herodotus

much superior. This grows both of itself and with cultivation; and ofit the Thracians even make garments, which are very like those made offlaxen thread, so that he who was not specially conversant with itwould not be able to decide whether the garments were of flax or ofhemp; and he who had not before seen stuff woven of hemp would supposethat the garment was made of flax. 75. The Scythians then take theseed of this hemp and creep under the felt coverings, and then theythrow the seed upon the stones which have been heated red-hot: and itburns like incense and produces a vapour so think that no vapour-bathin Hellas would surpass it: and the Scythians being delighted with thevapour-bath howl like wolves.[72] This is to them instead of washing,for in fact they do not wash their bodies at all in water. Their womenhowever pound with a rough stone the wood of the cypress and cedar andfrankincense tree, pouring in water with it, and then with thispounded stuff, which is thick, they plaster over all their body andalso their face; and not only does a sweet smell attach to them byreason of this, but also when they take off the plaster on the nextday, their skin is clean and shining.76. This nation also[73] is very averse to adopting strange customs,rejecting even those of other tribes among themselves,[74] butespecially those of the Hellenes, as the history of Anacharsis andalso afterwards of Skyles proved.[75] For as to Anacharsis first, whenhe was returning to the abodes of the Scythians, after having visitedmany lands[76] and displayed in them much wisdom, as he sailed throughthe Hellespont he put in to Kyzicos: and since he found the people ofKyzicos celebrating a festival very magnificently in honour of theMother of the gods, Anacharsis vowed to the Mother that if he shouldreturn safe and sound to his own land, he would both sacrifice to herwith the same rites as he saw the men of Kyzicos do, and also hold anight festival. So when he came to Scythia he went down into theregion called Hylaia (this is along by the side of the racecourse ofAchilles and is quite full, as it happens, of trees of all kinds),--into this, I say, Anacharsis went down, and proceeded to perform allthe ceremonies of the festival in honour of the goddess, with akettle-drum and with images hung about himself. And one of theScythians perceived him doing this and declared it to Saulios theking; and the king came himself also, and when he saw Anacharsis doingthis, he shot him with an arrow and killed him. Accordingly at thepresent time if one asks about Anacharsis, the Scythians say that theydo not know him, and for this reason, because he went out of his owncountry to Hellas and adopted foreign customs. And as I heard fromTymnes the steward[77] of Ariapeithes, he was the uncle on thefather's side of Idanthyrsos king of the Scythians, and the son ofGnuros, the son of Lycos, the son of Spargapeithes. If then Anacharsiswas of this house, let him know that he died by the hand of his