herodotus

captured or laid waste, and so join battle more speedily with you; butif it be necessary by all means to come to this speedily, know that wehave sepulchres in which our fathers are buried; therefore come now,find out these and attempt to destroy them, and ye shall know thenwhether we shall fight with you for the sepulchres or whether we shallnot fight. Before that however, unless the motion comes upon us, weshall not join battle with thee. About fighting let so much as hasbeen said suffice; but as to masters, I acknowledge none over me butZeus my ancestor and Hestia the queen of the Scythians. To thee thenin place of gifts of earth and water I shall send such things as it isfitting that thou shouldest receive; and in return for thy saying thatthou art my master, for that I say, woe betide thee."[116] This is theproverbial "saying of the Scythians."[117]128. The herald then had departed to report this to Dareios; and thekings of the Scythians, having heard mention of subjection to amaster, were filled with wrath. They sent accordingly the divisionwhich was appointed to be joined with the Sauromatai, that division ofwhich Scopasis was in command, bidding them come to speech with theIonians, namely those who were guarding the bridge of the Ister, andmeanwhile they who were left behind resolved not to lead the Persianswandering about any more, but to attack them constantly as they weregetting provisions. Therefore they observed the soldiers of Dareios asthey got provisions, and did that which they had determined: and thecavalry of the Scythians always routed that of the enemy, but thePersian horsemen as they fled fell back upon the men on foot, andthese would come up to their assistance; and meanwhile the Scythianswhen they had driven in the cavalry turned back, fearing the men onfoot. Also by night the Scythians used to make similar attacks: 129,and the thing which, strange to say, most helped the Persians andhindered the Scythians in their attacks upon the camp of Dareios, Iwill mention, namely the voice of the asses and the appearance of themules; for Scythia produces neither ass nor mule, as I have declaredbefore, nor is there at all in the Scythian country either ass or muleon account of the cold. The asses accordingly by riotously brayingused to throw into confusion the cavalry of the Scythians; and often,as they were in the middle of riding against the Persians, when thehorses heard the voice of the asses they turned back in confusion andwere possessed with wonder, pricking up their ears, because they hadnever heard such a voice nor seen the form of the creature before.130. So far then the Persians had the advantage for a small part ofthe war.[118] But the Scythians, whenever they saw that the Persianswere disquieted, then in order that they might remain a longer time inScythia and in remaining might suffer by being in want of everything,would leave some of their own cattle behind with the herdsmen, whilethey themselves rode out of the way to another place, and the Persians