herodotus

stone: on this house Zeus[79a] caused a bolt to fall; and the housewas altogether burnt down, but Skyles none the less for this completedhis initiation. Now the Scythians make the rites of Bacchus a reproachagainst the Hellenes, for they say that it is not fitting to invent agod like this, who impels men to frenzy. So when Skyles had beeninitiated into the rites of Bacchus, one of the Borysthenites wentoff[80] to the Scythians and said: "Whereas ye laugh at us, OScythians, because we perform the rite of Bacchus and because the godseizes us, now this divinity has seized also your king; and he is bothjoining in the rite of Bacchus and maddened by the influence of thegod. And if ye disbelieve me, follow and I will show you." The chiefmen of the Scythians followed him, and the Borysthenite led themsecretly into the town and set them upon a tower. So when Skylespassed by with the company of revellers, and the Scythians saw himjoining in the rite of Bacchus, they were exceedingly grieved at it,and they went out and declared to the whole band that which they hadseen. 80. After this when Skyles was riding out again to his ownabode, the Scythians took his brother Octamasades for their leader,who was a son of the daughter of Teres, and made insurrection againstSkyles. He then when he perceived that which was being done to hishurt and for what reason it was being done, fled for refuge to Thrace;and Octamasades being informed of this, proceeded to march uponThrace. So when he had arrived at the river Ister, the Thracians methim; and as they were about to engage battle, Sitalkes sent amessenger to Octamasades and said: "Why must we make trial of oneanother in fight? Thou art my sister's son and thou hast in thy powermy brother. Do thou give him back to me, and I will deliver to theethy brother Skyles: and let us not either of us set our armies inperil, either thou or I." Thus Sitalkes proposed to him by a herald;for there was with Octamasades a brother of Sitalkes, who had goneinto exile for fear of him. And Octamasades agreed to this, and bygiving up his own mother's brother to Sitalkes he received his brotherSkyles in exchange: and Sitalkes when he received his brother led himaway as a prisoner, but Octamasades cut off the head of Skyles thereupon the spot. Thus do the Scythians carefully guard their owncustomary observances, and such are the penalties which they inflictupon those who acquire foreign customs besides their own.81. How many the Scythians are I was not able to ascertain precisely,but I heard various reports of the number: for reports say both thatthey are very many in number and also that they are few, at least asregards the true Scythians.[81] Thus far however they gave me evidenceof my own eyesight:--there is between the river Borysthenes and theHypanis a place called Exampaios, of which also I made mentionsomewhat before this, saying that there was in it a spring of bitterwater, from which the water flows and makes the river Hypanis unfit to