INFANTRY DRILLED BY SERGEANT.
INFANTRY DRILLED BY SERGEANT.
INFANTRY DRILLED BY SERGEANT.
Having given these injunctions, he went to the gates, turning round as if he were really a deserter. Those who were stationed in that quarter, seeing him from the turrets, ran down and openedone door of the gate a little, and asked him who he was, and for what purpose he came. He told them that he was Zopyrus, and had deserted to them: the door-keepers then conducted him to the assembly of the Babylonians, and standing before them he deplored his condition, saying that he had suffered from Darius these injuries, and that he was so treated because he had advised to raise the siege, since there appeared no means of taking the city. "Now, therefore," he said, "I come to you, O Babylonians, as your greatest blessing; and to Darius, his army, and the Persians, the greatest mischief; for he shall not escape with impunity, having thus mutilated me; and I am acquainted with all his designs." And the Babylonians, seeing a man of distinction among the Persians deprived of his ears and nose, and covered with stripes and blood, thoroughly believing that he spoke the truth, and that he had come as an ally to them, were ready to intrust him with whatever he should ask; and he, having obtained the command of the forces, acted as he had preconcerted with Darius; for on the tenth he led out the army of the Babylonians, and surrounded the thousand whom he had instructed Darius to station there, and cut them all in pieces. Then the Babylonians, perceiving that he performed deeds such as he promised, were ready to obey him in every thing. He then suffered the appointed number of days to elapse, and again selected a body of Babylonians, led them out, and slaughtered the two thousand of Darius' soldiers. The Babylonians witnessing this action also, all had the praises of Zopyrus on their tongues. Then he again, after the appointed number of days had elapsed, led out his troops according to the settled plan, surrounded the four thousand, and cut them in pieces. And when he had accomplished this, Zopyrus was every thing to the Babylonians, and was appointed commander-in-chief and guardian of the walls. But when Darius, according to agreement, invested the wall all round, then Zopyrus discovered his whole treachery; for while the Babylonians, mounting the wall, repelled the army of Darius that was attacking them, Zopyrus opened the Cissian and Belidian gates and led the Persians withinthe wall. Those of the Babylonians who saw what was done, fled into the temple of Jupiter Belus; and those who did not see it, remained each at his post, until they also discovered that they had been betrayed.
LIGHT ARMED TROOPS MARCHING.
LIGHT ARMED TROOPS MARCHING.
LIGHT ARMED TROOPS MARCHING.
Thus Babylon was taken a second time. But when Darius had made himself master of the Babylonians, first of all, he demolished the walls and bore away all the gates, for when Cyrus had taken Babylon before, he did neither of these things; and secondly, Darius impaled about three thousand of the principal citizens, and allowed the rest of the Babylonians to inhabit the city. And that the Babylonians might have wives to take the place of those they had strangled, Darius ordered the neighboring provinces to send women to Babylon, taxing each at a certain number, so that a total of fifty thousand women came together; and from these the Babylonians of our time are descended. No Persian, in the opinion of Darius, either of those who came after, or who lived before, surpassed Zopyrus in great achievements, Cyrus only excepted; for with him no Persian ever ventured to compare himself. It is also reported that Darius frequently expressed this opinion, that he would rather Zopyrus had not suffered such ignominious treatment than acquire twenty Babylons in addition to that he had. And he honored him exceedingly; for he every year presented him with those gifts which are most prized by the Persians, and he assigned him Babylon to hold free from taxes during his life.
[16]The Egyptian mummies could only be seen in front, the back being covered by a box or coffin; the Ethiopian bodies could be seen all round, as the column of glass was transparent.[17]Epilepsy.[18]Nearly $18,000,000 in all.[19]That is, "southwest."
[16]The Egyptian mummies could only be seen in front, the back being covered by a box or coffin; the Ethiopian bodies could be seen all round, as the column of glass was transparent.
[17]Epilepsy.
[18]Nearly $18,000,000 in all.
[19]That is, "southwest."
Afterthe capture of Babylon, Darius made an expedition against the Scythians, for as Asia was flourishing in men, and large revenues came in, Darius was desirous of revenging himself upon the Scythians, because they had formerly invaded the Median territory, and defeated in battle those that opposed them. For the Scythians ruled over Upper Asia for twenty-eight years. But when those Scythians returned to their own country, after such an interval, a task no less than the invasion of Media awaited them; for they found an army of no inconsiderable force ready to oppose them; the wives of the Scythians, seeing their husbands were a long time absent, had married their slaves. The Scythians deprive all their slaves of sight for the sake of the milk which they drink, doing as follows: when they have taken bone tubes very like flutes, they thrust them into the veins of the mares, and blow with their mouth; while some blow, others milk. They say they do this because the veins of the mare, being inflated, become filled, and the udder is depressed. When they have finished milking, they pour the milk into hollow wooden vessels, and having placed the blind men round about the vessels, they agitate the milk: then they skim off that which swims on the surface, considering it the most valuable, but that which subsides is of less value than the other. On this account the Scythians put out the eyes of every prisoner they take; for they are not agriculturists, but feeders ofcattle. From these slaves then and the women a race of youths had grown up, who, when they knew their own extraction, opposed those who were returning from Media. And first they cut off the country by digging a wide ditch, stretching from Mount Taurus to the lake Mæotis, which is of great extent, and afterward encamping opposite, they came to an engagement with the Scythians, who were endeavoring to enter. When several battles had been fought, and the Scythians were unable to obtain any advantage, one of them said: "Men of Scythia, what are we doing? by fighting with our slaves not only are we ourselves by being slain becoming fewer in number, but by killing them we shall hereafter have fewer to rule over. So it seems to me that we should lay aside our spears and bows, and that every one, taking a horsewhip, should go directly to them; for so long as they saw us with arms, they considered themselves equal to us, and born of equal birth; but when they shall see us with our whips instead of arms, they will soon learn that they are our slaves, and will no longer resist." The Scythians adopted the advice on the spot; and the slaves, struck with astonishment, forgot to fight, and fled.
As the Scythians say, theirs is the most recent of all nations. The first man that appeared in this country, which was a wilderness, was named Targitaus; they say that the parents of this Targitaus, in my opinion relating what is incredible, were Jupiter and a daughter of the river Borysthenes; and that Targitaus had three sons, who went by the names of Lipoxais, Apovais, and Colaxais; that during their reign a plough, a yoke, an axe, and a bowl of golden workmanship, dropping down from heaven, fell on the Scythian territory; that the eldest, seeing them first, approached, intending to take them up, but as he came near, the gold began to burn; when he had retired the second went up, and it did the same again; but when the youngest approached, the burning gold became extinguished, and he carried the things home with him; and the elder brothers, in consequence of this, giving way, surrendered the whole authority to Alaxais the youngest. The Scythians reckon the whole number of years from their beginning,from King Targitaus to the time that Darius crossed over against them, to be just a thousand years. This sacred gold the kings watch with the greatest care, and annually approach it with magnificent sacrifices to render it propitious. If he who has the sacred gold happens to fall asleep in the open air on the festival, the Scythians say he cannot survive the year, and on this account they give him as much land as he can ride round on horseback in one day. The country being very extensive, Colaxais established three of the kingdoms for his sons, and made that one the largest in which the gold is kept. The parts beyond the north of the inhabited districts the Scythians say can neither be seen nor passed through, by reason of the feathers shed there; for the earth and air are so full of feathers that the view is intercepted. With respect to these feathers I entertain the following opinion: in the upper parts of this country it continually snows, less in summer than in winter, as is reasonable; now, whoever has seen snow falling thick near him, will know what I mean; for snow is like feathers; and on account of the winter being so severe, the northern parts of this continent are uninhabited.
Such is the account the Scythians give of themselves, and of the country above them; but the Greeks who inhabit Pontus give the following account: they say that Hercules, as he was driving away the herds of Geryon, arrived in this country, which was then a desert, and that Geryon, fixing his abode outside the Pontus, inhabited the island which the Greeks call Erythia, situated near Gades, beyond the columns of Hercules in the ocean. The ocean, they say, beginning from the sunrise, flows round the whole earth, that Hercules thence came to the country now called Scythia, and as a storm and frost overtook him, he drew his lion's skin over him, and went to sleep; and in the meanwhile, his mares, which were feeding apart from his chariot, vanished by some divine chance. They add that when Hercules awoke, he sought for them; and that having gone over the whole country, he at length came to the land called Hylæa; there he found a monster, having two natures, half virgin, half viper, of which the upper parts resembleda woman, and the lower parts a serpent: in astonishment he asked her if she had anywhere seen his strayed mares. She said that she herself had them, and would not restore them to him unless he would make her his wife. Hercules agreed. She, however, delayed giving back the mares, out of a desire to detain Hercules as long as she could; but as he was desirous of recovering them and departing, she at last restored the mares, saying: "These mares that strayed hither I preserved for you, but now that you will go away and leave me, tell me what I must do with our three sons when they are grown up; shall I establish them here, for I possess the rule over this country, or shall I send them to you?" He replied: "When you see the children arrived at the age of men, you cannot err if you do this: whichever of them you see able thus to bend this bow, and thus girding himself with this girdle, make him an inhabitant of this country; and whichever fails in these tasks which I enjoin, send out of the country. If you do this you will please yourself and do wisely." Then having drawn out one of his bows, for Hercules carried two at that time, and having shown her the belt, he gave her both the bow and the belt, which had a golden cup at the extremity of the clasp, and departed. When the sons had attained to the age of men she gave them names; to the first, Agathyrsis, to the second, Gelonus, and to the youngest, Scythes; and, in the next place, she did what had been enjoined; and two of her sons, Agathyrsis and Gelonus, being unable to come up to the proposed task, left the country, being expelled by their mother; but the youngest of them, Scythes, having accomplished it, remained there. From this Scythes, son of Hercules, are descended those who have been successively kings of the Scythians; and from the cup, the Scythians even to this day wear cups hung from their belts.
Aristeas, of Proconnesus, says in his epic verses, that, inspired by Apollo, he came to the Issedones; that beyond the Issedones dwell the Arimaspians, a people that have only one eye; beyond them the gold-guarding griffins; and beyond these the Hyperboreans,who reach to the sea: that all these, except the Hyperboreans, beginning from the Arimaspians, continually encroached upon their neighbors; that the Issedones were expelled from their country by the Arimaspians, the Scythians by the Issedones, and that the Cimmerians, who inhabited on the South Sea, being pressed by the Scythians, abandoned their country.
No one knows with certainty what is beyond the country about which this account speaks. But as far as we have been able to arrive at the truth with accuracy from hearsay, the whole shall be related. From the port of the Borysthenitæ, for this is the most central part of the sea-coast of all Scythia, the first people are the Callipidæ, being Greek-Scythians; beyond these is another nation called Alazones. These and the Callipidæ, in other respects, follow the usages, of the Scythians, but they both sow and feed on wheat, onions, garlic, lentils, and millet; but beyond the Alazones dwell husbandmen, who do not sow wheat for food but for sale. Beyond these the Neuri dwell; and to the north of the Neuri the country is utterly uninhabited, as far as I know. These nations are by the side of the river Hypanis, to the west of the Borysthenes. But if one crosses the Borysthenes, the first country from the sea is Hylæa; and from this higher up live Scythian agriculturists, where the Greeks settled on the river Hypanis. These Scythian husbandmen occupy the country eastward, for three days' journey, extending to the river whose name is Panticapes; and northward a passage of eleven days up the Borysthenes. Beyond this region the country is a desert for a great distance; and beyond the desert Androphagi dwell, who are a distinct people, not in any respect Scythian. Beyond this is really desert, and no nation of men is found there, as far as we know. The country eastward of these Scythian agriculturists, when one crosses the river Panticapes, nomads occupy, who neither sow at all nor plough; and all this country is destitute of trees except Hylæa. The nomads occupy a tract eastward for fourteen days' journey, stretching to the river Gerrhus. Beyond the Gerrhus are the parts called the Royal, and the most valiant and numerous of the Scythians, who deem allother Scythians to be their slaves. These extend southward to Taurica, and eastward to the trench, which those sprung from the blind men dug, and to the port on the lake Mæotis, which is called Cremni, and some of them reach to the river Tanais. The parts above to the north of the Royal Scythians, the Melanchlæni inhabit, a distinct race, and not Scythian. But above the Melanchlæni are lakes, and an uninhabited desert, as far as we know.
After one crosses the river Tanais, it is no longer Scythian, but the first region belongs to the Sauromatæ, who, beginning from the recess of the lake Mæotis, occupy the country northward, for a fifteen days' journey, all destitute both of wild and cultivated trees. Above these dwell the Budini, occupying the second region, and possessing a country thickly covered with all sorts of trees. Above the Budini, toward the north, there is first a desert of seven days' journey, and next to the desert, if one turns somewhat toward the east, dwell the Thyssagetæ, a numerous and distinct race, and they live by hunting. Contiguous to these, in the same regions, dwell those who are called Iyrcæ, who also live by hunting in the following manner: the huntsman, having climbed a tree, lies in ambush (and the whole country is thickly wooded), and each man has a horse ready taught to lie on his belly, that he may not be much above the ground, and a dog besides. When he sees any game from the tree, having let fly an arrow, he mounts his horse, and goes in pursuit, and the dog keeps close to him. Above these, as one bends toward the east, dwell other Scythians, who revolted from the Royal Scythians, and so came to this country. As far as the territory of these Scythians, the whole country that has been described is level and deep-soiled; but after this it is stony and rugged. When one has passed through a considerable extent of the rugged country, a people are found living at the foot of lofty mountains, who are said to be all bald from their birth, both men and women, and are flat-nosed, and have large chins; they speak a peculiar language, wear the Scythian costume, and live on the fruit of a tree; the name of the tree on which they live is called ponticon, and is about the size of a figtree;it bears fruit like a bean, and has a stone. When this is ripe they strain it through a cloth, and a thick and black liquor flows from it, to which they give the name of aschy; this they suck, and drink mingled with milk; from the thick sediment of the pulp they make cakes to eat, for they have not many cattle in these parts, as the pastures there are not good. Every man lives under a tree, which, in the winter, he covers with a thick white woollen covering. No man does any injury to this people, for they are accounted sacred; nor do they possess any warlike weapon. They determine by arbitration the differences that arise among their neighbors; and whoever takes refuge among them is injured by no one. They are called Argippæi.
As far, then, as these bald people, our knowledge respecting the country and the nations before them is very good, for some Scythians frequently go there from whom it is not difficult to obtain information, as well as some Greeks belonging to the ports in Pontus. The Scythians who go to them transact business by means of seven interpreters and seven languages, but beyond the bald men no one can speak with certainty, for lofty and impassable mountains form their boundary, which no one has ever crossed; but these bald men say, what to me is incredible, that men with goats' feet inhabit these mountains; and when one has passed beyond them, other men are found, who sleep six months at a time, but this I do not at all admit. However, the country eastward of the bald men is well known, being inhabited by Issedones, who are said to observe this extraordinary custom. When a man's father dies all his relations bring cattle, which they sacrifice, and, having cut up the flesh, they cut up also the dead parent of their host, and mingling all the flesh together, they spread out a banquet; then making bare and cleansing his head they gild it; and afterward treat it as a sacred image, performing grand annual sacrifices to it. A son does this to his father, as the Greeks celebrate the anniversary of their father's death. These people are likewise accounted just; and the women have equal authority with the men.
Above them, the Issedones affirm, are the men with only one eye, and the gold-guarding griffins. The Scythians repeat this account, having received it from them; and we have adopted it from the Scythians, and call them in the Scythian language, Arimaspi; forArima, in the Scythian language, signifies one, andSpou, the eye. All this country which I have been speaking of is subject to such a severe winter, that for eight months the frost is intolerable, so that if you pour water on the ground you will not make mud, but if you light a fire you will. Even the sea freezes, and the whole Cimmerian Bosphorus; and the Scythians who live within the trench lead their armies and drive their chariots over the ice to the Sindians, on the other side. Thus winter continues eight months, and even during the other four it is cold there. And this winter is different in character from the winters in all other countries; for in this no rain worth mentioning falls in the usual season, but during the summer it never leaves off raining. At the time when there is thunder elsewhere there is none there, but in summer it is violent: if there should be thunder in winter, it is counted a prodigy to be wondered at. So, should there be an earthquake, whether in summer or winter, in Scythia it is accounted a prodigy. Their horses endure this cold, but asses and mules cannot endure it at all; whereas in other places in the world horses that stand exposed to frost become frost-bitten and waste away, but asses and mules endure it. On this account also the race of beeves appears to me to be defective there, and not to have horns; and the following verse of Homer, in his Odyssey, confirms my opinion: "And Libya, where the lambs soon put forth their horns," rightly observing, that in warm climates horns shoot out quickly; but in very severe cold, the cattle do not produce them at all, or with difficulty. Concerning the Hyperboreans, I do not relate the story of Abaris, who was said to have carried an arrow round the whole earth without eating any thing. But I smile when I see many persons describing the circumference of the earth, who have no sound reason to guide them; they describe the ocean as flowing around the earth, which is made circular as if by a lathe, and make Asia equal to Europe.
In length Europe extends along both Libya and Asia, but in respect to width, it is evidently much larger. Libya shows itself to be surrounded by water, except so much of it as borders upon Asia. Neco, King of Egypt, was the first whom we know of that proved this; when he had ceased digging the canal leading from the Nile to the Arabian Gulf, he sent certain Phœnicians in ships, with orders to sail back through the pillars of Hercules into the Mediterranean Sea, and so return to Egypt. The Phœnicians accordingly, setting out from the Red Sea, navigated the southern sea; when autumn came they went ashore and sowed the land, by whatever part of Libya they happened to be sailing, and waited for harvest; then having reaped the corn, they put to sea again. When two years had thus passed, in the third they doubled the pillars of Hercules, arrived in Egypt, and related what to me does not seem credible, but may to others, that as they sailed round Libya, they had the sun on their right hand.[20]Ever since that the Carthaginians say that Libya is surrounded by water.
A great part of Asia was explored under the direction of Darius. Being desirous to know where the Indus, which is the second river that produces crocodiles, discharges itself into the sea, he sent in ships Scylax of Caryanda and others on whom he could rely to make a true report. They accordingly set out from the city of Caspatyrus, sailed down the river toward the sunrise to the sea; then sailing on the sea westward, they arrived in the thirtieth month at that place where the king of Egypt despatched the Phœnicians, whom I before mentioned, to sail round Libya. After this Darius subdued the Indians, and frequented this sea. Thus the other parts of Asia, except toward the rising sun, are found to exhibit things similar to Libya.
Whether Europe is surrounded by water either toward the east or toward the north, has not been fully discovered by any man; but in length it is known to extend beyond both the other continents. Nor can I conjecture for what reason three different names have been given to the earth, which is but one, and why thoseshould be derived from the names of women, Libya is said by most of the Greeks to take its name from a native woman of the name of Libya; and Asia, from the wife of Prometheus. But the Lydians claim this name, saying that Asia was so called after Asius, son of Cotys, son of Manes, and not after Asia the wife of Prometheus; from whom also a tribe in Sardis is called the Asian tribe; nor is it clear whence Europe received its name, nor who gave it, unless we say that the region received the name from the Tyrian Europa: yet she evidently belonged to Asia, and never came into the country which is now called Europe by the Greeks.
The Euxine Sea exhibits the most ignorant nations: for we are unable to mention any one nation of those on this side the Pontus that has any pretensions to intelligence; nor have we ever heard of any learned man among them, except the Scythian nation and Anacharsis. By the Scythian nation one of the most important of human devices has been contrived more wisely than by any others whom we know; their other customs, however, I do not admire. This device has been contrived so that no one who attacks them can escape; and that, if they do not choose to be found, no one is able to overtake them. For they have neither cities nor fortifications, but carry their houses with them; they are all equestrian archers, living not from the cultivation of the earth, but from cattle, and their dwellings are wagons,—how must not such a people be invincible, and difficult to engage with? The country and the rivers aid them: for the country, being level, abounds in herbage and is well watered; and rivers flow through it almost as numerous as the canals in Egypt. The Ister, which is the greatest of all the rivers we know, flows always with an equal stream both in summer and winter, and has five mouths.
In each district of the Scythians, in the place where the magistrates assemble, is erected a structure sacred to Mars, of the following kind. Bundles of faggots are heaped up to the length and breadth of three stades, but less in height; on the top of this a square platform is formed; and three of the sides are perpendicular, but on the fourth it is accessible. Every year they heap on itone hundred and fifty wagon-loads of faggots, for it is continually sinking by reason of the weather. On this heap an old iron scimetar is placed by each tribe, and this is the image of Mars; they bring yearly sacrifices of cattle and horses; and to thesescimetarsthey offer more sacrifices than to the rest of the gods. Whatever enemies they take alive, of these they sacrifice one in a hundred, not in the same manner as they do the cattle, but in a different manner; for after they have poured a libation of wine on their heads, they cut the throats of the men over a bowl; then having carriedthe bowlon the heap of faggots, they pour the blood over the scimetar. Below at the sacred precinct, they do as follows: having cut off all the right shoulders of the men that have been killed, with the arms, they throw them into the air; and then, having finished the rest of the sacrificial rites, they depart; but the arm lies wherever it has fallen, and the body apart. Swine they never use, nor suffer them to be used in their country at all.
When a Scythian overthrows his first enemy, he drinks his blood; and presents the king with the heads of the enemies he has killed in battle; for if he brings a head, he shares the booty that they take; but not, if he does not bring one. He skins it in the following manner. Having made a circular incision round the ears and taking hold of the skin, he shakes it from the skull; then having scraped off the flesh with the rib of an ox, he softens the skin with his hands, makes it supple, and uses it as a napkin; each man hangs it on the bridle of the horse which he rides, and prides himself on it; for whoever has the greatest number of these skin napkins is accounted the most valiant man. Many of them make cloaks of these skins, to throw over themselves, sewing them together like shepherd's coats; and many, having flayed the right hands of their enemies that are dead, together with the nails, make coverings for their quivers; the skin of a man, which is both thick and shining, surpasses almost all other skins in the brightness of its white. Many, having flayed men whole, and stretched the skin on wood, carry it about on horseback. The heads themselves, not indeed of all, but of their greatest enemies, they treat as follows:each, having sawn off all below the eye-brows, cleanses it, and if the man is poor, he covers only the outside with leather, and so uses it; but if he is rich, he covers it with leather, and gilds the inside, and so uses it for a drinking-cup. They do this also to their relatives, if they are at variance, and one prevails over another in the presence of the king. When strangers of consideration come to him, he produces these heads, and relates how, though they were his relatives, they made war against him, and he overcame them, considering this a proof of bravery. Once in every year, the governor of a district, each in his own district, mingles a bowl of wine, from which those Scythians drink by whom enemies have been captured; but they who have not achieved this, do not taste of this wine, but sit at a distance in dishonor; this is accounted the greatest disgrace: such of them as have killed very many men, having two cups at once, drink them together.
Soothsayers among the Scythians are numerous, who divine by the help of a number of willow rods, in the following manner. They lay large bundles of twigs on the ground and untie them; and having placed each rod apart, they utter their predictions; and whilst they are pronouncing them, they gather up the rods again, and put them together again one by one. This is their national mode of divination. But the Enarees, or Androgyni, say that Venus gave them the power of divining by means of the bark of a linden tree: when a man has split the linden-tree in three pieces, twisting it round his own fingers, and then untwisting it, he utters a response.
When the king of the Scythians is sick, he sends for three of the most famous of the prophets, who prophesy in the manner above mentioned. When any of these prophets are proved to have sworn falsely, they put them to death in the following manner: they fill a wagon with faggots, and yoke oxen to it, then tie the feet of the prophets, bind their hands behind them, gag them, and enclose them in the midst of the faggots; then having set fire to them, they terrify the oxen, and let them go. Manyoxen are burnt with the prophets, and many escape very much scorched, when the pole has been burnt asunder. Of the children of those whom he puts to death, the king kills all the males, but does not hurt the females.
The sepulchres of the kings are in the country of the Gerrhi. There, when their king dies, they dig a large square hole in the ground, to receive the corpse. Then, having the body covered with wax, the belly opened and cleaned, filled with bruised cypress, incense, parsley and anise-seed, and sewn up again, they carry it in a chariot to another nation; those who receive the corpse, brought to them, do the same as the Royal Scythians; they cut off part of their ear, shave off their hair, wound themselves on the arms, lacerate their forehead and nose, and drive arrows through their left hand. Thence they carry the corpse of the king to another nation whom they govern; and those to whom they first came accompany them. When they have carried the corpse round all the provinces, they arrive at the sepulchres among the Gerrhi, who are the most remote of the nations they rule over. Then, when they have placed the corpse in the grave on a bed of leaves, having fixed spears on each side of the dead body, they lay pieces of wood over it, and cover it over with mats. In the remaining space of the grave they bury one of the king's wives, having strangled her, and his cup-bearer, a cook, a groom, a page, a courier, and horses, and firstlings of everything else, and golden goblets; they make no use of silver or bronze. Then they all heap up a large mound, vieing with each other to make it as large as possible. At the expiration of a year, they take the most fitting of his remaining servants, all native Scythians; for whomsoever the king may order serve him, and they have no servants bought with money. Now when they have strangled fifty of these servants, and fifty of the finest horses, they take out their bowels, cleanse them, fill them with chaff, and sew them up again. Then placing the half of a wheel, with its concave side uppermost, on two pieces of wood, and the other half on two other pieces of wood, and preparing many of these in the same manner, theythrust thick pieces of wood through the horses lengthwise, up to the neck, mount them on the half-wheels; the foremost part of the half-wheels supporting the shoulders of the horses, and the hinder part the belly near the thighs, while the legs on both sides are suspended in the air; then, having put bridles and bits on the horses, they stretch them in front, and fasten them to a stake; they then mount upon each horse one of the fifty young men that have been strangled. They drive a straight piece of wood along the spine as far as the neck, and a part of this wood which projects from the bottom they fix into a hole bored in the other piece of wood that passes through the horse. The horsemen are then placed round the monument, and they depart.
When the other Scythians die, their nearest relations carry them about among their friends, laid in chariots; each one receives and entertains the attendants, and sets the same things before the dead body, as before the rest. In this manner private persons are carried about for forty days, and then buried. After the burial the Scythians purify themselves by wiping and thoroughly washing their heads and bodies. They set up three pieces of wood leaning against each other, extend around them woollen cloths; and having joined them together as closely as possible, they throw red-hot stones into a vessel placed in the middle of the pieces of wood and the cloths. They have a sort of hemp growing in this country, much like flax, except in thickness and height; in this respect the hemp is far superior: it grows both spontaneously and from cultivation; and from it the Thracians make garments like linen, nor would any one who is not well skilled in such matters distinguish whether they are made of flax or hemp, but a person who has never seen this hemp would think the garment was made of flax. The Scythians take seed of this hemp, creep under the cloths, and put the seed on the red-hot stones; this smokes, and produces such a steam, as no Grecian vapor-bath could surpass. Transported with vapor, they shout aloud; and this serves them instead of washing, for they never bathe the body in water. Their women pound on a rough stone pieces of cypress, cedar, and incense-tree,pouring on water; and then this pounded matter, when it is thick, they smear over the whole body and face. This at the same time gives them an agreeable odor, and when they take off the cataplasm on the following day, they become clean and shining.
I have never been able to learn with accuracy the amount of the population of the Scythians. There is a spot between the river Borysthenes and the Hypanis, called Exampæus, containing a fountain of bitter water, which renders the Hypanis unfit to be drunk. In this spot lies a bronze cauldron, in size six times as large as the bowl at the mouth of the Pontus, which Pausanias, son of Cleombrotus, dedicated. For the benefit of any one who has never seen this, I will describe it: The cauldron easily contains six hundred amphoræ; and is six fingers in thickness. The inhabitants say that it was made from the points of arrows; for their king, Ariantas, wishing to know the population of the Scythians, commanded the Scythians to bring him each one point of an arrow, and threatened death on whosoever should fail to bring it. Accordingly, a vast number of arrow points were brought, and resolving to leave a monument made from them, he made this bronze bowl, and dedicated it at Exampæus. Their country has nothing wonderful, except the rivers, which are very large and very many in number, and the extensive plains. They show the print of the foot of Hercules upon a rock near the river Tyras; it resembles the footstep of man, and is two cubits in length.
WhilstDarius was making preparations against the Scythians, and sending messages to command some to contribute land forces, and others a fleet, and others to bridge over the Thracian Bosphorus, Artabanus, the son of Hystaspes, and brother of Darius, entreated him on no account to make an expedition against the Scythians, representing the poverty of Scythia; but he could not persuade him. At that time Œobazus, a Persian, who had three sons all serving in the army, besought Darius that one might be left at home for him. The king answered him, as a friend, and one who had made a moderate request, that he would leave him all his sons; he therefore was exceedingly delighted, hoping that his sons would be discharged from the army. But at Darius' command the proper officers put all the sons of Œobazus to death, and left them on the spot.
When Darius, marching from Susa, reached Chalcedon on the Bosphorus, a bridge was already laid across. There, sitting in the temple, he took a view of the Euxine Sea, which is worthy of admiration, for of all seas it is by nature the most wonderful.
Darius, pleased with the bridge, presented its architect, Mandrocles the Samian, with ten of every thing, and he painted a picture of the whole junction of the Bosphorus, with King Darius seated on a throne, and his army crossing over, and dedicated it as first fruits in the temple of Juno.
When Darius reached the river Tearus he was so delighted with it that he erected a pillar with this inscription:The springs of the Tearus yield the best and finest water of all rivers; and a man, the best and finest of all men, came to them, leadingan army against the scythians, darius, son of hystaspes, king of the persians, and of the whole continent.
Before he reached the Ister, he subdued the Getæ, who think themselves immortal, supposing that they themselves do not die, but that the deceased go to the deity Zalmoxis. Every fifth year they dispatch one of themselves, taken by lot, to Zalmoxis, with orders to let him know on each occasion what they want. Their mode of sending him is this. Some who are appointed hold three javelins; whilst others take up the man who is to be sent to Zalmoxis by the hands and feet, swing him round, and throw him into the air, upon the points. If he is transfixed and dies, they think the god is propitious to them; if he does not die, they blame the messenger himself, saying that he is a bad man, and dispatch another.
When Darius and his land forces reached the Ister and all had crossed, Coes, general of the Mitylenians, advised the king to let the bridge remain over it, leaving the men who constructed it as its guard. "Not," said he, "that I am at all afraid that we shall be conquered in battle by the Scythians, but rather that, being unable to find them, we may suffer somewhat in our wanderings." "Lesbian friend," replied Darius, "when I am safe back in my own palace, fail not to present yourself to me, that I may requite you for good advice with good deeds." Tying sixty knots in a thong, he summoned the Ionian commanders to his presence, and said: "Men of Ionia, I have changed my resolution concerning the bridge; so take this thong, and as soon as you see me march against the Scythians, untie one of these knots every day; and if I return not until the days numbered by the knots have passed, sail away to your own country. Till that time, since I have changed my determination, guard the bridge, and apply the utmost care to preserve and secure it."
The Scythians determined to fight no battle in the open field, because their allies did not come to their assistance; but to retreat and draw off covertly, and fill up the wells and the springs as they passed by, and destroy the herbage on the ground. Theysent forward the best of their cavalry as an advanced guard; but the wagons, in which all their children and wives lived, they left behind.
Advancing with his army as quick as possible, he fell in with the Scythian divisions and pursued them, but they kept a day's march before him. The Scythians, for Darius did not relax his pursuit, fled, as had been determined, toward those nations that had refused to assist them. When this had continued for a considerable time, Darius sent a horseman to Indathyrsus, king of the Scythians, with the following message: "Most miserable of men, why dost thou continually fly, when it is in thy power to do one of these two other things? For if thou thinkest thou art able to resist my power, stand, and having ceased thy wanderings, fight; but if thou art conscious of thy inferiority, in that case also cease thy hurried march, and bringing earth and water as presents to thy master, come to a conference." To this Indathyrsus, the king of the Scythians, answered: "This is the case with me, O Persian; I never yet fled from any man out of fear, nor do I now so flee from thee; nor have I done any thing different now from what I am wont to do, even in time of peace; but why I do not forthwith fight thee, I will explain. We have no cities nor cultivated lands, for which we are under any apprehension lest they should be taken or ravaged. Yet, if it is by all means necessary to come to battle at once, we have the sepulchres of our ancestors, come, find these, and attempt to disturb them, then you will know whether we will fight for our sepulchres or not; but before that, unless we choose, we will not engage with thee. The only masters I acknowledge are Jupiter my progenitor, and Vesta, queen of the Scythians; but to thee, instead of presents of earth and water, I will send such presents as are proper to come to thee. And in answer to thy boast, that thou art my master, I bid thee weep." (This is a Scythian saying.) The herald therefore departed carrying this answer to Darius.
When the kings of the Scythians heard the name of servitude, they were filled with indignation; whereupon they sent the divisionunited with the Sauromatæ, which Scopasis commanded, with orders to confer with the Ionians, who guarded the bridge over the Ister. Those who were left resolved no longer to lead the Persians about, but to attack them whenever they were taking their meals; accordingly, observing the soldiers of Darius taking their meals, they put their design in execution. The Scythian cavalry always routed the Persian cavalry, but the Persian horsemen in their flight fell back on the infantry, and the infantry supported them. The Scythians, having beaten back the cavalry, wheeled around through fear of the infantry. A very remarkable circumstance, that was advantageous to the Persians and adverse to the Scythians, when they attacked the camp of Darius, was the braying of the asses and the appearance of the mules, for Scythia produces neither ass nor mule; there is not in the whole Scythian territory a single ass or mule, by reason of cold. The asses, then, growing playful, put the Scythian horses into confusion; and frequently, as they were advancing upon the Persians, when the horses heard, midway, the braying of the asses, they wheeled round in confusion, and were greatly amazed, pricking up their ears, as having never before heard such a sound, nor seen such a shape; and this circumstance in some slight degree affected the fortune of the war.
When the Scythians saw the Persians in great commotion, to detain them longer in Scythia they left some of their own cattle in the care of the herdsmen and withdrew to another spot; and the Persians coming up, took the cattle and exulted in what they had done. When this had happened several times, Darius at last was in a great strait, and the kings of the Scythians, having ascertained this, sent a herald, bearing as gifts to Darius, a bird, a mouse, a frog, and five arrows. The Persians asked the bearer of the gifts the meaning of this present; but he answered that he had no other orders than to deliver them and return immediately; and he advised the Persians, if they were wise, to discover what the gifts meant. Darius' opinion was that the Scythians meant to give themselves up to him, as well as earth and water; forminghis conjecture thus: since a mouse is bred in the earth, and subsists on the same food as a man; a frog lives in the water; a bird is very like a horse; and the arrows they deliver up as their whole strength. But Gobryas, one of the seven who had deposed the magus, did not coincide with this; he conjectured that the presents intimated: "Unless, O Persians, ye become birds and fly into the air, or become mice and hide yourselves beneath the earth, or become frogs and leap into the lakes, ye shall never return home again, but be stricken by these arrows." And thus the other Persians interpreted the gifts.
The rest of the Scythians, after they had sent the presents to Darius, drew themselves up opposite the Persians with their foot and horse, as if they intended to come to an engagement; and as the Scythians were standing in their ranks, a hare started in the midst of them; and each went in pursuit of it. The Scythians being in great confusion, and shouting loudly, Darius asked the meaning of the uproar in the enemy's ranks; but when he heard that they were pursuing a hare, he said to those he was accustomed to address on such occasions: "These men treat us with great contempt; and I am convinced that Gobryas spoke rightly concerning the Scythian presents. I feel that we have need of the best advice, how our return home may be effected in safety." To this Gobryas answered: "O king, I was in some measure acquainted by report with these men; but I have learned much more since I came hither, and seen how they make sport of us. My opinion is, that as soon as night draws on we should light fires, as we are accustomed to do, and having deceived and left behind those soldiers who are least able to bear hardships, and having tethered all the asses, should depart before the Scythians direct their march to the Ister, for the purpose of destroying the bridge, or the Ionians take any resolution which may occasion our ruin." Darius acted on this opinion: the infirm amongst the soldiers, and those whose loss would be of the least consequence, he left on the spot in the camp. And he left the asses, that they might make a noise; and the men were left on this pretext, that he with thestrength of his army was about to attack the Scythians, and they, during that time, would defend the camp. So Darius laid these injunctions on those he was preparing to abandon, caused the fires to be lighted, and marched away with all speed toward the Ister. The asses, deserted by the multitude, began to bray much louder than usual; so that the Scythians, hearing them, supposed of course that the Persians were still at their station. When day appeared, the men that were abandoned, discovering that they had been betrayed by Darius, extended their hands to the Scythians, and told them what had occurred; when they heard this the divisions of the Scythians joined forces as quickly as possible and pursued the Persians straight toward the Ister. But as a great part of the Persian army consisted of infantry, and they did not know the way, there being no roads cut, and as the Scythian army consisted of cavalry, and knew the shortest route, they missed each other, and the Scythians arrived at the bridge much before the Persians. Finding that the Persians were not yet arrived, they spoke to the Ionians who were on board the ships in these terms: "Men of Ionia, the number of days appointed for your stay is already passed, and you do not as you ought in continuing here; but if you remained before through fear, now break up the passage and depart as quickly as possible, rejoicing that you are free, and give thanks to the gods and the Scythians. As for the man who before was your master, we will so deal with him that he shall never hereafter make war on any people."
Upon this the Ionians held a consultation. The opinion of Miltiades the Athenian, who commanded and reigned over the Chersonesites on the Hellespont, was, that they should comply with the request of the Scythians, and restore liberty to Ionia. But Histiæus the Milesian was of a contrary opinion, and said, "that every one reigned over his own city through Darius; and if Darius' power should be destroyed, neither would he himself continue master of Miletus, nor any of the rest of other places; because every one of the cities would choose to be governed rather by a democracy than a tyranny." Histiæus had no sooner delivered thisopinion, than all went over to his side, who had before assented to that of Miltiades. Approving of the opinion of Histiæus, they determined to add to it the following acts and words. To break up the bridge on the Scythian side, as far as a bow-shot might reach, that they might seem to do something, when in effect they did nothing; and that the Scythians might not attempt to use violence and purpose to cross the Ister by the bridge; and to say, while they were breaking up the bridge on the Scythian side, they would do every thing that might be agreeable to the Scythians. And, Histiæus delivered the answer in the name of all, saying as follows: "Men of Scythia, you have brought us good advice, and urge it seasonably; you, on your part, have pointed out the right way to us, and we on ours readily submit to you; for, as you see, we are breaking up the passage, and will use all diligence, desiring to be free. But while we are breaking it up, it is fitting you should seek for them, and having found them, avenge us and yourselves on them, as they deserve." The Scythians, believing a second time that the Ionians were sincere, turned back to seek the Persians; but entirely missed the way they had taken. The Scythians themselves were the cause of this, as they had destroyed the pastures for the horses in this direction, and filled in the wells; for if they had not done this, they might easily have found the Persians; but now they erred in the very thing which they thought they had contrived for the best. For the Scythians sought the enemy by traversing those parts of the country where there was forage and water for the horses, thinking that they too would make their retreat by that way. But the Persians carefully observing their former track, returned by it, and thus with difficulty found the passage. As they arrived in the night, and perceived the bridge broken off, they fell into the utmost consternation, lest the Ionians had abandoned them. There was with Darius an Egyptian, who had an exceedingly loud voice. This man Darius commanded to stand on the bank of the Ister, and called Histiæus the Milesian. He did so, and Histiæus, having heard the first shout, brought up all the ships to carry the army across, and joined the bridge. Thus the Persians escaped.