Scythian legacies (11/07/99)

Scythian legacies

by Ingert Kuzych

The Scythian predilection for costly ornamentation is understandable. Since so many of them chose to remain nomads, it was only practical to accumulate wealth in forms that could be readily transported: either as livestock (that could be herded) or as adornment for themselves or their horses. Their amazingly detailed and realistic artwork depicted animals so frequently that a distinct Scythian zoomorphic, or animal style, has been described. Nevertheless, there are many other wonderful legacies of the Scythian-era that have come down to us.

The Scythians were renowned warriors, almost exclusively cavalrymen, at a time when others relied mostly on foot soldiers and chariots. They were the first to invent trousers, which aided them in their riding. They frequently wore scale armor made of iron, a form of protection that had been around for many centuries. But the Scythians may have been the ones who took the idea one step further. They are now thought to have been responsible for the invention of chain mail, which offers superior protection but is lighter than scale armor.

On the move, the Scythians almost seemed part of their mounts (particularly the men, as the women usually rode in wagons); seldom dismounting to eat or drink, they sated their hunger or thirst as they rode. This custom almost certainly is responsible for the stories of half-man, half-horse centaurs in Greek mythology.

The Scythians left their mark on the names of the major rivers in Ukraine today, since the root "don" or "dan" means river in the Scytho-Iranian language. So, beginning in the west and heading east, we have the Danube, the D[a]nister, the D[a]nipro, the Donets and the Don Rivers.

Especially during their early wanderings in the late 7th and 6th centuries B.C., large groups of Scythians pillaged the ancient Near East and cities such as Nineveh and Babylon; they even terrorized Palestine. Some of these groups eventually settled down; one of the cities of the Decapolis (Greek-speaking eastern Galilee at the time of Christ) was named Scythopolis (city of the Scythians). It eventually became Beth Shan and is today Bet Shean.

Although the Scythians did have mounted spear men, their primary weapon was the double-curved bow (the type cupid is frequently shown using to shoot his arrows of love). A powerful weapon, its range, according to one ancient Greek inscription, could reach 570 yards - a phenomenal distance, if true.

Scythian tactics were to advance on an enemy shooting fusillades of arrows. They would plunge forward as if to attack, but at the last instant wheel away and launch a fresh volley of arrows over the rumps of their retreating horses, thus leaving the dust-enveloped enemy in disarray. During the last centuries B.C., when the Scythians were already in decline, they taught this tactic to the Parthians with whom they sometimes warred. The Parthians used this knowledge effectively against the Romans who, in the end, were never able to conquer these eastern neighbors. The expression of a "parting shot," meaning a surprise attack just when the victim assumes the battle - verbal or otherwise - is over, may well come from the Scythian tactic directly, or indirectly through a "Parthian shot."

Finally, much of what we know about the Scythians was recorded by the Greek historian Herodotus. Although up to a century ago many scoffed at his stories, most of what he set down has proven to be accurate. So, even his tales of Amazons, warrior women who inhabited the area east of the great bend of the Dnipro River (roughly today's Zaporizhia Oblast) need to be considered seriously. According to Herodotus, the Amazons initially skirmished with the Scythians but eventually intermingled with them. Many Scythian burials have been found of women buried with weapons. So, although most Scythian women probably did not fight, there may well have been a female warrior class.

It is not known, however, if they in any way resembled the comic book character Wonder Woman, who is supposed to be a Scythian Amazon princess.

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