the smoke, go to the sea and thereafter in exchange for the wares put gold and move back away further from the wares; so the Carchedonians, having stepped out, make an inspection and, if the gold appears to them worth the wares, take it up for themselves and depart, but if it appears not worth, step back into their boats and sit down, and the others go forward and then put in addition other gold, until they should bring about persuasion, and neither group acts unjustly; for neither they themselves touch the gold until for them it should be made to equal out to the worth of the wares nor those touch the wares before they themselves should take hold of the gold.

Now, those are they among the Libyans whom we are able to name and of those the many of the Medes’ king neither in any respect now nor then had thought at all. And so much still I am able to say about that country, that four nations inhabit it and no more than those, as far as we know, and two of the nations are autochthonous and two not; the Libyans and the Ethiopians are autochthonous, as the one group is settled in what’s toward the north of Libya and the other in what’s toward the south, and the Phoenicians and the Greeks are incomers.

So it seems to me not in fact in respect to virtue is any Libya so excellent as to be compared to either Asia or Europe, except Cinyps alone; for indeed the same name does the land have as the river. And that’s similar to the best of the lands at bringing forth Demeter’s fruit and resembles not at all the rest of Libya, as it’s black-soiled and watered on by fountains and it by neither having thought of drought nor drinking more rain is harmed, because indeed those parts of Libya are rained on. And of the bringings forth of the fruit the same measures as the Babylonian land’s are established. Moreover, good too is the land which the Euhesperians inhabit; for a hundredfold, whenever it itself brings out its best, it brings forth, but the land in Cinyps three-hundredfold.

Further, the Cyrenian country in fact has, being the highest in that Libya that the pastoral ones inhabit, three seasons in it worth marvelling, in that first what’s by the sea of the fruits are ripe to be reaped and gathered, then, those indeed conveyed together, what’s inland of the sea countries that they call “mounds” are ripe to be conveyed together and finally that middle fruit is done being conveyed together and that in the uppermost part of the land is brought to maturity and ripe so that the first fruit is done being drunk out and eaten up and the last comes to be present simultaneously. Thus over the extent of eight months a harvest occupies the Cyrenians. Now, let that over so great an extent be said.




So the Persian avengers of Pheretime, when they had been dispatched from Egypt by Aryandes and come to Barce, were besieging the city and announcing out that they should give over those responsible for the killing of Arcesilaus and, because the whole multitude was a sharer in that, they would not receive the speeches. Then indeed they were besieging the city for nine months by digging underground excavations that led to the wall and performing forceful assaults. Now, the excavations a man, a smith, discovered with a bronze-covered shield by his thinking through in this way: he brought it round within the wall and held it to the ground of the city. All the other parts were dumb that he held it to, but at the parts that were dug out rang the bronze of the shield. Then by countermining there the Barcians killed among the Persians the diggers of earth. That indeed thus was found out and the assaults the Barcians repelled.

Now, when they were wearing away for themselves much time and there were falling many of both sides and not less the Persians, Amasis, the general of the foot, contrived a thing like this: having learned about the Barcians that in accordance with what’s violent they were not capturable, but by treachery were capturable, he acted like this: at night he dug a broad ditch and stretched out pieces of wood lacking strength over it; then above, on top of the pieces of wood, a heap of earth he placed across and made it level with the rest of the earth.Then together with day to speeches he called himself forth the Barcians and they gladly heeded until it pleased them to make use of an agreement. So they reached the agreement, one like this: on the hidden trench they swore oaths that, as long as that earth should be thus, the oath should remain in place and the Barcians should assert that they should pay due tribute to the king and the Persians that they should make no innovation against the Barcians. Then after the oath the Barcians, having put faith in that, themselves went out of the city and among their enemies let go by to the wall whoever wanted, after they had opened up all the gates. But the Persians broke down the hidden bridge and ran to the wall. And they performed the breaking down for this reason, that in respect to the bridge they had made they might abide by their oath, since they had sworn to the Barcians that the oath should remain on each and every occasion all the time that the earth remained according as then it had been, but when they had performed the breaking down, no longer the oath remained in place.

Now, those most responsible among the Barcians Pheretime, when they had been given over to her by the Persians, impaled round the wall and of their women she cut off their breasts and also adorned at intervals all round with those the wall. And those left of the Barcians as booty she bade the Persians render, except all of them who were the relatives of Battus and not sharers of responsibility in respect to his killing; to those then Pheretime entrusted the city.

It is those left of the Barcians then indeed that the Persians led into captivity and went away back and, when they stood at the Cyrenians’ city, the Cyrenians by way of discharging as a holy duty some oath let them go through the town and out. Then, the host going through and out, Badres, the general of the naval army, bade take the city, but Amasis, the general of the foot, would not allow it, because against Barce he was dispatched away and no other Greek city, until, after they had gone through and out and were sitting on Lycaean Zeus’ height, it repented them not having gotten hold of Cyrene and they tried for the second time to go to it, but the Cyrenians would not overlook that. Then, although with the Persians no one was fighting, fear fell on them and they, having run away approximately sixty stades, sat. So for the camp, when it had been set up there, came from Aryandes a messenger who called them away. And the Persians requested that the Cyrenians should give them things for the way in fact and, having taken hold of them, they departed to Egypt. But having taken over thereafter them, the Libyans for the sake of their clothing and equipment those of them left behind and drawn after killed, until they came to Egypt.

That army of Persians in Libya farthest to Euhesperidae went and, whom they had led into captivity, those then they caused to be drawn up from Egypt to the king and the king, Darius, gave them in the Bactrian country a village to be settled down in. Then they to that village gave as a name Barce, the very place that still even to my time was settled in the Bactrian land.

And Pheretime also plaited up not her life well. For, as soon as from Libya, after she had punished the Barcians, she returned back to Egypt, she died evilly, in that alive with worms she seethed, as the exceedingly violent acts of revenge prove liable to envy from gods. So indeed Pheretime Battus’ daughter’s revenge against the Barcians proved of that kind and of that size.
 
end of Book 4