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[Darius]: “You crazy man, why do you always run, when you can do otherwise? If you believe yourself strong enough to withstand my power, stand and fight and stop running; but if you know you are the weaker, then stop running like this and come to terms with your master, bringing gifts of earth and water.”
[Scythian King]: “As for you, instead of gifts of earth and water I shall send such as ought to come to you; and for your boast that you are my master, I say ‘Weep!’” HERODOTUS, HISTORIES, 4.126-27; A. D. GODLEY TRANSLATION
Summary
Herodotus picks up where he left off at the beginning of Book 4 with Darius preparing to invade Scythia.
Darius had a bridge built across the Bosporus channel and, crossing it, conquered the Thracians. Next, he commanded the Ionians to go ahead of the army to the Ister river and build a bridge across it so the Persians could march into Scythia. When the Persians finally made it across the Ister, he told the Ionians to break down the bridge, but one of his advisors suggested against doing that just in case the Scythians become difficult to conquer. Darius liked this advice and instructed the Ionians to wait sixty days. If the Persian army wasn’t back by then, they were free to leave.
The Scythians called the rulers of their neighbors into a council, told them the Persians were on the way, and asked them for help. Some of the neighbors were willing to give it, but the majority refused because they knew the Persians were invading because the Scythians invaded their lands in the past (see Book 1.103-106).
As a result, the Scythians decided not to engage the Persians directly and instead lead them around the land. Along the way, the Scythians destroyed pastures and stopped up wells and springs in order to diminish the Persian army’s provisions. They also baited the Persians into the lands of the neighbors who refused to fight the Persians in order to force them into the conflict. All of these neighbors ended up fleeing before the Persians and the Scythians eventually returned to Scythia.
Darius, meanwhile, was exasperated with the Scythians’ behavior and sent a messenger to them telling them to either fight or submit to their new master. The Scythians acted coy with Darius, saying they weren’t running away, just going about their business as nomads. However, the Scythians were deeply offended at being viewed as slaves and decided they were going to fight the Persians after all.
First, they sent a group to the Ionians and advised them to leave as soon as their sixty days were up which the Ionians agreed to. The remaining group, meanwhile, decided to strike at the Persian army whenever they were pasturing. While the Scythian horsemen were superior to the Persian cavalry, the Scythian horses were freaked out by the braying of the Persians’ donkeys and mules because they were unfamiliar with those animals. As a result, the Scythians changed their plans and decided to lure the Persians into staying in Scythia long enough for the Ionians to leave, then starve the Persians out.
Eventually, Darius realized that conquering the Scythians was a lost cause and decided to retreat. One of his advisors suggested that at nightfall they leave the weaker men in their army at their camp, under the pretense that they were to guard it while the rest of the army attacked the Scythians, along with their donkeys and lit campfires, and then flee back across the Ister river bridge. Darius liked this advice and carried it out. When the men left behind realized they had been betrayed, they told the Scythians what had happened and the Scythians immediately went back to the Ister bridge.
When the Scythians got there, the Ionians were still around even though it was more than sixty days. They again warned the Ionians to leave so they could break up the bridge and trap the Persians in Scythia. The Ionians deliberated and concluded they would pretend to leave, and even cross the bridge and break up some of the bridge on the Scythian side, but would ultimately stay and wait for the Persians. The Ionians successfully deceived the Scythians and they left to find the Persians.
However, the Scythians tactics’ ended up causing them to miss the Persians entirely. The Scythians thought the Persians would stick with any pastures that hadn’t been destroyed, but the Persians merely retraced their steps, going through the lands where the Scythians destroyed the pastures and stopped the wells. The Persians made it back to the bridge, the Ionians repaired the part of the bridge they had destroyed, and the Persians successfully retreated from Scythia.
Rulers Are Self-Serving
When the Ionians debated as to whether to leave Scythia so the Scythians can destroy the bridge and trap the Persian army in their country, they almost decided to leave. The man who almost convinced them was Miltiades of Athens. He was a major political figure in ancient Greek history—especially as it concerned Athens—and will be showing up again later on in Herodotus’ account. Anyway, he argued that if the Ionians left then and there, and allowed the Scythians to destroy the Persian army, they would be free.
However, another one of the leaders spoke up and argued against abandoning the Persians and gaining freedom for the Ionians:
“It is owing to Darius that each of us is sovereign of his city; if Darius’ power is overthrown, we shall no longer be able to rule, I in Miletus or any of you elsewhere; for all the cities will choose democracy rather than despotism.”
Herodotus, Histories, Book 4.137; A. D. Godley translation
This argument was convincing enough to the leaders to change their minds on Miltiades’ plan.
In other words, rather than giving the Ionians a chance to be free from Persian rule, their leaders instead continued the status quo because they were afraid of losing their power. They acted in their own interests rather than consider the interests of those they were ruling.
Nothing new under the sun.
The real question is whether anything can really be done about it?
Now We Just Need Vampires
Some of the neighboring tribes to the Scythians that Herodotus describes were kind of interesting. The Sauromatae, which he spent the most time writing about, were descendants of the Amazons. Another one of the tribes, the Budini, built a city entirely of wood and ate fir-cones.
However, there was one that stood out to me as a sword-and-sorcery admirer: the Neuri.
It may be that these people are wizards; for the Scythians, and the Greeks settled in Scythia, say that once a year every one of the Neuri becomes a wolf for a few days and changes back again to his former shape.
Herodotus, Histories, Book 4.105; A. D. Godley translation
The Neuri were shapshifters. Specifically: werewolves!
Herodotus, of course, doesn’t believe this story, despite the insistence of those he heard it from.
Now we just need vampires!
… Wait, what’s this?
“The Man-eaters are the most savage of all men in their way of life; they know no justice and obey no law. They are nomads, wearing a costume like the Scythian, but speaking a language of their own; of all these, they are the only people that eat men.”
Herodotus, Histories, Book 4.106; A. D. Godley translation
They’re savage.
They have no place in society.
They blend in with the others.
They eat people.
Does this count?
The Ancient Charlatan
On his way to Scythia, Darius conquered the Thracians. Most of them surrendered to Darius, but one group refused to. They were the Getae.
The Getae believed they were immortal and that when they “died”, they simply went to be with their deity Salmoxis. They believed this so firmly that every five years they would pick a man to be a messenger to Salmoxis, to bring him petitions and the like, and throw the man on top of spears. If the man died, he was considered favored by Salmoxis. If he didn’t, he was spurned as a bad man and someone else was chosen.
Herodotus interviewed some Greeks who lived near the Getae and they said that Salmoxis was a Thracian and originally a slave of Pythagoras. Yes, that Pythagoras. Of Pythagorean Theorem fame who believed in what is called metempsychosis, where upon death a soul left the body and entered a new one.
Anyway, Salmoxis was freed and acquired a great deal of wealth. Eventually, he returned to Thrace and taught the Thracians what he had learned from the Greeks and especially from Pythagoras. I’ll let Herodotus tell the rest of the story:
Therefore he made a hall, where he entertained and fed the leaders among his countrymen, and taught them that neither he nor his guests nor any of their descendants would ever die, but that they would go to a place where they would live forever and have all good things. While he was doing as I have said and teaching this doctrine, he was meanwhile making an underground chamber. When this was finished, he vanished from the sight of the Thracians, and went down into the underground chamber, where he lived for three years, while the Thracians wished him back and mourned him for dead; then in the fourth year he appeared to the Thracians, and thus they came to believe what Salmoxis had told then. Such is the Greek story about him.
Herodotus, Histories, Book 4.95; A. D. Godley translation
This is a great example of someone who learns some deeper truth or esoteric knowledge, warps it, and uses it for his gain at the expense of those who believe in him.
Salmoxis was nowhere near the level of Pythagoras. He was a cheap imitation. However, that didn’t matter. He just had to be a level higher than his fellow Thracians. That’s usually how it is with “cult” leaders. They just have to be a step above their audience/congregation/followers. That’s how it was with leader of the “cult” I was involved with. I wrote about this time in my life in my review of Dedication and Leadership by Douglas Hyde which you can find here.
The Taurians
I just wanted to mention this group briefly. The Taurians were one of the Scythians’ neighbors who sacrificed men to their goddess. Specifically, they sacrificed men who were shipwrecked or captured in sea raids.
Herodotus then makes this comment:
The Tauri themselves say that this deity to whom they sacrifice is Agamemnon’s daughter Iphigenia. (4.103)
Herodotus, Histories, Book 4.103; A. D. Godley translation
This bit of information will become central to the plot of a play by Euripides called Iphigenia Among the Taurians. I will be covering this play, and the other plays of Euripides, after I (finally) finish going through Herodotus.
“Wait, wasn’t Iphigenia sacrificed by her father Agamemnon during the Trojan War?” You may be asking if you either read the plays of Aeschylus or have been a long time reader of this blog.
Maybe he did, maybe he didn’t. You’ll just have to wait until I get to Euripides.
Or, you know, read the play for yourself…
I guess…
If you really want to…
That's all for the Histories, Book 4.83-142.
May your days be filled with grace.
-Andronikos Anodos
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Thumbnail: Scythian art on a comb depicting a deer hunt. Late 5th century to early 4th century.