The Scythians: nomad goldsmiths of the open steppes; The ...

Mountain goats and rams frisking between flowers and palmettes
bordered by two twisted cords of gold (below) evoke the pastoral
life of nomad herdsmen who roamed the steppes 2,500 years ago in
an endless quest for water and pastureland. Detail shown here is
the central motif of a gold pectoral (breast ornament) unearthed
in 1868 in a burial crypt of the Great Bliznitsa tomb near the Sea
of Azov. This masterpiece was considered a matchless example of
Scythian jewellery until 1971, when an even more splendid
princely pectoral of similar style was discovered (see page 19).
this way comments Herodotus, "the
ox is made to boil himself, and other
victims also do the like."
Drinkers of mare's milk, the Scy¬
thians were also copious quarters of
imported wine, which they never
diluted with water. "Serve us in
Scythian style !" called the Greeks,
when the drink was flowing merrily.
True children of the steppe, the
Scythians were born herdsmen, al¬
though like their ancestors they also
hunted wild animals. Herodotus
was mainly concerned with the no¬
mads, but he also noted that some
Scythians were "engaged in hus¬
bandry".
"Abundantly provided with the
most important necessaries", they
were favoured with a land watered
by many rivers, including the Borysthenes
(the Dnieper) which, he tells
us, "has upon its banks the loveliest
and most excellent pasturage for
cattle; it contains abundance of the
most delicious fish; its water is most
pleasant to the taste; its stream is
limpid... the richest harvests spring
up along its course."
This sounds idyllic, but the life of
the Scythians was in reality a hard
one. Their manners and customs
reflected a cruel age, and the "Father
of History" has left a detailed des¬
cription of the Scythians at war.
As pitiless with their enemies as
they were loyal to their friends, they
set great store by ritual oath-taking.
Parties to a treaty shed some of their
blood into a bowl filled with wine, and
then plunged into the mixture "a
sword, some arrows, a battle-axe and
a spear, all the while repeating
prayers", after which the allies each
drank from the bowl.
Herodotus noted with particular in¬
terest that the Scythians were not
much given to the use of "¡mages,
altars or temples", but he listed their
gods, identifying them with their
Greek equivalents and mentioning
their role in the order of things.
Tahiti, whom the Greeks knew as
Hestia, protected the household. Papaeus
(Zeus) was"very properly, in
my judgement", comments Herodo¬
tus charge of celestial affairs,
while his wife Apia dealt with more
earthly matters. The Greek god
Heracles, known to the Scythians as
Targitaus, was believed to have been
the first man ever to live in their
country, the father of their people.
The Scythians sacrificed domestic
animals, and horses in particular, to
all these gods, as well as to Ares,
the god of war, the only divinity in
whose honour they erected altars, in
the form of huge piles of brushwood
topped with antique iron swords.
The sacrificial victims included not
only cattle and horses, but also one
out of every hundred of their prisoners
of war.
Scythia had "an abundance of |
soothsayers, who foretell the future I
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