Jordi Redondo
Abstract
Herodotus used to insert many mythical narrations in his work, some of which are especially attractive since they are taken from non-Greek sources. Therefore, the author acts as both a Greek historian and a mythographer, but also as a comparatist interested in eclectic mythical tradition. The boundaries between history and mythography are here blurred and simultaneously encased within a second frame, established by the intrication of Greek and non-Greek culture. This chapter deals with the most extensive foundation myth of the Scythians. We will show how the author elaborates mythical motives already known to the Greek literary culture, and how he tries to present an accurate report of the theme. All the information will be checked by means of data of different kinds, including archaeological sources. The result of this comparison will provide a tenable evaluation of the historical techniques displayed by Herodotus.
Introduction
The insertion of mythical narrations within the historiographic creation of Herodotus has been easily recognized from the very beginning of its reception; moreover, it has been one of the most powerful criteria invoked in order to blame him as an unreliable historian. The role of the mythical discourse in the historiographic genre has also become a factor of clear-cut opposition between a Thucydidean and a Herodotean methodological trend.1 In our opinion, however, the two historians were not diametrically opposed, since Thucydides, for example, gave some room to non-logical arguments such as religious beliefs and myths in a general sense.2
An important methodological distinction must be made regarding the function of the mythical narrations. Herodotus can first of all use them only for the sake of exemplarity and didacticism, in order to take advantage from the easy understanding provided by the mythical patterns.3 Yet in other instances myth plays a nuclear role and provides by itself all the clues for the hearer and/or reader. The mythical provides of the Scythians belongs to this second category. This blend of myth and history involves severe difficulties for achieving a correct interpretation.4
This chapter will deal with the mythical tale of the foundation of the Scythian nation. The case is especially attractive, for it does not come from the Greek tradition itself, but is taken from Scythian sources.5 There is no doubt about the big difficulties that Herodotus had to overcome when he turned his exposition towards the extended Scythian territory, a land where the impossibility becomes reality: as a matter of fact, the movements of any nomadic people had to be carried out through the settlements of other people, since the latter were sparingly founded across unhabited territories. Herodotus himself was perfectly aware of this in his preliminary presentation of the Scythian land (Hdt. 5.9–10). Actually the Scythian dossier became a real challenge for the Greek historians. It is not at all surprising that they had to mix the information obtained from Greek trademen and colonists, and from bilingual Scythians as well, with the always valuable contribution of the mythical discourse.6 As for the inner classification of the Scythians, the ethnonym ‘northern Pontic Scythians’, certainly used by several modern scholars,7 was never used by Herodotus, who only singled out as particular categories those of the royal Scythians, the Hellenized Scythians and the so-called Saka-Scythians.8 Moreover, this modern ethnonym has been even put under question, since it does not cover all the Scythians living on the steppe at the North-East of the Black Sea coast.9
After his presentation of the geographical area where the Scythians live, Herodotus tackled the subject of their origin. There were two complementary myths on the matter: the first one (Hdt. 5.5–7) is a foundation myth dealing with Targitaus’ genealogy and the divine gifts received by his sons, involving the nuclear organization of the Scythian clans; the second myth (Hdt. 5.8) focuses on the origin of the Scythian royal dynasty tracing back to the meeting of Hercules and a serpent-nymph. The juxtaposition of the two foundation myths told by Herodotus requires an explanation. An interesting view supported by one of the best scholars working on the matter, Askold Ivantchik, assigns each one of them to different Scythian ethnic groups,10 even if the question remains about where their difference lays: two geographical areas? Two social classes? Next Herodotus brings a historical account on this nation (Hdt. 5.11–12); he disapproves of the first myth and supports the historical account.11 The sequence of the three tales moves from the rejection of the first one, the neutral position towards the second, and finally the acceptance of the second myth. Therefore, the Scythian dossier provides an attractive and helpful touchstone for checking the use of myth in the Herodotean Histories.12 For so doing, we will examine the myth of Hercules and the serpent-nymph, on which Herodotus does not take either positive or negative position.
Myth at Work on the Scythian Stage
The research developed on the steppe societies, especially the ancient Scythians, by historians, archaeologists and anthropologists,13 as well as paleontologists,14 should help us to understand which factors are at stake when Herodotus deals with Scythians. Prima facie the Herodotean report on their origin is just a mythical excursus maybe intended for delighting the audience of the Histories. Mythology, however, looks only at articulating an acceptable account in order to explain the contradictions and difficulties built over extended periods of time due to economic and social circumstances. Of course there are other possible strategies: Ivantchik defines a clear-cut divisory line between myth and history.15 Certainly, it will be probably wrong indeed if, as a result of our preceding observations, we were prone to think that the interpretative key used by Herodotus to present the Scythian culture was mainly the mythical discourse. On the contrary, the set of news told by Herodotus about the Scythian geographic situation, material culture, customs, social organization, etc. have earned the approval of the modern scholars for the accuracy of the information provided, despite the unfavorable circumstances in which our historian had to compile the data at his disposal.16 Moreover, the information gathered from Scythian sources goes back to the beginning of the contact between the two cultures, already in the seventh century BC.17 That is to say, there was some well-established tradition on the matter long before the Herodotean search. He starts, however, with a first mythological narration that can easily be defined as a foundation myth. The text is the following (Hdt. 4.5–7):
ὣς δὲ Σκύθαι λέγουσι, νεώτατον πάντων ἐθνέων εἶναι τὸ σφέτερον, τοῦτο δὲ γενέσθαι ὧδε. ἄνδρα γενέσθαι πρῶτον ἐν τῇ γῆ ταύτῃ ἐούσῃ ἐρήμῳ τῳ οὔνομα εἶναι Ταργιτάον· τοῦ δὲ Ταργιτάου τούτου τοὺς τοκέας λέγουσι εἶναι, ἐμοὶ μὲν οὐ πιστὰ λέγοντες, λέγουσι δ᾽ ὦν, Δία τε καὶ Βορυσθένεος τοῦ ποταμοῦ θυγατέρα. γένεος μὲν τοιούτου δὴ τινος γενέσθαι τὸν Ταργιτάον, τούτου δὲ γενέσθαι παῖδας τρεῖς, Λιπόξαϊν καὶ Ἀρπόξαϊν καὶ νεώτατον Κολάξαιν. ἐπὶ τούτων ἀρχόντων ἐκ τοῦ οὐρανοῦ φερομένα χρύσεα ποιήματα, ἄροτρόν τε καὶ ζυγόν καὶ σάγαριν καὶ φιάλην, πεσεῖν ἐς τὴν Σκυθικήν· καὶ τῶν ἰδόντα πρῶτον τὸν πρεσβύτατον ἆσσον ἰέναι βουλόμενον αὐτὰ λαβεῖν, τὸν δὲ χρυσόν ἐπιόντος καίεσθαι. ἀπαλλαχθέντος δὲ τούτου προσιέναι τὸν δεύτερον, καὶ τὸν αὖτις ταὐτὰ ποιέειν. τοὺς μὲν δὴ καιόμενον τὸν χρυσὸν ἀπώσασθαι, τρίτῳ δὲ τῷ νεωτάτῳ ἐπελθόντι κατασβῆναι, καὶ μιν ἐκεῖνον κομίσαι ἐς ἑωυτοῦ· καὶ τοὺς πρεσβυτέρους ἀδελφεοὺς πρὸς ταῦτα συγγνόντας τὴν βασιληίην πᾶσαν παραδοῦναι τῷ νεωτάτῳ. ἀπὸ μὲν δὴ Λιποξάιος γεγονέναι τούτους τῶν Σκυθέων οἳ Αὐχάται γένος καλέονται, ἀπὸ δὲ τοῦ μέσου Ἀρποξάιος οἳ Κατίαροί τε καὶ Τράσπιες καλέονται, ἀπὸ δὲ τοῦ νεωτάτου αὐτῶν τοῦ βασιλέος οἳ καλέονται Παραλάται· σύμπασι δὲ εἶναι οὔνομα Σκολότους, τοῦ βασιλέος ἐπωνυμίην. Σκύθας δὲ Ἕλληνες ὠνόμασαν. γεγονέναι μέν νυν σφέας ὧδε λέγουσι οἱ Σκύθαι, ἔτεα δὲ σφίσι ἐπείτε γεγόνασι τὰ σύμπαντα λέγουσι εἶναι ἀπὸ τοῦ πρώτου βασιλέος Ταργιτάου ἐς τὴν Δαρείου διάβασιν τὴν ἐπὶ σφέας χιλίων οὐ πλέω ἀλλὰ τοσαῦτα. τὸν δὲ χρυσόν τοῦτον τὸν ἱρὸν φυλάσσουσι οἱ βασιλέες ἐς τὰ μάλιστα, καὶ θυσίῃσι μεγάλῃσι ἱλασκόμενοι μετέρχονται ἀνὰ πᾶν ἔτος. ὃς δ᾽ ἂν ἔχων τὸν χρυσὸν τὸν ἱρὸν ἐν τῇ ὁρτῇ ὑπαίθριος κατακοιμηθῇ, οὗτος λέγεται ὑπὸ Σκυθέων οὐ διενιαυτίζειν. δίδοσθαι δέ οἱ διὰ τοῦτο ὅσα ἂν ἵππῳ ἐν ἡμέρῃ μιῇ περιελάσῃ αὐτὸς. τῆς δὲ χώρης ἐούσης μεγάλης τριφασίας τὰς βασιληίας τοῖσι παισὶ τοῖσι ἑωυτοῦ καταστήσασθαι Κολάξαιν, καὶ τουτέων μίαν ποιῆσαι μεγίστην, ἐν τῇ τὸν χρυσὸν φυλάσσεσθαι. τὰ δὲ κατύπερθε πρὸς βορέην λέγουσι ἄνεμον τῶν ὑπεροίκων τῆς χώρης οὐκ οἷὰ τε εἶναι ἔτι προσωτέρω οὔτε ὁρᾶν οὔτε διεξιέναι ὑπὸ πτερῶν κεχυμένων· πτερῶν γὰρ καὶ τὴν γῆν καὶ τὸν ἠέρα εἶναι πλέον, καὶ ταῦτα εἶναι τὰ ἀποκληίοντα τὴν ὄψιν.
The Scythians say that their nation is the youngest in the world, and that it came into being in this way. A man whose name was Targitaüs appeared in this country, which was then desolate. They say that his parents were Zeus and a daughter of the Borysthenes River; I do not believe the story, but it is told. Such was Targitaüs’ lineage; and he had three sons: Lipoxaïs, Arpoxaïs, and Colaxaïs, youngest of the three. In the time of their rule, the story goes, certain implements – namely, a plough, a yoke, a sword, and a flask, all of gold – fell down from the sky into Scythia. The eldest of them, seeing these, approached them meaning to take them; but the gold began to burn as he neared, and he stopped. Then the second approached, and the gold did as before. When these two had been driven back by the burning gold, the youngest brother approached and the burning stopped, and he took the gold to his own house. In view of this, the elder brothers agreed to give all the royal power to the youngest. Lipoxaïs, it is said, was the father of the Scythian clan called Auchatae; Arpoxaïs, the second brother, of those called Katiari and Traspians; the youngest, who was king, of those called Paralatae. All these together bear the name of Skoloti, after their king; ‘Scythians’ is the name given them by Greeks. This, then, is the Scythians’ account of their origin, and they say that neither more nor less than a thousand years in all passed from the time of their first king Targitaüs to the entry of Darius into their country. The kings guard this sacred gold very closely, and every year offer solemn sacrifices of propitiation to it. Whoever falls asleep at this festival in the open air, having the sacred gold with him, is said by the Scythians not to live out the year; for which reason, they say, as much land as he can ride round in one day is given to him. Because of the great size of the country, the lordships that Colaxaïs established for his sons were three, one of which, where they keep the gold, was the greatest. Above and north of the neighbors of their country no one (they say) can see or travel further, because of showers of feathers; for earth and sky are full of feathers, and these hinder sight.18
A first comment focuses on the exact information furnished by Herodotus: to begin with, all the Scythian anthroponyms point to precise and tenable etymologies.19 More important, the ideological background of the myth fits with the Scythian religious and social tradition, as stated by Dumézil and Benveniste.20
The first lines of our myth give a specific indication on the character of the tale: it deals with the origin of the Scythians, that is to say, with the foundation of their nation, their culture and their state. The trend of the tale is clearly established by the key-words ‘γενέσθαι’ … ‘γενέσθαι’ … ‘τοὺς τοκέας’ … ‘γένεος’ … ‘γενέσθαι’. This implicit way of explanation seems at home in such a formalized style – although not subjected to rhetorical and artistic elaboration – as that found in old religious texts and featured by tautology, repetition and symbolism. After this introduction to the myth we are told the names of the protagonists, three brothers characterized by their common royal status, as proved long time ago by Christensen.21 This means that from now on the foundation myth is mixed with a succession myth. According to the tale, the brothers were till that moment sharing the kingship (ἐπὶ τούτων ἀρχόντων), a point unfortunately neglected by some scholars. When the plot begins after the arrival of the sacred objects, the central subject of the tale turns into an ordeal, miraculously solved in favor of the youngest king, so that his elder brothers give him all the sovereignty (τοὺς πρεσβυτέρους ἀδελφεοὺς πρὸς ταῦτα συγγνόντας τὴν βασιληίην πᾶσαν παραδοῦναι τῷ νεωτάτῳ). The solution of the royal succession is followed by a lot of very exact information on what happened afterwards: the origin of the Scythian clans, the chronological placement of the events within the history of the nation, some particulars on the cult, the ritual and the customs, and a final note which seems to convey a logographical flavor. Actually, the plain mythical discourse progressively gives place to a different kind of speech.
Thereafter, without any transitional section, our author displays a second myth in which Hercules is the main character, as in other foundation myths all over the Mediterranean basin and beyond. Moreover, the myth is full of exotic elements like those attested in other legends about the traveling hero.22 It must be remembered that the uncle of Herodotus, the epic poet Panyasis of Halicarnassus, took upon himself the works of Hercules in the books 5–7 of his ῾Ηράκλεια. Thus the story of Hercules was well known to our historian. The text is the following (Hdt. 4.8.1–10.3):
Σκύθαι μὲν ὧδε ὕπερ σφέων τε αὐτῶν καὶ τῆς χώρης τῆς κατύπερθε λέγουσι, Ἑλλήνων δὲ οἱ τὸν Πόντον οἰκέοντες ὧδε. Ἡρακλέα ἐλαύνοντα τὰς Γηρυόνεω βοῦς ἀπικέσθαι ἐς γῆν ταύτην ἐοῦσαν ἐρήμην, ἥντινα νῦν Σκύθαι νέμονται. Γηρυόνεα δὲ οἰκέειν ἔξω τοῦ Πόντου, κατοικημένον τὴν Ἕλληνές λέγουσι Ἐρύθειαν νῆσον τὴν πρὸς Γαδείροισι τοῖσι ἔξω Ἡρακλέων στηλέων ἐπὶ τῷ Ὠκεανῷ. τὸν δὲ Ὠκεανὸν λόγῳ μὲν λέγουσι ἀπὸ ἡλίου ἀνατολέων ἀρξάμενον γῆν περὶ πᾶσαν ῥέειν, ἔργῳ δὲ οὐκ ἀποδεικνῦσι. ἐνθεῦτεν τόν Ἡρακλέα ἀπικέσθαι ἐς τὴν νῦν Σκυθίην χώρην καλεομένην, καὶ καταλαβεῖν γὰρ αὐτὸν χειμῶνα τε καὶ κρυμὸν, ἐπειρυσάμενον τὴν λεοντέην κατυπνῶσαι, τὰς δὲ οἱ ἵππους τὰς ὑπὸ τοῦ ἅρματος νεμομένας ἐν τούτῳ τῳ χρόνῳ ἀφανισθῆναι θείη τύχῃ. ὥς δ᾽ ἐγερθῆναι τὸν Ἡρακλέα, δίζησθαι, πάντα δὲ τῆς χώρης ἐπεξελθόντα τέλος ἀπικέσθαι ἐς τὴν Ὑλαίην καλεομένην γῆν· ἐνθαῦτα δὲ αὐτὸν εὑρεῖν ἐν ἄντρῳ μιξοπάρθενον τινά, ἔχιδναν διφυέα, τῆς τὰ μὲν ἄνω ἀπὸ τῶν γλουτῶν εἶναι γυναικός, τὰ δὲ ἔνερθε ὄφιος. ἰδόντα δὲ καὶ θωμάσαντα ἐπειρέσθαι μιν εἴ κου ἴδοι ἵππους πλανωμένας· τὴν δὲ φάναι ἑωυτήν ἔχειν καὶ οὐκ ἀποδώσειν ἐκείνῳ πρὶν ἢ οἱ μιχθῇ· τό δὲ Ἡρακλέα μιχθῆναι ἐπὶ τῷ μισθῷ τούτῳ. κείνην τε δὴ ὑπερβάλλεσθαι τὴν ἀπόδοσιν τῶν ἵππων, βουλομένην ὡς πλεῖστον χρόνον συνεῖναι τῷ Ἡρακλεῖ, καὶ τὸν κομισάμενον ἐθέλειν ἀπαλλάσσεσθαι· τέλος δὲ ἀποδιδοῦσαν αὐτὴν εἰπεῖν· ἵππους μὲν δὴ ταύτας ἀπικομένας ἐνθάδε ἔσωσα τοὶ ἐγώ, σῶστρά τε σὺ παρέσχες· ἐγὼ γὰρ ἐκ σεῦ τρεῖς παῖδας ἔχω. τούτους, ἐπεὰν γένωνται τρόφιες, ὃ τι χρὴ ποιέειν, ἐξηγέο σύ, εἴτε αὐτοῦ κατοικίζω, χώρης γὰρ τῆσδε ἔχω τὸ κράτος αὕτη, εἴτε ἀποπέμπω παρὰ σέ. τὴν μὲν δὴ ταῦτα ἐπειρωτᾶν, τὸν δὲ λέγουσι πρὸς ταῦτα εἰπεῖν ‘ἐπεὰν ἀνδρωθέντας ἴδῃ τοὺς παῖδας, τάδε ποιεῦσα οὐκ ἂν ἁμαρτάνοις· τὸν μὲν ἂν ὁρᾷς αὐτῶν τόδε τὸ τόξον ὧδε διατεινόμενον καὶ τῷ ζωστῆρι τῷδε κατὰ τάδε ζωννύμενον, τοῦτον μὲν τῆσδε τῆς χώρης οἰκήτορα ποιεῦ· ὃς δ᾽ ἂν τούτων τῶν ἔργων τῶν ἐντέλλομαι λείπηται, ἔκπεμπε ἐκ τῆς χώρης. καὶ ταῦτα ποιεῦσα αὐτή τε εὐφρανέαι καὶ τὰ ἐντεταλμένα ποιήσεις.’ τὸν μὲν δὴ εἰρύσαντα τῶν τόξων τὸ ἕτερον, δύο γὰρ δὴ φορέειν τέως Ἡρακλέα, καὶ τὸν ζωστῆρα προδέξαντα, παραδοῦναι τὸ τόξον τε καὶ τὸν ζωστῆρα ἔχοντα ἐπ᾽ ἄκρης τῆς συμβολῆς φιάλην χρυσέην, δόντα δὲ ἀπαλλάσσεσθαι. τὴν δ᾽, ἐπεὶ οἱ γενομένους τοὺς παῖδας ἀνδρωθῆναι, τοῦτο μὲν σφι οὐνόματα θέσθαι, τῷ μὲν Ἀγάθυρσον αὐτῶν, τῷ δ᾽ ἑπομένῳ Γελωνόν, Σκύθην δὲ τῷ νεωτάτῳ, τοῦτο δὲ τῆς ἐπιστολῆς μεμνημένην αὐτὴν ποιῆσαι τά ἐντεταλμένα. καὶ δὴ δύο μὲν οἱ τῶν παίδων, τόν τε Ἀγάθυρσον καὶ τὸν Γελωνόν, οὐκ οἵους τε γενομένους ἐξικέσθαι πρὸς τὸν προκείμενον ἄεθλον, οἴχεσθαι ἐκ τῆς χώρης ἐκβληθέντας ὑπὸ τῆς γειναμένης, τὸν δὲ νεώτατον αὐτῶν Σκύθην ἐπιτελέσαντα καταμεῖναι ἐν τῇ χωρῇ. καὶ ἀπὸ μὲν Σκύθεω τοῦ Ἡρακλέος γενέσθαι τοὺς αἰεὶ βασιλέας γινομένους Σκυθέων, ἀπὸ δὲ τῆς φιάλης ἔτι καὶ ἐς τόδε φιάλας ἐκ τῶν ζωστήρων φορέειν Σκύθας· τὸ δὴ μοῦνον μηχανήσασθαι τὴν μητέρα Σκύθῃ. ταῦτα δὲ Ἑλλήνων οἱ τὸν Πόντον οἰκέοντες λέγουσι.
This is what the Scythians say about themselves and the country north of them. But the story told by the Greeks who live in Pontus is as follows. Hercules, driving the cattle of Geryones, came to this land, which was then desolate, but is now inhabited by the Scythians. Geryones lived west of the Pontus, settled in the island called by the Greeks Erythea, on the shore of Ocean near Gadira, outside the pillars of Hercules. As for Ocean, the Greeks say that it flows around the whole world from where the sun rises, but they cannot prove that this is so. Hercules came from there to the country now called Scythia, where, encountering wintry and frosty weather, he drew his lion’s skin over him and fell asleep, and while he slept his mares, which were grazing yoked to the chariot, were spirited away by divine fortune. When Hercules awoke, he searched for them, visiting every part of the country, until at last he came to the land called the Woodland, and there he found in a cave a creature of double form that was half maiden and half serpent; above the buttocks she was a woman, below them a snake. When he saw her he was astonished, and asked her if she had seen his mares straying; she said that she had them, and would not return them to him before he had intercourse with her; Hercules did, in hope of this reward. But though he was anxious to take the horses and go, she delayed returning them, so that she might have Hercules with her for as long as possible; at last she gave them back, telling him, ‘These mares came, and I kept them safe here for you, and you have paid me for keeping them, for I have three sons by you. Now tell me what I am to do when they are grown up: shall I keep them here (since I am queen of this country), or shall I send them away to you?’ Thus she inquired, and then (it is said) Hercules answered: ‘When you see the boys are grown up, do as follows and you will do rightly: whichever of them you see bending this bow and wearing this belt so, make him an inhabitant of this land; but whoever falls short of these accomplishments that I require, send him away out of the country. Do so and you shall yourself have comfort, and my will shall be done’. So he drew one of his bows (for until then Hercules always carried two), and showed her the belt, and gave her the bow and the belt, that had a golden vessel on the end of its clasp; and, having given them, he departed. But when the sons born to her were grown men, she gave them names, calling one of them Agathyrsus and the next Gelonus and the youngest Scythes; furthermore, remembering the instructions, she did as she was told. Two of her sons, Agathyrsus and Gelonus, were cast out by their mother and left the country, unable to fulfill the requirements set; but Scythes, the youngest, fulfilled them and so stayed in the land. From Scythes son of Hercules comes the whole line of the kings of Scythia; and it is because of the vessel that the Scythians carry vessels on their belts to this day. This alone his mother did for Scythes. This is what the Greek dwellers in Pontus say.23
We must emphasize, first of all, how extended and deep the presence of Hercules was all along the colonization process, so that we need to pay attention to the indication that this is arguably a story created within the Scythian culture itself.24 Beyond any doubt the myth was known by the contemporary Greek culture. Corcella, for example, suggests that the presence of the story from epic onwards, at least from Hesiod,25 proves that Herodotus plays discreetly with a strategy of assimilation of the Scythian tradition within the Greek culture. But the explanation seems quite different, and once again the role of Herodotus as an exhaustive and faithful informant should be stressed: there is a Scythian Hercules, although Herodotus does not give us his name.26 The motif also of the disappearance, usually robbery, of cattle is found in Indo-Iranian mythology, which, as a result, demonstrates the Indo-European origin of the myth that among the Greeks has as protagonists Geryon and Hercules.27
Moreover, there are several very interesting data: the first one, the connection of the myth with the notion of finis terrae, and, therefore, with the mythical concept of the empty land able to be conquered by a brave invader; the second, that the Scythian country knows an exceptional cold winter, comparable to that of the far north; the third, that it is by the divine will that Hercules is separated of his mares; the fourth is the encounter with a woman who lives alone in an inhabited land; the fifth, the hybrid nature of the woman; the sixth, the anagnorisis test. The last four motives constitute the plot. The first conceptual element at work is perfectly represented by the myth of Geryon and his fight with Hercules,28 placed at the Western finis terrae.29 Moreover, attention must be also paid to the role of Hercules as a god of transgression of the limits between life and death, as shown by Euripides’ Alcestis and Aristophanes’ Frogs.
The second characteristic of the myth has to do with the reality of geography, and even more so than the topic about cold of far northern Europe. Yet the recent identification of the kingdom of Gelonos with that of the city of Bilsk, on the banks of the Vorskla River, in the Poltava demarcation, provides a reference point of great interest for our search.30 The discovery of numerous archaeological remains of Greek import provides evidence that supports the testimony of Herodotus.31 Contemporary historiography does not doubt that Gelonos – if it can be identified with the Bilsk site – hosted a Greek population, and dates the foundation of the city in the late seventh century BC.32 It seems also relevant to point out that in addition to farming activities – products of leather and textile products derived from the treatment of wool and leather – which, to a great extent, would be used for wholesale trade at a great distance, in Bilsk there was a very remarkable development of the metallurgical industry, principally based on copper treatment;33 moreover, it was its strategic position, midway between the unknown north and the area of civilizations, that turned the city into an important station within the slave route linking Eurasia and the Greek ports at the Pontos Euxeinos, especially Olbia.34
The third element is that of cattle raiding, wherein a god is the main victim. The object of robbery was in the Odyssey the cows of Helios, in the Homeric Hymn to Hermes the cows of Apollo, as here are the mares of Hercules, though they just disappear ‘by divine fortune’. A combination of mythical and folkloric motives is not ruled out, as an example of that mythological story that includes components of humor and even satire – as well as deception in its multiple forms – working as tools of entertainment and training.35
Our fourth motif is that of the serpent-nymph. Of course, the traits of the character correspond to those of the sirens and other similar non-human beings, for they depict a transgressive woman, who does not live in society, does not submit herself to the yoke of marriage, but instead she chooses her partners and forces them to join her.36 There are, however, some differences: the serpent-nymph in this foundation myth of the Scythian people does not kill Hercules after satisfying her sexual desire; further on, just like in the case of Circe and Odysseus, Hercules tries to obtain the freedom of the mares taken as hostages by the nymph, as were Odysseus’ companions.
The aforementioned combination of mythological and folkloric motifs includes those of the bow test – the most famous example of which is the Homeric Odyssey37 – and of the magical objects fallen from the skies. The pot of the buckle of course recalls the plough and the yoke, the ax and the pot. This is where we need to go into the mythical tradition in order to analyze piece by piece the elements with which Herodotus built his story. First of all, it is worth remembering that the character of the serpent-nymph was already dealt with at the Hesiodic Theogony (Hes. Th. 295–332):
ἣ δ᾽ ἔτεκ᾽ ἄλλο πέλωρον ἀμήχανον, οὐδὲν ἐοικὸς 295
θνητοῖς ἀνθρώποις οὐδ᾽ ἀθανάτοισι θεοῖσιν,
σπῆι ἔνι γλαφυρῷ θείην κρατερόφρον᾽ Ἔχιδναν,
ἥμισυ μὲν νύμφην ἑλικώπιδα καλλιπάρῃον,
ἥμισυ δ᾽ αὖτε πέλωρον ὄφιν δεινόν τε μέγαν τε
αἰόλον ὠμηστὴν ζαθέης ὑπὸ κεύθεσι γαίης. 300
ἔνθα δέ οἱ σπέος ἐστὶ κάτω κοίλῃ ὑπὸ πέτρῃ
τηλοῦ ἀπ᾽ ἀθανάτων τε θεῶν θνητῶν τ᾽ ἀνθρώπων·
ἔνθ᾽ ἄρα οἱ δάσσαντο θεοὶ κλυτὰ δώματα ναίειν.
ἣ δ᾽ ἔρυτ᾽ εἰν Ἀρίμοισιν ὑπὸ χθονὶ λυγρὴ Ἔχιδνα,
ἀθάνατος νύμφη καὶ ἀγήραος ἤματα πάντα. 305
τῇ δὲ Τυφάονά φασι μιγήμεναι ἐν φιλότητι
δεινόν θ᾽ ὑβριστήν τ᾽ ἄνομόν θ᾽ ἑλικώπιδι κούρῃ·
ἣ δ᾽ ὑποκυσαμένη τέκετο κρατερόφρονα τέκνα.
Ὄρθον μὲν πρῶτον κύνα γείνατο Γηρυονῆι·
δεύτερον αὖτις ἔτικτεν ἀμήχανον, οὔ τι φατειὸν 310
Κέρβερον ὠμηστήν, Ἀίδεω κύνα χαλκεόφωνον,
πεντηκοντακέφαλον, ἀναιδέα τε κρατερόν τε·
τὸ τρίτον Ὕδρην αὖτις ἐγείνατο λυγρὰ ἰδυῖαν
Λερναίην, ἣν θρέψε θεὰ λευκώλενος Ἥρη
ἄπλητον κοτέουσα βίῃ Ἡρακληείῃ. 315
καὶ τὴν μὲν Διὸς υἱὸς ἐνήρατο νηλέι χαλκῷ
Ἀμφιτρυωνιάδης σὺν ἀρηιφίλῳ Ἰολάῳ
Ηρακλέης βουλῇσιν Ἀθηναίης ἀγελείης.
ἣ δὲ Χίμαιραν ἔτικτε πνέουσαν ἀμαιμάκετον πῦρ,
δεινήν τε μεγάλην τε ποδώκεά τε κρατερήν τε· 320
τῆς δ᾽ ἦν τρεῖς κεφαλαί· μία μὲν χαροποῖο λέοντος,
ἣ δὲ χιμαίρης, ἣ δ᾽ ὄφιος, κρατεροῖο δράκοντος,
πρόσθε λέων, ὄπιθεν δὲ δράκων, μέσση δὲ χίμαιρα,
δεινὸν ἀποπνείουσα πυρὸς μένος αἰθομένοιο.
τὴν μὲν Πήγασος εἷλε καὶ ἐσθλὸς Βελλεροφόντης. 325
ἣ δ᾽ ἄρα Φῖκ᾽ ὀλοὴν τέκε Καδμείοισιν ὄλεθρον
Ὅρθῳ ὑποδμηθεῖσα Νεμειαῖόν τε λέοντα,
τόν ῥ᾽ Ἥρη θρέψασα Διὸς κυδρὴ παράκοιτις
γουνοῖσιν κατένασσε Νεμείης, πῆμ᾽ ἀνθρώποις.
ἔνθ᾽ ἄρ᾽ ὃ οἰκείων ἐλεφαίρετο φῦλ᾽ ἀνθρώπων, 330
κοιρανέων Τρητοῖο Νεμείης ἠδ᾽ Ἀπέσαντος·
ἀλλά ἑ ἲς ἐδάμασσε βίης Ἡρακληείης.
And in a hollow cave she bore another monster, irresistible, in no wise like either to mortal men or to the undying gods, even the goddess fierce Echidna who is half a nymph with glancing eyes and fair cheeks, and half again a huge snake, great and awful, with speckled skin, eating raw flesh beneath the secret parts of the holy earth. And there she has a cave deep down under a hollow rock far from the deathless gods and mortal men. There, then, did the gods appoint her a glorious house to dwell in: and she keeps guard in Arima beneath the earth, grim Echidna, a nymph who dies not nor grows old all her days. Men say that Typhaon the terrible, outrageous and lawless, was joined in love to her, the maid with glancing eyes. So she conceived and brought forth fierce offspring; first she bore Orthus the hound of Geryones, and then again she bore a second, a monster not to be overcome and that may not be described, Cerberus who eats raw flesh, the brazen-voiced hound of Hades, fifty-headed, relentless and strong. And again she bore a third, the evil-minded Hydra of Lerna, whom the goddess, white-armed Hera nourished, being angry beyond measure with the mighty Hercules. And her Hercules, the son of Zeus, of the house of Amphitryon, together with warlike Iolaus, destroyed with the unpitying sword through the plans of Athena the spoil driver. She was the mother of Chimaera who breathed raging fire, a creature fearful, great, swift footed and strong, who had three heads, one of a grim-eyed lion, another of a goat, and another of a snake, a fierce dragon; in her forepart she was a lion; in her hinderpart, a dragon; and in her middle, a goat, breathing forth a fearful blast of blazing fire. Her did Pegasus and noble Bellerophon slay; but Echidna was subject in love to Orthus and brought forth the deadly Sphinx which destroyed the Cadmeans, and the Nemean lion, which Hera, the good wife of Zeus, brought up and made to haunt the hills of Nemea, a plague to men. There he preyed upon the tribes of her own people and had power over Tretus of Nemea and Apesas: yet the strength of stout Hercules overcame him.38
As in Herodotus, Hesiod presents the serpent-nymph in a cave, in a territory that is far from any inhabited land. Again Hercules plays an important role, now killing two of the children of the serpent-nymph, the hydra of Lerna and the lion of Nemea. If Hercules personifies the civilizing power of the Greeks, his behavior regarding Echidna presents him as a dislodger of evils and benefactor of the human dwelling in places previously dominated by destruction.
In 1977, Raievskij tried to connect the myth of the founding chief of the Scythian dynasty with some archaeological artifacts, namely with such symbolic and rich discoveries as the vessels of Kul-Oba, in Crimea, and Voronezh, in Southern Russia.39 This theory, however, has been rebuked by Dumézil.40 Other scholars point to very different solutions: on the one hand, Fehling and Hartog do not accept the authenticity of either myth; Fehling, always fascinated by a controversial concept, the Urkundengeschichte as basis of every historiographic report, takes for granted that both myths belong to literature, not at all to history;41 in her research, Hartog also concludes that it is impossible to use the story of Herodotus as a tool for the interpretation of the Scythian culture; according to her, the representation of the Scythians would have been modeled on the functions, characteristics and conduct of the Athenian ephebes.42 In the opposite way, Dumézil interprets the three elements – the plough and the yoke, the ax, and the pot – as respective symbols of the three functions.43 In so doing, he also underlines the differences established between the Scythian myth and the Turkish myth of Oghuz Kagan and his sons.44 Also Ivantchik accepts that the religious and literary traditions of Caucasian peoples confirm the veracity of the Herodotean account.45 An interesting and deep comment of the myth has been carried out by Ustinova.46
There are still further aspects worthy of discussion. First, the term ἔχιδνα appears in Greek already in Hesiod (Hes. Th. 297), and its suffix can hardly be defined as Pre-Greek.47 Secondly, Herodotus is very precise in telling us that Hercules ἀπικέσθαι ἐς τὴν Ὑλαίην καλεομένην γῆν, came to the land called ῞Υλαια, i.e. the forest, which gives us the Greek translation of a major place name.48 It is in any case a geographic space different from that of the steppe. According to Corcella, the location of a cave inside a deep wood lacks coherence,49 but this location could be explained within a mythical frame.
The union of the serpent-nymph and Hercules resembles a tale contained in the Persian epic Shahnameh, when the Princess Tahminah becomes the wife of Rostam.50 This hero arrives at the palace of the king of Samangan – whose name is simply Samanganshah – in search of his prized horse, which had been stolen while the hero was asleep. Guest of the king, that night Rostam receives the visit of Tahminah, who asks him in marriage, and the hero accepts. Rostam must leave after the marriage ceremony, but he gives Tahminah a jewel taken from his bow, as a symbol for the daughter or son who will be born.51 This Iranian tradition would have come to Herodotus through Scythian oral culture, according to his own indications, but a more ancient account already known in Hesiod’s age should not be discarded. Another Hesiodic passage goes like this (Hes. fr. 150, ll. 15–16):
Αἰθίοπάς] τε Λίβυς τε ἰδὲ Σκύ[θ]ας ἱππημο[λγού]ς
Σκύθης μέν γ]ένεθ᾿ υἱὸς ὑπερ[μ]ενέος Κρονίωνος.
(…) the Ethiopians, the Libyans and the Scythians, that milk mares,
and Scythes became the son of the mighty Cronion.52
The so-called Tabula Albana, an epigraphical text which should be ascribed to the mythographical entertainment prose of the post-Classical age and was rather oddly included by Jacoby in his edition of the historical fragments,53 has been usually described and entitled as a ‘Heraclean Story’. This is the passage related to our subject (Tabula Albana, IG XIV 1293 A 93–97):
τουτῶ δὲ ἐπὶ Σκυθίαν διαβὰς Ἀ[ρ]ά[ξ]η[ν] μάχαι ἐνίκασε· τᾶι δὲ θυγατρὶ αὐτοῦ συνγενόμενος Ἐχίδναι υἱοὺς Ἀγάθυρσον ἔθετο καὶ Σκύθαν.
Later, after crossing the river Araxes when going towards Scythia, he won him in battle; joining his daughter Echidna he begot his sons Agathyrsos and Scythes.54
The text has been diversely interpreted,55 but we take for granted that the verb διαβαίνω requires an hydronym, so that the name Araxes should be first of all analyzed this way.
A different tradition is found among the Ossetians, who explain the birth of the hero Batraz by the union of the hero Khamyth with an anonymous nymph, daughter of the river Don-Bettyr; it was under the daylight that he hid under a turtle shell,56 as it is told in the Argonautics of Gaius Valerius Flaccus (6.48–59):
proxima Bisaltae legio ductorque Colaxes,
sanguis et ipse deum, Scythicis quem Iuppiter oris
progenuit viridem Myracen Tibisenaque iuxta 50
ostia, semifero (dignum si credere) captus
corpore, nec nymphae geminos exhorruit angues.
cuncta phalanx insigne Iovis caelataque gestat
tegmina disperses trifidis ardoribus ignes;
nec primus radios, miles Romane, corusci 55
fulminis et rutilas scutis diffuderis alas.
insuper auratos collegerat ipse dracones,
matris Horae specimen, linguisque adversus utrimque
congruit et tereti serpens dat vulnera gemmae.
Next came Bisalta’s legion and Colaxes its chief, himself too of the seed of gods, begotten by Jupiter in Scythian land by green Myrace and the mouths of Tibisis, enchanted, if the tale is worthy of belief, by a nymph’s half-human body nor afraid of her twin snakes. The whole troop bears Jove’s emblem, their targes are embossed with the darting fire of the triple thunderbolt; nor, soldiers of Rome, are ye the first with your shields to spread abroad the flash and glare and flaming pinions of the brand. Thereon had he himself joined serpents of gold, in likeness of Hora his mother; from either hand did the snakes’ tongues meet, darting wounds upon a shapely gem.57
Lastly, Diodorus of Sicily in his Historical Library shows how the legend of the origin of the Scythian people moves away from its mythical background: this historian preserves only a mythical motif, that of the union of the god, in this case Zeus, with the serpent-nymph (Diod. Sic. 43.3–4):
ὕστερον δὲ μυθολογοῦσι Σκύθαι παρ᾽ αὑτοῖς γενέσθαι γηγενῆ παρθένον· ταύτην δ᾽ ἔχειν τὰ μὲν ἄνω μέρη τοῦ σώματος μέχρι τῆς ζώνης γυναικεῖα, τὰ δὲ κατώτερα ἐχίδνης. ταύτῃ δὲ Δία μιγέντα γεννῆσαι παῖδα Σκύθην ὄνομα. τοῦτον δὲ γενόμενον ἐπιφανέστατον τῶν πρὸ αὐτοῦ τοὺς λαοὺς ἀφ᾽ ἑαυτοῦ Σκύθας προσαγορεῦσαι. τῶν δὲ ἀπογόνων τούτου τοῦ βασιλέως ἀδελφοὺς δύο γενέσθαι διαφόρους ἀρετῇ, καὶ τὸν μὲν Πάλον, τὸν δὲ Νάπην ὠνομάσθαι. τούτων δ᾽ ἐπιφανεῖς πράξεις κατεργασαμένων καὶ διελομένων τὴν βασιλείαν, ἀφ᾽ ἑκατέρου τοὺς λαοὺς τοὺς μὲν Πάλους, τοὺς δὲ Νάπας προσαγορευθῆναι.
Finally, the Scythians tell that among them there was a maid, born from the earth; she had womanlike upper body parts till her waist, but snakelike body parts from the waist down; they also tell that after joining her Zeus begot a child named Scythian; and that because this man became more glorious than his ancestors, the nations born from his blood took the name of Scythians; and that from the descendants of this king two brothers were born, distinguished for their skill, and that they had the names of Palos and Napes; and that the nations derived from those, who had performed actions of great brilliance and shared the royal dignity, took respectively the names of Pali and Napi.58
Ivantchik himself suggests that the later versions provided by Diodorus and Flaccus were probably closer to the Scythian tradition, but he does not strengthen his position by means of any argument.59
As clearly shown by the literary sources, there was an old Indo-European tradition rooted in the far-extended Indo-Iranian lands and of course related to the steppe culture. This tradition presents the origin of a royal dynasty – and, thereby, of the nation itself – after the meeting of a serpent-nymph and a traveling hero searching for his horses, which had been previously stolen. The presence of old motifs in the Iranian versions of the myth, as well as its widespread diffusion in the Caucasic area, show that the tale was not originated in the Greek-speaking territories. It is noteworthy, first, that Herodotus gives us the most complete account of the myth; secondly, that the central role of myth in the Histories is not invalidated by any historical or archaeological sources; and thirdly, that Herodotus criticized Targitaus’ genealogical myth, but not the Heraclean foundation of the Scythian dynasty. Herodotus’ Hellenic perspective was probably decisive in order to accept, even from an apparent neutral position, a myth reported to him by both Scythians and Greeks, whose protagonist hero and plot he could easily recognize as full of authenticity and grandeur.
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Notes
1
Hornblower (1995). For a sharp and symmetric analysis of both methodological approaches, see also Zali (2011).
2
Jordan (1986); Crane (1996) 187–208; Furley (2006).
3
Baragwanath and de Bakker (2012) 49: “The mythic mode was a valuable tool in the historian’s hands, structuring oral material in a way that listeners could more easily grasp it, and underscoring the universal significance of particular occurrences. Recent events and personalities could be more clearly and memorably portrayed on the model of the already-familiar patterns of thought and action that this mode evoked”.
4
Dougherty (1993) 8, endorses the opinion that it is better not to range myth on the side of fiction and history on that of truth.
5
On the Herodotean methodology, see Kourtoglou (2011) 51.
6
Bickerman (1952) 70: “As Eratosthenes had said, before the first Olympiad (776 BC), came the ‘mythical epoch’ of Greece. The Greeks had no other material for the reconstitution of their first age. This is the reason why, from Hecataeus on, Greek historians applied themselves to turning the mythological figures and fabulous happenings of their sagas into historical persons and events. Hercules chasing the oxen of Geryon was converted into a general at the head of an international army. This work transformed a fictitious past into historical reality which for the Greeks formed the more or less vague background of subsequent events. By this rationalizing interpretation, Greek scholarship created for the Greeks a scientific prehistory which no other people of the ancient world possessed. Elsewhere, no limits marked the boundary between history and fable. Speaking of the Amazons, Strabo stresses the peculiarity of this tale which mixes up history and fable. The other stories, he says, keep separated the fabulous and the historical elements. ‘History requires the truth, whether ancient or recent, and contains no marvels, or, at least, sparingly’.” This quotation was taken from Strab. XI 504.
7
Kozintsev (2000); (2007).
8
Royal Scythians: Hdt. 4.20.2; 22.3; 56; 57; 59.1; 71.2. Hellenized Scythians: Hdt. 4.17.1. Saka-Scythians: Hdt. 7.64.2. This last passage deserves further comment, as Herodotus “expressis uerbis says that the Persians indeed call Sakai all the Scythians,” so that the ethnonym would not mean a part, but the whole Scythian nation. Furthermore, there are no ‘Spartan Scythians’, as it could be inferred after the title of Braund (2004). On this matter, see also Hinge (2003). Take also into account that there is no specific differentiation between settled and nomadic Scythians, a distinction which is not fully useful, cf. Murzin (2019).
9
Tuplin (2006) 307, n. 48; Dan (2013) 46, suggests that the so-called Chalybian Scythians “should have been more a caste of craftsmen than a people.”
10
Ivantchik (2001) 212–213: “L’existence de deux variantes de la légende de l’origine des Scythes qui ont cependant des traits communs importants s’explique probablement par l’appartenance de ces deux variantes à des groupes ethniques scythes différents.”
11
Hdt. 4.5.1 τοῦ δὲ Ταργιτάου τούτου τοὺς τοκέας λέγουσι εἶναι, ἐμοὶ μὲν οὐ πιστὰ λέγοντες, λέγουσι δ᾽ ὦν, Δία τε καὶ Βορυσθένεος τοῦ ποταμοῦ θυγατέρα – ‘They say that the parents of this Targitaus were Zeus and a daughter of the Borysthenes river (I do not believe the story, but it is told)’; 4.11.1 ἔστι δὲ καὶ ἄλλος λόγος ἔχων ὧδε, τῷ μάλιστα λεγομένῳ αὐτός πρόσκειμαι. – ‘There is yet another story, to which account I myself especially incline’ (transl. by Godley 1920).
12
Cf. Groten (1963) 79: “The frequency with which double versions occur in the Herodotean narrative must be ascribed not only to his diligence for checking information but also to his particular concept of the historian’s role in handling his material”. As a conclusion, this author supports the view that Herodotus was ever rigorous and trustful; see also Groten (1963) 87: “When Herodotus conducted his researches, his intent was to gather the most reliable information available on his subject at the actual source. As for the other conflicting accounts which occur in the Histories, many of them are narrated with no preference indicated (5.4–45; 6.137). The rest substantiate the foregoing conclusions, that Herodotus always tries to make an intelligent and thoughtful choice based upon his researches.”
13
Khazanov (1989); Golden (1987–1991); (1992) 3, 42, 233–282; on the Srubnaia culture, see Debets (1948) and (1971); Zinevits (1967); Konduktorova (1972); Kruts (1976); (1984); Martinov and Alekseev (1986).
14
Kozintsev (2000) 150–151 on the two different genetically Scythian ethnic groups; See also Unterländer, Palstra, Lazaridis et al. (2017) on their common culture.
15
Ivantchik (2001) 207: “Les deux premières versions de l’origine des Scythes sont fort différentes de la troisième. Dans les deux premiers cas, il s’agit de versions purement mythologiques qui font remonter les Scythes à des ancêtres divins. Dans le troisième, Hérodote rapporte une version à caractère historique. Il ne parle pas des ancêtres mythiques des Scythes, mais de leur migrations et de leurs exploits militaires qui sont historiques, au moins partiellement” (my emphasis).
16
Asheri (2007) 553: “in fact, most of the claims made by Herodotus about the ethnography of the Scythians turn out to be, by and large, correct: there are some unqualified generalizations, simplifications, misunderstandings, but archaeology often confirms even the tiniest details.”
17
Atasoy (2003) 1338–1339; Tsetskhladze (2011); Scythian centers of power were the cities of Belskyi and Nemirov, at the low Dnieper basin, cf. Petropoulos (2015).
18
Transl. by Godley (1920).
19
Ivantchik (1999) 141.
20
Dumézil (1930) 119–224; (1941) 51–55; Benveniste (1938) 532–534.
21
Christensen (1917) 3.
22
López Eire (1975).
23
Transl. by Godley (1920).
24
Corcella (2007) 577–578.
25
Hes. fr. 150, lines 15–16. See on this fragment the observations made by Fehling (1989) 45–46.
26
Grakov (1950).
27
Widengren (1966).
28
González García (1997/1998) 15–41.
29
García Quintela (2002).
30
Shramko (1975).
31
Shramko (1987) 121–126, 174–179.
32
Raaflaub and van Wees (2009) 345: “There is some discussion of whether Herodotus’ Gelonus is Belsk, but if it is, it had Greek-type sanctuaries and a Greek population from the archaic period.”
33
Minns (1913) 147–148; Shramko and Grubnyk-Buynova (2016) 416; Beckwith (2009) 67–68. This author, however, interprets Gelonos as the Scythian capital, a surprising statement that makes room for other considerations.
34
Taylor (2001) 34.
35
Thompson (1955–1958) offers a single example related to the theme of the gods deceived by a mortal, A 189.3, “man cheats a god in throwing dice,” registered in India by Thompson and Balys (1958). Yet this research must be considered incomplete and of course unsatisfactory; among many other examples, it is adequate to quote the false sacrifice offered to Zeus at Mecona by Prometheus.
36
Iriarte Goñi (2002) 78–85.
37
Hom. Od. 21.359–432; see Allen (2020).
38
Transl. by Evelyn-White (1914).
39
Raievskij (1977) 19–86. The splendid vase of Kul’-Oba can be seen at the Hermitage Museum of Saint Petersburg, KO 11. The Voronezh vase instead is hosted by the Kiev Museum, AZS-2358. See on these artifacts Zograf (1982) 5–14. A third vase has been found at Gaimanova Magila, in the Lower Dnieper region, but the mythical narration depicted there does not seem to be related to the foundation myth displayed at Kul-Oba and Voronezh, cf. Ivantchik (2001) 211–212.
40
Dumézil (1983) 78–89.
41
Fehling (1971); (1989).
42
Hartog (1988) 20–28 analyzes the Scythian foundation myth and concludes that there is so much lack of coherence as in the character of Hercules, an animal-hero in her opinion. See also pp. 234–235, as she underlines the absence of a rationalized discussion in Hdt. 4.82, while the emergence of the god as founder of the Scythian royal dynasty would be a simple topic.
43
Dumézil (1977) 178–192.
44
Dumézil (1977) 202–203.
45
Ivantchik (1999).
46
Ustinova (1999) 87–93.
47
Beekes (2016) 489: “-δνα is a typical Pre-Greek sufix; ἔχιδνα must have been a loan from Pre-Greek.” Yet the suffix was certainly quite productive in Ancient Greek, cf. Chantraine (1933) 194–195.
48
The toponym is indeed attested in our sources, since a poetic Olbian inscription gives it, cf. Rusiaeva and Vinogradov (1991) 91 (= 1992, 196); Iailenko (2015). See also Ephor. FGrH 70 F 158: πρὸς ἀνατολὰς δὲ ἐκβάντι τὸν Βορυσθένην τοὺς τὴν λεγομένην Ὕλαιαν οἰκοῦντας Σκύθας.
49
Corcella (2007) 578.
50
Firdawsi’s Shahnameh VI ll. 238–903.
51
Tolstov (1948) 294–295.
52
My translation.
53
Jacoby (1923) fr. 40 F 1 c.
54
My translation.
55
Ustinova (1999) 89; Braund (2010) 18–19, take Araxes as an anthroponym. Braund, for example, translates “then, having crossed against Scythia he defeated Artaxes in battle”.
56
Kuzmina (1976) 55; Miller (1887) 200.
57
Transl. by Mozley (1934).
58
My translation.
59
Ivantchik (2001) 215.