Legends about the origin of the Scythians. Origin of the Scythians Ancient Scythians legends about them with the Greeks

Skoloty (ancient Greek Σκόλοτοι) is the self-name of the Scythians according to Herodotus. Almost 25 centuries ago, Herodotus used it in the following context:

According to the stories of the Scythians, their people are the youngest. And it happened this way. The first inhabitant of this then uninhabited country was a man named Targitai. The parents of this Targitai, as the Scythians say, were Zeus and the daughter of the river Borysthenes (I, of course, do not believe this, despite their claims). Targitai was of this kind, and he had three sons: Lipoksai, Arpoksai and the youngest, Kolaksai. During their reign, golden objects fell from the sky onto the Scythian land: a plow, a yoke, an ax and a bowl.

The elder brother was the first to see these things. As soon as he approached to pick them up, the gold began to glow. Then he retreated, and the second brother approached, and again the gold was engulfed in flames. So the heat of the flaming gold drove away both brothers, but when the third, younger brother approached, the flame went out, and he took the gold to his house. Therefore, the older brothers agreed to give the kingdom to the younger.

So, from Lipoxais, as they say, came the Scythian tribe called the Avchatians, from the middle brother - the tribe of the Katiars and Traspians, and from the youngest of the brothers - the king - the tribe of the Paralats. All the tribes together are called skolots, that is, royal ones. The Hellenes call them Scythians

Herodotus. Story. IV.5 - 6

At the same time, other fundamentally important evidence of Herodotus is often ignored

IV.7. This is how the Scythians tell about the origin of their people. They think, however, that from the time of the first king Targitai until the invasion of their land by Darius, only 1000 years passed (approximately 1514-1512 BC; commentary). The Scythian kings carefully guarded the mentioned sacred gold objects and revered them with reverence, making rich sacrifices every year. If someone at a festival falls asleep in the open air with this sacred gold, then, according to the Scythians, he will not live even a year. Therefore, the Scythians give him as much land as he can travel on horseback in a day. Since they had a lot of land, Kolaksais divided it, according to the stories of the Scythians, into three kingdoms between his three sons. He made the largest kingdom where gold was stored (not mined). In the region lying even further north of the land of the Scythians, as they say, nothing can be seen and it is impossible to penetrate there because of flying feathers. And indeed, the ground and air there are full of feathers, and this is what interferes with vision.

8. This is how the Scythians themselves talk about themselves and their neighboring northern countries. The Hellenes who live on Pontus convey it differently (claiming a deeper memory: commentary). Hercules, driving the bulls of Geryon (usually cows), arrived in this then uninhabited country (now it is occupied by the Scythians). Geryon lived far from Pontus, on an island in the Ocean near Gadir behind the Pillars of Hercules (the Greeks call this island Erythia). The ocean, according to the Hellenes, flows, starting from sunrise, around the entire earth, but they cannot prove this. It was from there that Hercules arrived in what is now called the country of the Scythians. There he was caught by bad weather and cold. Wrapping himself in a pig's skin, he fell asleep, and at that time his draft horses (he let them graze) miraculously disappeared.

9. Having awakened, Hercules went throughout the country in search of horses and finally arrived in a land called Hylea. There, in a cave, he found a certain creature of a mixed nature - a half-maiden, half-snake Goddess with snakes (the ancestor of the Scythians is known from a number of ancient images: commentary). The upper part of her body from the buttocks was female, and the lower part was snakelike. Seeing her, Hercules asked in surprise if she had seen his lost horses somewhere. In response, the snake woman said that she had the horses, but she would not give them up until Hercules entered into a love affair with her. Then Hercules, for the sake of such a reward, united with this woman. However, she hesitated to give up the horses, wanting to keep Hercules with her as long as possible, and he would gladly leave with the horses. Finally, the woman gave up the horses with the words: “I kept these horses that came to me for you; You have now paid a ransom for them. After all, I have three sons from you. Tell me, what should I do with them when they grow up? Should I leave them here (after all, I alone own this country) or send them to you?” That's what she asked. Hercules answered this: “When you see that your sons have matured, then it is best for you to do this: see which of them can pull my bow like this and gird himself with this belt, as I show you, let him live here. Anyone who does not follow my instructions will be sent to a foreign land. If you do this, then you yourself will be satisfied and fulfill my desire.”

10. With these words, Hercules pulled one of his bows (until then, Hercules carried two bows). Then, having shown how to gird himself, he handed over the bow and belt (a golden cup hung at the end of the belt clasp) and left. When the children grew up, the mother gave them names. She named one Agathirs, the other Gelon, and the younger Scythian. Then, remembering Hercules' advice, she did as Hercules ordered. Two sons - Agathirs and Gelon could not cope with the task, and their mother expelled them from the country. The youngest, Skif, managed to complete the task and remained in the country. From this Scythian, the son of Hercules, all the Scythian kings descended. And in memory of that golden cup, to this day the Scythians wear cups on their belts (this is what the mother did for the benefit of Scythians).

11. There is also a third legend (I myself trust it most). It goes like this. The nomadic tribes of the Scythians lived in Asia. When the Massagetae ousted them from there by military force, the Scythians crossed the Araks and arrived in the Cimmerian land (the country now inhabited by the Scythians is said to have belonged to the Cimmerians since ancient times). As the Scythians approached, the Cimmerians began to hold advice on what to do in the face of a large enemy army. And so at the council, opinions were divided. Although both sides stubbornly stood their ground, the kings’ proposal won. The people were in favor of retreat, considering it unnecessary to fight so many enemies. The kings, on the contrary, considered it necessary to stubbornly defend their native land from invaders. So, the people did not heed the advice of the kings, and the kings did not want to submit to the people. The people decided to leave their homeland and give their land to the invaders without a fight; The kings, on the contrary, preferred to die in their native land rather than flee with their people. After all, the kings understood what great happiness they had experienced in their native land and what troubles awaited the exiles deprived of their homeland. Having made this decision, the Cimmerians divided into two equal parts and began to fight among themselves. The Cimmerian people buried all those who fell in the fratricidal war near the Tiras River (the grave of the kings can still be seen there to this day). After this, the Cimmerians left their land, and the Scythians who arrived took possession of the deserted country.

12. And now in the Scythian land there are Cimmerian fortifications and Cimmerian crossings; There is also a region called Cimmeria and the so-called Cimmerian Bosporus. Fleeing from the Scythians to Asia, the Cimmerians, as is known, occupied the peninsula where the Hellenic city of Sinope is now. It is also known that the Scythians, in pursuit of the Cimmerians, lost their way and invaded the Median land. After all, the Cimmerians constantly moved along the coast of Pontus, while the Scythians, during the pursuit, stayed to the left of the Caucasus until they invaded the land of the Medes. So, they turned inland. This last legend is conveyed equally by both Hellenes and barbarians.

Herodotus. Story. IV.7 - 12

The absence, in particular, of “gold” in the legend about the origin of the Scythians from Hercules indicates its greater antiquity compared to the legends of the Scythians themselves about the times of Targitai. Moreover, according to one version, the Scythians existed before Hercules, who was taught archery by the Scythian Tevtar.

According to a number of modern linguists, “skolote” is a form of Iran. *skuda-ta- “archers”, where -ta- are an indicator of collectiveness (the same meaning of -тæ- is preserved in modern Ossetian). It is noteworthy that the self-name of the Sarmatians “Σαρμάται” (Sauromatæ), according to J. Harmatta, had the same meaning.

Scythians are ancient tribes in the Northern Black Sea region who lived in the 7th-3rd centuries BC. e. and managed to create a culture that was quite high for that time, which was subsequently absorbed by the peoples of Eastern Europe, Western and Central Asia.

In the history of civilization, the Scythians occupied second place after the Greeks and Romans; moreover, they were the direct heirs of their cultural traditions. The origin of the Scythians is still unknown. Despite the presence of a huge number of hypotheses, even now it is impossible to say with certainty where these people came from.

The ancient Greek scientist, “father of history” Herodotus, who lived in the 5th century BC. e., during one of his travels he visited the Northern Black Sea region and became acquainted with the morals and customs of the Scythians. It was he who wrote down two legends about the origin of the Scythians, one of which was told to him by the Scythians themselves, and the other by the Hellenes.

According to the first legend, in the land of the Scythians, which was at that time a deserted desert, a man named Targitai was born to the god Zeus and the daughter of the river Borysthenes. The boy grew quickly and soon turned into a handsome, strong young man. He married a beautiful girl who gave him three sons: Lipoksai, Artoksai and Kolaksai.

One day the brothers were walking across a field, and suddenly 4 golden objects fell from the sky: a plow, a yoke, an ax and a bowl. The elder brother was the first to notice them and wanted to take them. But as soon as he came closer, the gold suddenly ignited. Then the second brother tried to pick up the objects, but he too suffered the same fate. When the younger brother approached the things, the burning of gold stopped. Kolaksai picked up the objects and took them to him. The eldest and middle brothers understood the symbolism of this event and ceded the right to rule the kingdom to the younger.

Further, Herodotus says: “And from Lipoksay came those Scythians who bear the name of the clan of Avkhats; from the middle brother Artoxai - those called catiars and trapii, and from the younger king - those called paralates; the general name of all of them is chipped, after the name of one king; The Hellenes called them Scythians.”

The Hellenic legend tells about Hercules, who, “chasing the bulls of Geryon,” arrived in the country where the Scythians now live, and “since he was overtaken by a blizzard and frost, he wrapped himself in a lion’s skin and fell asleep, and at that time his horses “They miraculously disappeared into the pasture.” Quite an interesting clause: Hercules drove the bulls, but his horses disappeared. It is still unknown who made the inaccuracy - the Hellenes or Herodotus.

According to this legend, in search of bulls (horses), Hercules walked around the entire earth and came to Polesie. There, in one of the caves, he discovered a strange creature - a half-maiden, half-snake. Hercules asked if she had seen his horses, to which the half-maiden replied that she had mares, “but she would not give them to him before he communicated with her.”

Hercules agreed to her conditions, but the half-maiden, wanting to prolong their relationship, kept delaying the return of the animals. They lived together for a long time and had three sons. In the end, she decided to give Hercules the mares, but before that she asked him what to do with her sons when they grew up: keep them or send them to their father.

Hercules answered like this: “When you see your sons matured, it is best to do this: see which of them will draw this bow like this and gird himself, in my opinion, with this belt, and give him this land to live in, and which one will not be able to fulfill the proposed my tasks, they left the country.” Having said this, Hercules handed the half-maiden a bow and a belt with a golden cup at the end of the buckle.

When the sons grew up, the mother subjected them to the test proposed by Hercules. The eldest - Agathirs - and the middle - Gelon - were unable to repeat their father’s feat and were expelled from the country. The youngest son, Scythian, exactly reproduced his father’s movements and became the founder of the dynasty of Scythian kings.

Meanwhile, the ancient Greek historian had his own point of view on the problem of the origin of the Scythians. According to his hypothesis, the nomadic Scythians who lived in Asia, tired of repelling the constant raids of the Massagetae, retired to the Cimmerian land and several centuries later founded their state there.

Having settled in new lands, the Scythians established trade relations with the Greeks, as evidenced by dishes and metal products of Greek origin found by archaeologists. Commodity-money relations in those distant times were not yet developed, so the Scythian tribes were forced to pay for Greek dishes, gold and bronze jewelry with products of their own production, mainly bread.

In those distant times, the Scythians experienced a process of decomposition of tribal relations, which was reflected in funeral rites. The dead were buried in wooden structures on pillars, in pits simulating dwellings, in catacombs and in the mounds of mounds. Among the grave goods one can find battle axes, swords, armor and helmets of Greek work, various kinds of jewelry, and mirrors.

The patriarchal nature of the relationship is evidenced by the fact that free women were buried in mounds built for male burials. The burials of young women, in which, in addition to jewelry, weapons were found, deserve special attention. Apparently, while men were on campaigns of conquest, women were forced to defend their home from the raids of nomads with weapons in their hands.

The Scythians had the institution of slavery. In the early stages of the development of society, slaves became prisoners captured in military campaigns. When a master died, his slaves followed him to the grave. The unfortunate were buried in a bent position with their knees pressed to their stomachs.

The basis of the economy of the Scythian state was conquest against neighboring tribes. Herodotus tells of a campaign against the Medes that lasted 28 years. Tired, the Scythians returned to their native places, hoping to find comfort and peace there. However, their hopes were not destined to come true. Returning home, “they met a considerable army marching against them, because the Scythian women, due to the prolonged absence of their husbands, entered into relations with slaves...”

The young men born as a result of such misalliances decided to oppose the Scythians. They dug a deep ditch stretching from the Tauride Mountains to Lake Meotida. Nevertheless, the Scythians managed to overcome this obstacle, after which several battles took place, in which the returning warriors won. The values brought from the campaign, which belonged to the class societies of the Near East, had a huge influence on the formation of the artistic style of the Scythians.

At the end of the 6th century BC. e. Darius, the king of the powerful Persian state, went to war against the Scythians. The Persian army, numbering 700 thousand people, invaded the territory of Scythia.

Scythian intelligence worked superbly. The military leaders had an idea not only of the number of Persian troops, but also of their route. The Scythians realized that they would not be able to defeat the Persians in open battle. Then they invited the kings of neighboring peoples - the Taurians, Agathyrsians, Neuroi, Androphagi, Budins and Sauromatians - to a military council.

It should be noted that most of the kings refused to help the Scythians, arguing that “the Scythians were the first to start the war and now the Persians, at the inspiration of the deity, are paying them the same.” Then the Scythians divided all available military forces into 3 fronts and began to defend their territory using guerrilla warfare methods.

For a long time, the Scythians managed to hold back the onslaught of the Persians. During this period, they managed to inflict significant damage on the Persian army. Then Darius sent a messenger to them with a proposal to either fight in open battle, or submit and recognize the Persian king as their ruler.

In response, the Scythians said that they would fight only when it pleased them, and promised to send Darius gifts in the near future, but not those that he expected to receive. At the end of the message, the Scythian king Idanfirs allowed himself to express a threat to the Persian king: “For the fact that you called yourself my ruler, you will pay me.”

Military operations continued, and the Persian forces were melting away. Herodotus says that in the last days of the war, when it was already clear who would win, the Scythian king sent ambassadors to Darius with gifts consisting of a bird, a mouse, a frog and five arrows. No comments were attached to the gifts.

Darius understood the meaning of these gifts: the Scythians were given to him with land and water. The arrows, in his opinion, symbolized the Scythians’ refusal to continue hostilities. However, another Persian, Gorbiya, familiar with the morals and customs of the Scythians, interpreted the meaning of these gifts differently: “If you, Persians, do not fly away like birds into the sky, or, like mice, do not hide in the ground, or, like frogs, If you don’t gallop into the lakes, you won’t come back and will fall under the blows of these arrows.”

After sending the gifts, the Scythians prepared for a decisive battle. Suddenly, a hare ran in front of the formation and the Scythians rushed to pursue it. Having learned about this incident, Darius said: “These people treat us with great disdain, and it is now clear to me that Gorbia correctly explained to me the meaning of these gifts.” On the same day, the Scythians finally defeated the Persians and expelled them from the country.

After the victory over the Persians, the Scythians lived in peace with their neighbors for a long time. However, the Sarmatian invasion forced the Scythians to abandon their homes and move to Crimea. The new capital of the Scythian state began to be called Scythian Naples.

The last stage of the history of the Scythians is associated with their concentration on the Crimean Peninsula. The territory of the Scythian slave state became much smaller than before, and the number of neighbors also decreased. In the south, in the Crimean Mountains, these are the descendants of the Cimmerians - the Taurians, on the Kerch Peninsula - the Bosporan Kingdom and on the west coast - the Greek city of Chersonesos. Sarmatian tribes blocked their access to the Ukrainian steppes.

During this period, the Scythians developed especially close relations with the Tauri. The latter, apparently, were drawn into the general political life of Crimea and were no longer such savages as Greek historians painted them. The contact of the Scythians with the Tauri became known after studying the funerary monuments of the steppe Crimea. In particular, in some burial grounds, archaeologists discovered collective burials of ordinary Scythians, characteristic of the Tauri.

Interestingly, they lacked weapons. Such stone boxes are found mainly in the foothills of the Crimean Peninsula, that is, near the territories of the Tauri. At the beginning of our era, a new term appeared - “Tavro-Scythians”, discovered on one of the Bosporan inscriptions. Some researchers believe that it may indicate partial assimilation of the Tauri with the Scythians.

The Crimean Scythian settlements of this period studied in recent years are mainly of an ancient nature. This can be seen in the fortification system and residential buildings. The most indicative in this regard are Scythian Naples - a city that combined barbarian and Greek features; Turkish rampart and ditch bordering Crimea along the Perekop line.

In the 2nd century BC. e. Olbia, located on the periphery of the state, began to lose its former importance. Chersonesos acquired an increasingly important role, especially in trade. The Scythian state, despite the fact that it had lost a significant part of its territories and weakened economically, continued to pursue a rather active policy in Crimea. First of all, the Scythians tried to take possession of Chersonesos and completely subjugate it.

But Chersonesus, having enlisted the support of the Pontic king Pharnaces, who promised to protect the city from barbarians, defeated the army of the Scythians and Taurians. The war ended with the defeat of the Scythian army.

Despite the difficult times that came for the Scythian kingdom and the defeat in Crimea, these events did not lead to the death of the state. Historians testify that the Scythians started most of their wars due to a lack of money in the state. But after they lost their former power, the Scythians decided to improve their situation in another way.

The state decided to transfer ownership of its lands to those who wanted to cultivate them, and were content with the agreed payment. They fought with those who refused to pay them.

During this period, the Scythians could no longer maintain Olbia in their permanent power, and in the 1st century BC. e. it was defeated by the warlike Getae tribe. After this, the Scythians partially populated and restored Olbia, but it no longer resembled the once rich and flourishing city. Nevertheless, as a sign of its independence, the city issued coins with the names of the Scythian kings Pharzoi and Inismey.

During this period, Olbia was under the protectorate of the Scythians, but they did not influence the general political situation, and when in the 2nd century BC. e. The Romans decided to include it in their empire; the Scythian state was unable to resist this.

It should be noted that at this time the Scythian state could not conduct an independent policy on the Black Sea coast, much less resist Roman intervention. During the 2nd-1st centuries BC. e. Conflicts regularly occurred between the Bosporus and the Scythians, as a result of which the advantage was constantly on the side of the more powerful Bosporus state.

Thus, the Scythian state by the 1st century BC. e. was no longer viable: its economy was completely undermined, trade relations disintegrated due to the inaccessibility of the points through which it constantly traded. In addition, at this time a mass movement of barbarians began. The state of Germanarich played a major role in this, uniting many tribes of the Northern Black Sea region, who, together with the Sarmatians, Proto-Slavs and Goths, penetrated into the Crimea.

As a result of their invasion, Naples and many other Scythian cities were destroyed. After this raid, the Scythian state did not have the strength to restore. It is with this event that historians associate the final death of the Scythian state, which existed from the 5th to the 2nd centuries BC. e.

Scythians- ancient tribes in the Northern Black Sea region who lived in the 7th-3rd centuries BC. e. and managed to create a culture that was quite high for that time, which was subsequently absorbed by the peoples of Eastern Europe, Western and Central Asia.

The ancient Greek scientist, “father of history” Herodotus, who lived in the 5th century BC. e., during one of his travels he visited the Northern Black Sea region and became acquainted with the morals and customs of the Scythians. It was he who wrote down two legends about the origin of the Scythians, one of them was told to him by the Scythians themselves, and the other by the Hellenes.

Further, Herodotus says: “And from Lipoksay came those Scythians who bear the name of the clan of Avkhats; from the middle brother Artoxai - those called catiars and trapii, and from the younger king - those called paralates; the common name of all of them is chipped, after the name of one king; The Hellenes called them Scythians.”

When the sons grew up, the mother subjected them to the test proposed by Hercules. The eldest, Agathirs, and the middle, Gelon, were unable to repeat their father’s feat and were expelled from the country. The youngest son, Scythian, exactly reproduced his father’s movements and became the founder of the dynasty of Scythian kings.

Interestingly, they lacked weapons. Such stone boxes are found mainly in the foothills of the Crimean Peninsula, that is, near the territories of the Tauri. At the beginning of our era, a new term appeared - “Tauro-Scythians”, discovered on one of the Bosporan inscriptions. Some researchers believe that it may indicate partial assimilation of the Tauri with the Scythians.

The Crimean Scythian settlements of this period studied in recent years are mainly of an ancient nature. This can be seen in the fortification system and residential buildings. The most indicative in this regard is Scythian Naples - a city that combined barbarian and Greek features; Turkish rampart and ditch bordering Crimea along the Perekop line.

The state decided to transfer ownership of its lands to those who wanted to cultivate them, and were content with the agreed payment. They fought with those who refused to pay them.

Herodotus reports three legends about the origin of the Scythians:

5. According to the stories of the Scythians, their people are the youngest. And it happened this way. The first inhabitant of this then uninhabited country was a man named Targitai. The parents of this Targitai, as the Scythians say, were Zeus and the daughter of the river Borysthenes, the goddess Api. Targitai was of this kind, and he had three sons: Lipoksai, Arpoksai and the youngest - Kolaksai. During their reign, golden objects fell from the sky onto the Scythian land: a plow, a yoke, an ax and a bowl.

6. The elder brother was the first to see these things. As soon as he approached to pick them up, the gold began to glow. Then he retreated, and the second brother approached, and again the gold was engulfed in flames. So the heat of the flaming gold drove away both brothers, but when the third, younger brother approached, the flame went out, and he took the gold to his house. Therefore, the older brothers agreed to give the kingdom to the younger. So, from Lipoxais, as they say, came the Scythian tribe called the Avchatians, from the middle brother - the tribe of the Katiars and Traspians, and from the youngest of the brothers - the king - the tribe of the Paralats. All the tribes together are called skolots, that is, royal ones. The Hellenes call them Scythians.

7. This is how the Scythians tell about the origin of their people. They think, however, that from the time of the first king Targitai to the invasion of their land by Darius, just 1000 years passed. The Scythian kings carefully guarded the mentioned sacred gold objects and revered them with reverence, making rich sacrifices every year. If at a festival someone falls asleep in the open air with this sacred gold, then, according to the Scythians, he will not live even a year. Therefore, the Scythians give him as much land as he can travel on horseback in a day. Since they had a lot of land, Kolaksais divided it, according to the stories of the Scythians, into three kingdoms between his three sons. He made the largest kingdom where gold was stored (not mined). In the region lying even further north of the land of the Scythians, as they say, nothing can be seen and it is impossible to penetrate there because of flying feathers. And indeed, the ground and air there are full of feathers, and this is what interferes with vision.

8. This is how the Scythians themselves talk about themselves and their neighboring northern countries. The Hellenes who live on Pontus convey it differently. Hercules, driving the bulls of Geryon (usually cows), arrived in this then uninhabited country (now it is occupied by the Scythians). Geryon lived far from Pontus, on an island in the Ocean near Gadir behind the Pillars of Hercules (the Greeks call this island Erythia). The ocean, according to the Hellenes, flows, starting from sunrise, around the entire earth, but they cannot prove this. It was from there that Hercules arrived in what is now called the country of the Scythians. There he was caught by bad weather and cold. Wrapping himself in a pig's skin, he fell asleep, and at that time his draft horses (he let them graze) miraculously disappeared.

9. Having awakened, Hercules went throughout the country in search of horses and finally arrived in a land called Hylea. There, in a cave, he found a certain creature of a mixed nature - half-maiden, half-snake (the Goddess with snakes, the ancestor of the Scythians, is known from a number of ancient images). The upper part of her body from the buttocks was female, and the lower part was snakelike. Seeing her, Hercules asked in surprise if she had seen his lost horses somewhere. In response, the snake woman said that she had the horses, but she would not give them up until Hercules entered into a love affair with her. Then Hercules, for the sake of such a reward, united with this woman. However, she hesitated to give up the horses, wanting to keep Hercules with her as long as possible, and he would gladly leave with the horses. Finally, the woman gave up the horses with the words: “I kept these horses that came to me for you; You have now paid a ransom for them. After all, I have three sons from you. Tell me, what should I do with them when they grow up? Should I leave them here (after all, I alone own this country) or send them to you?” That's what she asked. Hercules answered this: “When you see that your sons have matured, then it is best for you to do this: see which of them can pull my bow like this and gird himself with this belt, as I show you, let him live here. Anyone who does not follow my instructions will be sent to a foreign land. If you do this, then you yourself will be satisfied and fulfill my desire.”

12. And now in the Scythian land there are Cimmerian fortifications and Cimmerian crossings; There is also a region called Cimmeria and the so-called Cimmerian Bosporus. Fleeing from the Scythians to Asia, the Cimmerians occupied the peninsula where the Hellenic city of Sinope is now. It is also known that the Scythians, in pursuit of the Cimmerians, lost their way and invaded the Median land. After all, the Cimmerians constantly moved along the coast of Pontus, while the Scythians, during the pursuit, stayed to the left of the Caucasus until they invaded the land of the Medes. So, they turned inland. This last legend is conveyed equally by both Hellenes and barbarians.

Herodotus. Story. IV.5 - 12

Tribes of Scythia

The main area of settlement of the Scythians is the steppes between the lower reaches of the Danube and Don, including the steppe Crimea and areas adjacent to the Northern Black Sea Coast. The northern border is unclear. The Scythians were divided into several large tribes. According to Herodotus, the dominant ones were royal Scythians- the easternmost of the Scythian tribes, bordering the Don with the Sauromatians, also occupied the steppe Crimea. To the west they lived Scythian nomads, and even further west, on the left bank of the Dnieper - Scythian farmers. On the right bank of the Dnieper, in the basin of the Southern Bug, near the city of Olvia, they lived callipids, or Helleno-Scythians, north of them - alazons, and even further north - Scythian plowmen.

Ancient sources mention a number of other tribes that lived in Scythia or adjacent territories, both related to the Scythians and foreign: Boruski, Agathirs, Gelons, Neuroi (Nervii), Arimaspi, Fissagetae, Iirki, Budins, Melanchlens, Avhatians (Lipoxai), Katiars (arpoxai), traspia (arpoxai), paralates (koloksai, scolota), issedons, taurians, argippea, androphages

Story

Emergence

Scythian culture is actively studied by supporters of the Kurgan hypothesis. Archaeologists date the formation of the relatively generally recognized Scythian culture to the 7th century BC. e. . There are two main approaches to interpreting its occurrence:

§ according to one, based on the so-called “Third Legend” of Herodotus, the Scythians came from the east;

§ another approach, which can also be based on legends recorded by Herodotus, assumes that the Scythians by that time lived in the Northern Black Sea region for at least several centuries, having separated from the successors of the Timber-frame culture.

Heyday

The beginning of the relatively generally accepted history of the Scythians and Scythia is the 8th century BC. e., the return of the main forces of the Scythians to the Northern Black Sea region, where the Cimmerians had ruled for centuries before. The Cimmerians were forced out of the Northern Black Sea region by the Scythians by the 7th century BC. e. and the Scythian campaigns in Asia Minor. In the 70s of the 7th century BC. e. The Scythians invaded Media, Syria, the Kingdom of Israel and, according to Herodotus, “dominated” in Western Asia, where they created the Scythian Kingdom - Ishkuza, but by the beginning of the 6th century BC. e.were forced out of there. Traces of the presence of the Scythians are also noted in the North Caucasus.

Close relations with the slave-owning cities of the Northern Black Sea region, the intensive trade of the Scythians in cattle, grain, furs and slaves strengthened the process of class formation in Scythian society. It is known that the Scythians had a tribal union, which gradually acquired the features of a unique state of the early slaveholding type, headed by a king. The power of the king was hereditary and deified. It was limited to the union council and the people's assembly. There was a separation of the military aristocracy, warriors and priestly stratum. The political unity of the Scythians was facilitated by their war with the Persian king Darius I in 512 BC. e. - the Scythians were led by three kings: Idanfirs, Skopas and Taxakis. At the turn of the V-IV centuries BC. e. The Scythians became more active on the southwestern borders of Scythia. Expansion into Thrace intensified under King Ataeus, who probably united Scythia under his leadership. This caused a war with the Macedonian king Philip II. However, Justin does not report that Philip crossed the Danube during the campaign against Ataeus, but says that Philip sent ambassadors ahead to inform Ataeus that he was heading to the mouth of the Istra (modern Danube) to erect a statue of Hercules. Based on this, the question of what territories Atey owned remains debatable.

In 339 BC e. King Atheus died in the war with the Macedonian king Philip II. In 331 BC e. Zopyrion, the governor of Alexander the Great in Thrace, invaded the western possessions of the Scythians, besieged Olbia, but the Scythians destroyed his army:

Zopyrion, left by Alexander the Great as governor of Pontus, believing that he would be considered lazy if he did not carry out any undertaking, gathered 30 thousand troops and went to war against the Scythians, but was destroyed with the entire army...

An archaeological study of the Kamensky settlement (with an area of about 1200 hectares) showed that during the heyday of the Scythian kingdom it was the administrative, trade and economic center of the steppe Scythians. Sharp changes in the social structure of the Scythians by the 4th century. BC e. reflected in the appearance in the Dnieper region of grandiose burial mounds of the Scythian aristocracy, the so-called. “royal mounds”, reaching a height of more than 20 m. The kings and their warriors were buried in them in deep and complex funeral structures. The burials of the aristocracy were accompanied by the burial of slain wives or concubines, servants (slaves) and horses.

Warriors were buried with weapons: short akinaki swords with gold sheath linings, a mass of arrows with bronze tips, quivers or goritas lined with gold plates, spears and darts with iron tips. Rich graves often contained copper, gold and silver dishes, Greek painted ceramics and amphorae with wine, and a variety of jewelry, often fine jewelry work by Scythian and Greek craftsmen. During the burial of ordinary Scythian community members, basically the same ritual was performed, but the grave goods were poorer.

The myths and legends of the peoples of Kuban have reached us only in the retelling of ancient authors. They are complemented by images on gold and silver vessels, weapons, jewelry and household items found during excavations of rich burials.
The most valuable source of information about the origin, history and customs of the Scythians and their neighbors is rightfully considered the work of Herodotus “History”.
He traveled a lot in the countries of the East, visited Babylon and Sicily, the banks of the Nile and the islands of the Aegean Sea. He also visited Scythia. Everything seen and heard formed a bright, motley picture of the life and morals of the Scythians, social structure, military affairs, beliefs and rituals.
The way of life, customs, legends and myths described by Herodotus provide a lot of information about the peoples of the Kuban region, who were close to the Scythians in language and occupation.

Legends about the origin of the Scythians

One of them, according to Herodotus, was told to him by the Black Sea Scythians themselves.
“The Scythians say that their people are younger than all others and originated as follows: in their land, which was a deserted desert, the first man, named Targitai, was born.
He had three sons: Lipoksai, Arpoksai and the younger Kolaksai. With them, three golden objects fell from the sky onto the Scythian land: a plow, an ax and a bowl. The eldest of the brothers, the first to see these objects, came closer, wanting to take them, but as he approached, the gold ignited. Then the second one came up, but the same thing happened with the gold.
Thus, the gold, igniting, did not allow them to approach it, but with the approach of the third brother, the youngest, the burning stopped, and he took the gold.
The older brothers, realizing the significance of this miracle, handed over the entire kingdom to the younger ones.” According to the Scythians, they descended from the sons of Targitai, who was considered the son of Zeus.
Herodotus attributes the second legend about the origin of the Scythians to the Greek colonists. According to this legend, the first people in the Scythian land were Agafyrs, Gelon and Scythian, born from the Greek hero Hercules and the local half-maiden-half-snake. Leaving her, Hercules said: “When you see your sons matured, it is best to do this: see which of them will draw this bow like this and gird himself, in my opinion, with this belt, and give him this land to live in, and which one will not be able to To fulfill my task, we left the country. By doing this, you yourself will be satisfied and this will fulfill my desire.”
Having drawn the bows and shown the method of girding, Hercules left the bow and the belt with a golden cup at the end of the buckle and left. Two of the sons were unable to fulfill their father’s orders and were expelled from the country by their mother. And the youngest, Skif, having completed the task, remained. “From this son of Hercules,” writes Herodotus, “the Scythian kings originated, and from the cup of Hercules is the custom that still exists among the Scythians of wearing cups on their belts. This is what the Greeks living near Pontus say.”
There are other legends about the origin of the Scythians. All legends substantiate the divine origin of power.
Greek and Scythian myths, retold by different people, coincide in some ways, but also differ in the description of events and heroes.

Legends about the origin of the Scythians. Origin of the Scythians Ancient Scythians legends about them with the Greeks

Legends about the origin of the Scythians

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