CHAPTER VII. SCYTHIA. Difficulties in Herodotus's description of Scythia.-Its identification EUROPE. with southern Russia, Moldavia, and Wallachia.-Face of the country. CHAP. VII. -Crimea or Taurica.-Rivers of southern Russia.-Herodotus's description of Scythia.-Its form and measurement.-Its boundaries.- Extent of our author's personal knowledge.-Olbia, the centre of his observations. Explanation of his statements respecting the route along the coast.-Explanation of his statements respecting the route into the interior. The four-sided shape of Scythia explained.-Scythian rivers.The Ister or Danube, its five mouths and equal stream.-Five tributaries flowing into it: the Porata, Ararus, Naparis, Ordessus, and Tiarantus.Difficulties in the theory of Niebuhr and Ideler.-Identification of the five tributaries with the Pruth, Sireth, Jalomnitza, Argisch, and Aluta.Seven independent rivers: the Tyras, Hypanis, Borysthenes, Panticapes, Hypacyris, Gerrhus, and Tanais.-The Hyrgis.-Modern names of the rivers. The Dniester.-The Bog.-The Dnieper.-Difficulty in identifying the Panticapes, Hypacyris, and Gerrhus: probably the Samara, Kalantchak, and Tastchenik.-The Don and Hyrgis.-Boundaries of Scythia on the modern map.-Scythian nations: west of the Borysthenes or Dnieper.-I. Callipidae.-II. Alazones. III. Aratores: Exampaeus, Hippoleon, and Hylaea.-IV. Georgi.-V. Nomades.-VI. Royal Scythians.-VII. Tyritae.-VIII. Tauri.-Carcinitis.-Course of Achilles. -History of Scythia.-Anciently occupied by Cimmerians.-Scythian invasion.-Sepulchre of the Cimmerian kings.-Scythian pursuit of the Cimmerians. Cimmerians in Asia Minor.-Scythians masters of Upper Asia.-Plunder the temple of Aphrodite at Askalon.-Return to Scythia.-Proofs of the ancient occupation of Scythia by the Cimmerians.District of Cimmeria. Cimmerian fort and ferry. Cimmerian Bosphorus.-Massagetae and Sacae of Scythian race.-Climate of Scythia.Eight months of the year winter, during which the sea freezes.-Four months of cold summer, constant rains and violent thunder-storms.— Effects of cold on the horses and cattle.-Scythian story of the air filled with feathers.-Tradition of the Hyperboreans.-Foot-print of Heracles. -Pillars of Sesostris.-Natural productions of Scythia: grass, hemp, wheat, onions, garlic, lentils, millet. Cranes. Swine. National mythus of Targitaus, and his three sons, Lipoxais, Arpoxais, and Colaxais. -The Auchatae, Catiari, and Traspies.-General name of Scoloti.-Greek mythus of the three sons of Heracles, and the serpent maiden Echidna. -Ignorance of the nations on the Euxine.-Wise device of the Scythians against invasion.-Their houses carried with them.-Scythian deities: Hestia, Zeus, Ge, Apollo, Aphrodite, Heracles, and Ares.-Poseidon.Mode of sacrifice.-Enormous piles of faggots sacred to Ares.-Human sacrifices.-Enemies' heads presented to the king.-Mode of preparing EUROPE. CHAP. VII. the skulls and other trophies.-Soothsayers and manner of divining.Ceremonies at the illness of a king.-Manner of making contracts. Sepulchres of the Scythian kings.-Funeral ceremonies.-Favourite concubine, servants, and goods buried with the king.- Fifty attendants killed and placed on horseback round the tumulus.-Burial of private citizens.-Manner of purification.-Hatred of foreign customs.-Costume.-Blinding of slaves.-Mode of milking cattle.-Habit of taking unmixed wine, and drinking very hard.-Contempt of trade.-Difficulty in ascertaining the population of Scythia.-Cauldron made from arrowheads, one being furnished by every Scythian. Meagre remains of the Scythian language.-Barbarous customs of the Tauri. OUR author's description of Scythia is full of difficulty. His meaning is so doubtful that it cannot be Difficulties developed without a critical examination of almost every statement; and even when this progress is attained, it will be found next to impossible to reconcile his accounts with the real geography of the country. in Herodo tus's de scription of Scythia. Its identification with southern Russia, Moldavia, chia. country. The SCYTHIA of Herodotus lay on the northern coast of the Black Sea, or Pontus Euxinus, between the mouth of the Danube (or Ister), and the Don (or and Walla- Tanais), and it stretched about 500 miles into the interior. It thus included the steppes of southern Russia, and it also extended westward to the river Aluta and Carpathian mountains. Accordingly Scythia Proper answers on modern maps to the country of the Ukraine, the Nogaïs, the Don Cossacks, and the Tartars of the Crimea, together with the provinces of Moldavia and Wallachia, as far as Face of the the Aluta. The surface of all this region is chiefly undulating, but in many places it extends in fertile plains. The higher land has a soil consisting of a reddish clay, which is very barren. The lower tracts consist of black mould and sand mostly covered with grass, which supplies good pasture for cattle and horses. Other portions towards the east are exceedingly fertile, and produce excellent wheat and all kinds of grain. Great quantities of rye are also raised even from districts which have rather a poor soil; and flax and hemp are more extensively grown than in any other part of Europe, and are to be found in a wild state on the steppes along the banks of the river Don. Many parts of the country are marked by salt lakes; and salt marshes of some extent occur EUROPE. between the Dniester and the Danube. The great CHAP. VII. granitic tract which traverses Russia between the Pruth and the Don, lies to the north of the entire region; but is similar in soil and climate to the country already mentioned, and only differs from it in the more hilly character of its surface. Crimea or Rivers of southern Russia. Herodotus's description The peninsula of Crimea, which is the Taurica of Herodotus, projects south and east between the Black Sea and the Sea of Azoff, and presents considerable variety of surface. The northern part, comprising three-fourths of its extent, consists of an arid plain or steppe, occasionally diversified with hollows. A mountainous tract covered with rich pastures, and in some places enclosing delicious valleys, extends along the southern coast. The country of southern Russia is watered by several rivers, which however are not navigable at any great distance from their mouths. From the scarcity of rain and snow and the shallowness of their beds, they possess but a comparatively small volume of water; whilst their course is interrupted by rapids and cataracts where they break through the granitic tract already mentioned. Amongst these are the Danube, the Pruth, the Dniester, the Bog, the Dnieper, and the Don, which we shall soon find further occasion to describe. We now proceed to develope our author's deof Scythia. Scription. Its form and measurement. "Scythia," he says, "is four-sided, with two parts extending along the sea: that which stretches into the interior and that along the coast are in every respect of equal length. For from the Ister to the Borysthenes is ten days' journey, and from the Borysthenes to the lake Maeotis is ten days' more; whilst from the sea into the interior as far as the Melanchlaeni, who occupy the country above the Scythians, is also a journey of twenty days. Computing the day's journey at 200 stadia, the extent of Scythia transversely would be 4000 stadia, and the direct route leading into the interior would be the same distance." 1 iv. 101. Its boundaries. Scythia begins at that part of the country EUROPE. where a bay is formed, and where the river Ister, CHAP. VII. turning its mouth towards the east, discharges itself into the sea. From the Ister it lies towards the south as far as the city called Carcinitis. Next to that the Tauric nation inhabits the mountainous country, which projects into the Pontus as far as the Chersonesus called Trachea, and reaches to the sea towards the east. For the two parts of the boundaries of Scythia extend along the sea, one towards the south and the other towards the east, as is the case with Attica.'. . . From Taurica, Scythians inhabit the country above the Tauri, and the parts along the eastern sea, and the parts lying to the west of the Cimmerian Bosphorus and the lake Maeotis, as far as the river Tanais, which flows into the farthest recess of that lake." 2 3 personal We must now endeavour to ascertain our author's Extent of actual knowledge of the regions he has thus de- our author's scribed. The Greek settlement of Olbia on the knowledge. river Borysthenes, was apparently the farthest point ever reached by Herodotus, and we may suppose him to be stationed here when forming his views concerning the shape and extent of the country. We can trace him past the bay, (Lake Rasselm,) and where the Ister discharges its waters through five mouths; next, to the river Tyras, where he was shown the foot-print of Heracles; and then to the river Hypanis, where he saw the fountain Exampeus, and the huge brass vessel made from Scythian arrowheads. But beyond the Borysthenes his knowledge was very vague; he supposed the lake Maeotis to be nearly as large as the Pontus Euxinus, and that Crimea, which he calls Taurica, was not a peninsula, but only an acte projecting into the Pontus, like Attica or Iapygia." 5 6 centre of his Olbia, at the mouth of the Borysthenes, was, Olbia, the therefore, the centre of our author's observations. ObservaThe distance from the mouth of the Ister to this tions. 1 iv. 99. 2 iv. 100. 5 iv. 81. 6 iv. 86. 3 iv. 47. |