The Old and the Restless - The Egyptians and the Scythians in Herodotus' Histories by Robert J. Hagan

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confirms), that the Scythians did take great measures to honor their royal dead, filling their burial
mounds (some rising over 20 meters high 10 ) with over 50 of the king's attendants, and many of
their golden possessions (4.71).
Still, these modest mounds, although filled with riches, pale in aesthetic comparison to
the pyramids and necropoleis which tower above the Egyptian desert. The desire to have one's
name remembered fueled these great monuments until it became economically unfeasible to
build them. 11 Clearly, the pharaohs succeeded in their quest to be remembered in history, but
their pyramids did not necessarily secure a good reputation for them. When Herodotus relates the
details of the building of the pyramids, it is within the context of discussing two hated rulers,
Cheops and Chephren. The priests tell him how Cheops closed their sanctuaries, halted all
sacrifices and forced the people to work on the pyramids (2.124), and that “The Egyptians loathe
Chephren and Cheops so much that they really do not like to mention their names. Instead they
say the pyramids belonged to a shepherd called Philitis, who at this time used to graze his flocks
on the same land” (2.128). While Herodotus is nonetheless impressed with the technical
achievement of Egyptian monumental architecture, because he writes on it in detail, he also
knows how obsession with posterity sometimes has its price.
10 Sulimirski T. and Taylor T., "The Eastern Mediterranean and the Black Sea." 550.
11 James, T.G.H., An Introduction to Ancient Egypt, 178-89.