thians, and discharges itself into the Hypacyris. 57. The eighth river is the Tanais, which flows originally from a vast lake, and discharges itself into a still larger lake, called Mæotis, which divides the Royal Scythians and the Sauromatæ. Into this river Tanais runs another river, the name of which is Hyrgis. 58. Thus the Scythians are provided with these celebrated rivers. The grass that grows in Scythia is the most productive of bile for cattle of any with which we are acquainted; and when the cattle are opened one may infer that such is the case.

59. Thus the greatest commodities are furnished them in abundance. Their other customs are established as follows. They propitiate the following gods only: Vesta, most of all; then Jupiter, deeming the Earth to be the wife of Jupiter; after these Apollo, and Venus Urania, and Hercules, and Mars. All the Scythians acknowledge these; but those who are called Royal Scythians, sacrifice also to Neptune. Vesta, in the Scythian language, is named Tabiti; Jupiter is, in my opinion, very rightly called Papæus; the Earth, Apia; Apollo, Etosyrus; Venus Urania, Artimpasa; and Neptune, Thamimasadas. They are not accustomed to erect images, altars, and temples, except to Mars; to him they are accustomed. 60. The same mode of sacrificing is adopted by all, with respect to all kinds of victims, alike, being as follows: the victim itself stands with its fore-feet tied together; he who sacrifices, standing behind the beast, having drawn the extremity of the cord, throws it down; and as the victim falls he invokes the god to whom he is sacrificing; then he throws a halter round its neck, and having put in a stick, he twists it round and strangles it, without kindling any fire, or performing any preparatory ceremonies, or making any libation, but having strangled and flayed it he applies himself to cook it. 61. As the Scythian country is wholly destitute of wood, they have invented the following method of cooking flesh. When they have flayed the victims, they strip the flesh from the bones, then they put it into cauldrons made in the country, if they happen to have any, which very much resemble Lesbian bowls, except that they are much larger; having put it into these, they cook it by burning underneath the bones of the victims. If they have no cauldron at hand, they put all the flesh into the paunches of the victims, and having poured in

water, burn the bones underneath: they burn very well, and the paunches easily contain the flesh stripped from the bones ; thus the ox cooks himself, and all other victims each cooks itself. When the flesh is cooked, he that sacrifices, offering the first-fruits of the flesh and entrails, throws it before him. They sacrifice both other cattle, and chiefly horses.

62. In this manner then, and these victims, they sacrifice to the other gods; but to Mars, as follows. In each district, in the place where the magistrates assemble, is erected a structure sacred to Mars, of the following kind. Bundles of faggots are heaped up to the length and breadth of three stades, but less in height; on the top of this a square platform is formed; and three of the sides are perpendicular, but on the fourth it is accessible. Every year they heap on it one hundred and fifty waggon loads of faggots, for it is continually sinking by reason of the weather. On this heap an old iron scimetar is placed by each tribe, and this is the image of Mars; and to this scimetar they bring yearly sacrifices of cattle and horses; and to these scimetars they offer more sacrifices than to the rest of the gods. Whatever enemies they take alive, of these they sacrifice one in a hundred, not in the same manner as they do the cattle, but in a different manner; for after they have poured a libation of wine on their heads, they cut the throats of the men over a bowl; then having carried the bowl on the heap of faggots, they pour the blood over the scimetar. This then they carry up; but below at the sacred precinct, they do as follows: having cut off all the right shoulders of the men that have been killed, with the arms, they throw them into the air; and then, having finished the rest of the sacrificial rites, they depart; but the arm lies wherever it has fallen, and the body apart. 63. Such, then, are the sacrifices instituted amongst them. Swine they never use, nor suffer them to be reared in their country at all.

64. Their military affairs are ordered as follows. When a Scythian overthrows his first enemy, he drinks his blood; and presents the king with the heads of the enemies he has killed in battle for if he brings a head, he shares the booty that they take; but not, if he does not bring one. He skins it in the following manner. Having made a circular incision round the ears and taking hold of the skin, he shakes it from

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the skull; then having scraped off the flesh with the rib of an ox, he softens the skin with his hands; and having made it supple, he uses it as a napkin: each man hangs it on the bridle of the horse which he rides, and prides himself on it; for whoever has the greatest number of these skin napkins, is accounted the most valiant man. Many of them make cloaks of these skins, to throw over themselves, sewing them together like shepherd's coats; and many, having flayed the right hands of their enemies that are dead, together with the nails, make coverings for their quivers: the skin of a man, which is both thick and shining, surpasses almost all other skins in the brightness of its white. Many, having flayed men whole, and stretched the skin on wood, carry it about on horseback. Such usages are received amongst them. 65. The heads themselves, not indeed of all, but of their greatest enemies, they treat as follows: each, having sawn off all below the eye-brows, cleanses it, and if the man is poor, he covers only the outside with leather, and so uses it; but if he is rich, he covers it indeed with leather, and having gilded the inside, he so uses it for a drinking-cup. And they do this to their relatives, if they are at variance, and one prevails over another in the presence of the king. When strangers of consideration come to him, he produces these heads, and relates how, though they were his relatives, they made war against him, and he overcame them, considering this a proof of bravery. 66. Once in every year, the governor of a district, each in his own district, mingles a bowl of wine, from which those Scythians drink by whom enemies have been captured: but they who have not achieved this, do not taste of this wine, but sit at a distance in dishonour; this is accounted the greatest disgrace such of them as have killed very many men, having two cups at once, drink them together.

67. Soothsayers among the Scythians are numerous, who divine by the help of a number of willow rods, in the following manner. When they have brought with them large bundles of twigs, they lay them on the ground and untie them; and having placed each rod apart, they utter their predictions; and whilst they are pronouncing them, they gather rods again, and put them together again one by one. their national mode of divination. But the Enarees, • See Book I. chap. 105.

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up the

This is or An

drogyni, say that Venus gave them the power of divining. They divine by means of the bark of a linden-tree: when a man has split the linden-tree in three pieces, twisting it round his own fingers, and then untwisting it, he utters a response. 68. When the king of the Scythians is sick, he sends for three of the most famous of these prophets, who prophesy in the manner above mentioned; and they generally say as follows, that such or such a citizen has sworn falsely by the royal hearth, mentioning the name of the citizen of whom they speak for it is a custom with the Scythians in general, to swear by the royal hearth, when they would use the most solemn oath. The person who, they say, has sworn falsely, is immediately seized, and brought forward; and when he is come, the prophets charge him with being clearly proved by their prophetic art to have sworn falsely by the royal hearth, and for this reason the king is ill. He denies it, affirming that he has not sworn falsely, and complains bitterly. On his denial, the king sends for twice as many more prophets; and if they also, examining into the prophetic art, condemn him with having sworn falsely, they straightway cut off his head, and the first prophets divide his property between them; but if the prophets who came last acquit him, other prophets are called in, and others after them. If, then, the greater number acquit the man, it is decreed that the first prophets shall be put to death. 69. They accordingly put them to death in the following manner: when they have filled a waggon with faggots, and have yoked oxen to it, having tied the feet of the prophets and bound their hands behind them, and having gagged them, they enclose them in the midst of the faggots; then having set fire to them, they terrify the oxen, and let them go. Many oxen therefore are burnt with the prophets, and many escape very much scorched, when the pole has been burnt asunder. In this manner, and for other reasons, they burn the prophets, calling them false prophets. The king does not spare the children of those whom he puts to death, but kills all the males, and does not hurt the females. 70. The Scythians make solemn contracts in the following manner, with whomsoever they make them. Having poured wine into a large earthen vessel, they mingle with it blood taken from those who are entering into covenant, having struck with an awl or cut with a knife a small part of the body; then, having dipped a scimetar, some

arrows, a hatchet, and a javelin in the vessel, when they have done this, they make many solemn prayers, and then both those who make the contract, and the most considerable of their attendants, drink up the mixture.

71. The sepulchres of the kings are in the country of the Gerrhi, as far as which the Borysthenes is navigable. There, when their king dies, they dig a large square hole in the ground; and having prepared this, they take up the corpse, having the body covered with wax, the belly opened and cleaned, filled with bruised cypress, incense, and parsley and anise-seed, and then sown up again, and carry it in a chariot to another nation: those who receive the corpse brought to them, do the same as the Royal Scythians; they cut off part of their ear, shave off their hair, wound themselves on the arms, lacerate their forehead and nose, and drive arrows through their left hand. Thence they carry the corpse of the king to another nation whom they govern; and those to whom they first came accompany them. When they have carried the corpse round all the provinces, they arrive among the Gerrhi, who are the most remote of the nations they rule over, and at the sepulchres. Then, when they have placed the corpse in the grave on a bed of leaves, having fixed spears on each side of the dead body, they lay pieces of wood over it, and cover it over with mats. In the remaining space of the grave they bury one of the king's concubines, having strangled her, and his cup-bearer, a cook, a groom, a page, a courier, and horses, and firstlings of every thing else, and golden goblets; they make no use of silver or brass. Having done this, they all heap up a large mound, striving and vieing with each other to make it as large as possible. 72. When a year has elapsed, they then do as follows: having taken the most fitting of his remaining servants; they are all native Scythians; for they serve him whomsoever the king may order, and they have no servants bought with money: when therefore they have strangled fifty of these servants, and fifty of the finest horses, having taken out their bowels and cleansed them, they fill them with chaff, and sow them up again. Then having placed the half of a wheel, with its concave side uppermost, on two pieces of wood, and the other half on two other pieces of wood, and having fixed many of these in the same manner, then having thrust thick pieces of