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O L B I A A S A FRONTIER SOCIETY
by
Edwin P h i l i p Teece
B.A., V i c t o r i a C o l l e g e , 1963
A THESIS SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILMENT OF THE
REQUIREMENTS OF THE DEGREE OF
MASTER OF ARTS
i n the Department
of
CLASSICS
We accept t h i s t h e s i s as conforming to the

r e q u i r e d standard.
THE UNIVERSITY OF BRITISH COLUMBIA
September,
1971
In presenting this thesis in p a r t i a l fulfilment of the r e q u i r e m e n t s for
an advanced degree at the U n i v e r s i t y of British Columbia, I agree that
the L i b r a r y shall make it freely available for r e f e r e n c e and study.
I f u r t h e r agree that permission for e x t e n s i v e copying of this thesis
for scholarly purposes may be g r a n t e d b y . t h e Head o f my Department or
by h i s representatives. It is understood that copying or publication
of this thesis for financial gain shall not be a l l o w e d w i t h o u t my
written permission.
Department o f dftSSICS
The U n i v e r s i t y o f B r i t i s h Columbia
Vancouver 8, Canada
Date Sffifllflr
ABSTRACT
In t h i s study the Greek colony o f O l b i a , on the
n o r t h c o a s t o f the B l a c k Sea, i s examined i n the l i g h t
of b o t h the l i t e r a r y and the a r c h a e o l o g i c a l evidence r e -
l a t i n g to the c i t y ' s f i r s t two c e n t u r i e s o f s e t t l e m e n t .
The effects upon the c o l o n i s t s of i s o l a t i o n from the g r e a t
c e n t r e s of Greek urban l i f e , o f the h o s t i l e p h y s i c a l en-
vironment i n t o which the Greek s e t t l e r s transplanted their
civilization, and of the b a r b a r i a n peoples who surrounded
the colony are s t u d i e d . I t can be seen from the evidence
gathered here t h a t the O l b i o p o l i t a i , while s t r u g g l i n g to
m a i n t a i n a Greek way of l i f e i n their city, yielded i n
some measure t o the a r t i s t i c , r e l i g i o u s and p o l i t i c a l i n -
f l u e n c e s of t h e i r S c y t h i a n neighbours.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT S
I'would l i k e t o express my g r a t i t u d e t o
P r o f e s s o r Malcolm F. McGregor, who o f f e r e d care-
f u l and d e t a i l e d c r i t i c i s m of the f i r s t draft,
and to P h i l l i p E. Harding, who provided the i n s p i r -
a t i o n f o r , and p a r t i c i p a t e d c l o s e l y i n the pre-
paration of t h i s study.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
I INTRODUCTION . . p.l
II TESTIMONIA p. 8
III L I F E IN A NEW ENVIRONMENT p. 39
IV THE SCYTHIANS p.56
V CONNEXION WITH THE OUTSIDE WORLD. . . p.70
VI THE OLBIAN WAY OF L I F E p.83
VII THE HISTORICAL FRAMEWORK p.98
BIBLIOGRAPHY . . . p. 105
APPENDIX p. 109
I
( • .
INTRODUCTION
O l b i a , a l s o c a l l e d Borysthenes-jj was founded on the
Hypanis (the Bug) R i v e r , n o r t h of the Black Sea, by c o l o n i s t s
from M i l e t o s d u r i n g the second h a l f of the seventh century
B.C. Eusebios f i x e s the date of i t s f o u n d a t i o n as the f i r s t
y e a r o f the t h i r t y - f o u r t h Olympiad, 6i][/3 B.C. A r c h a e o l o g i c a l
evidence confirms the presence of Greek c o l o n i s t s on the s i t e
d u r i n g a t l e a s t the f i n a l q u a r t e r of the seventh century.
One of the most f a s c i n a t i n g a s p e c t s of t h i s colony dur-
ing the f i r s t two c e n t u r i e s of i t s e x i s t e n c e i s i t s i s o l a t i o n ;
b o t h i n the Greek i m a g i n a t i o n and i n f a c t the shores of the
Northern Pontos were i n a world apart from and a l i e n t o the
f a m i l i a r environment of the Aegean. Not o n l y i t s g r e a t d i s -
tance from home ( O l b i a was n e a r l y a thousand m i l e s by sea from
M i l e t o s ) , but the harshness of i t s c l i m a t e and the s t r a n g e -
ness of the n a t i v e S c y t h i a n c u l t u r e , i n t o c l o s e c o n t a c t with
which the c o l o n i s t s a t O l b i a were f o r c e d , evoked i n the G r e e k
1 Herodotos i s the f i r s t w r i t e r who uses the name "Bory-

sthenes'. Coins and i n s c r i p t i o n s from the colony a t
every date r e f e r to the c i t y as O l b i a .
2.
i n h a b i t a n t s of the n o r t h e r n c o a s t of the B l a c k Sea a feeling
of e x i l e . And, because of the d i f f i c u l t i e s of t r a n s p o r t and
communication that arose from n a v i g a t i o n a l hazards p e c u l i a r
to the B l a c k Sea, t h i s I s o l a t i o n was more than an i l l u s i o n ; i t
was a fact.
In s p i t e of the h a r d s h i p , r e a l and imagined, that might
have d e t e r r e d a p r o s p e c t i v e c o l o n i s t from exchanging the warm
c i v i l i z a t i o n of M i l e t o s f o r the c h i l l y w i l d e r n e s s of the Hy-
panis R i v e r i n Pontos, there were i n c e n t i v e s f o r the adventur-
ous. C h i e f among these was the abundance of a r a b l e l a n d on the
Hypanis, f o r , although M i l e t o s and the I o n i a n c o a s t were not,
i n the seventh century, so d e s p e r a t e l y short of l a n d as the
c i t i e s of the mainland of Greece, t h e i r f i e l d s were never q u i t e
enough, and, a f t e r the P e r s i a n conquest of Lyriia i n the mid-
s i x t h century, the M i l e s i a n s perhaps foresaw a p o s s i b l e s h r i n k -
age of the lands a v a i l a b l e f o r t h e i r use. In a d d i t i o n to prod-
u c t i v e l a n d , the B l a c k Sea's n o r t h e r n c o a s t o f f e r e d the pos-
sibility of l u c r a t i v e t r a d e ; the S c y t h i a n n a t i v e s of the region
could supply c a t t l e , hides, s l a v e s and c e r t a i n kinds of decor-
a t i v e a r t , and i n exchange they were g l a d to o b t a i n wine and
oil and other products of a warmer c l i m a t e . Another promising
i n d u s t r y suggested i t s e l f i n the convenient coincidence of
abundant e d i b l e f i s h i n the e s t u a r i e s of the great r i v e r s and

n a t u r a l d e p o s i t s of the s a l t t h a t i s used to p r e s e r v e f i s h
f o r export.
A first glance at the s i t u a t i o n of O l b i a ' s e a r l i e s t c o l o n -
i s t s — the p r o s p e c t s that l u r e d them t h e r e , and the harsh un-
f a m i l i a r i t y of the environment i n t o which they found themselves
t r a n s p l a n t e d — suggests an obvious analogy: European settlers
i n e a r l y North America found themselves i n a very similar situ-
ation. I n both cases the c o l o n i s t s p l a c e d themselves into circ-
umstances of more or l e s s permanent e x i l e as a r e s u l t of the
problems of t r a n s p o r t and the d i s t a n c e s i n v o l v e d . I n both cases,
too, the people i n v o l v e d were a d v e n t u r e r s , w i l l i n g to aban-
don the f a m i l i a r i t y and s e c u r i t y of home i n o r d e r to f i n d mat-
e r i a l w e a l t h and a b e t t e r way of l i f e . And i n both seventeenth-
century America and seventh-century O l b i a the c o l o n i s t s were
f a c e d w i t h the problem of e s t a b l i s h i n g workable r e l a t i o n s with
native populations.
The p h y s i c a l environment i n each case was of an unaccust-
omed harshness. J u s t as the s e t t l e r s of the N o r t h American
frontier created a special l o r e about the barrenness of the
p l a i n s and the u n e a r t h l i n e s s of the w i n t e r s , so the Greeks

developed, I n connexion w i t h the Euxine r e g i o n , a particularly
f o r b i d d i n g environmental l o r e ; the Greeks at home heard exag-
gerated t a l e s of e t e r n a l m i s t s , grey, stunted v e g e t a t i o n , and
b i z a r r e p h y s i o l o g i c a l e f f e c t s of the f r i g i d n o r t h e r n climate.
By g r e a t l y i n c r e a s i n g the r e l u c t a n c e of t r a v e l l e r s t o voyage to
the n o r t h e r n c o l o n i e s , these f a n c i f u l r e p o r t s tended t o aggrav-
ate the i s o l a t i o n of o u t p o s t s such as O l b i a .
In the case of the N o r t h American settlement, the h a r s h
environment, the c o n t a c t w i t h a n a t i v e p o p u l a t i o n , the almost
l i m i t l e s s a v a i l a b i l i t y of p r o d u c t i v e l a n d and, above a l l , the
i s o l a t i o n of the s e t t l e r s from t h e i r mother c o u n t r i e s , l e d to
the e v o l u t i o n of a s t y l e of l i f e t h a t was d i f f e r e n t i n many r e -
spects from t h a t of Europe. D u r i n g the c e n t u r i e s of N o r t h
American c o l o n i z a t i o n there existed i n d u s t r i a l enterprises,
modes of a r c h i t e c t u r e and even a s t y l e of l i v i n g that were pe-
culiar to the f r o n t i e r society.
Did the strangeness of the environment, the c o n t a c t with
a native population (the Scythians) and the i s o l a t i o n of O l b i a
produce i n that colony a unique way of l i f e ? To what extent,
in the f i r s t two c e n t u r i e s a f t e r the c i t y ' s f o u n d i n g , d i d the
inhabitants c l i n g , i n s p i t e of the " f r o n t i e r " aspect of t h e i r
existence, to Greek t r a d i t i o n s i n the a d m i n i s t r a t i o n of t h e i r

5.
city, i n their architecture, their art, their religion and
g e n e r a l l y i n t h e i r way of life?
An examination of the evidence b e a r i n g on these quest-
i o n s i s the concern of t h i s study. The evidence, although
it i s incomplete, does appear to warrant some c o n c l u s i o n s ,
and some t e n t a t i v e answers to the q u e s t i o n s .
Literary sources f o r O l b i a b e f o r e I4.OO B.C., and f o r life
on the n o r t h e r n c o a s t of the Black Sea, are not voluminous.
References to t h i s r e g i o n i n the w r i t i n g s of A r c h i l o c h o s ,
Herodotos, H i p p o k r a t e s , Homer, Strabo and Theophrastos pro-
v i d e a s k e t c h of the c o n d i t i o n s under which l i f e had to be
lived at O l b i a — the c l i m a t e , the c o n d i t i o n of the s o i l , the
flora and fauna, and the r e s o u r c e s of the a r e a . In the
f o u r t h book of Herodotos one f i n d s a wealth of d e t a i l about
the S c y t h i a n people and t h e i r r e l a t i o n s w i t h the s e t t l e r s of
Olbia. Hippokrates d e s c r i b e s some of the p h y s i c a l peculiar-
ities of the S c y t h s . The s i t e of the c i t y and i t s archi-
t e c t u r e are b r i e f l y touched upon by a number, of authors,
n o t a b l y Dio Chrysostom, Herodotos and S t r a b o . The region's
i n d u s t r i e s are d i s c u s s e d by P o l y b i o s and Strabo.
About the O l b i o p o l i t a i themselves at t h i s e a r l y p e r i o d

6.
t h e r e i s o n l y a s m a t t e r i n g of w r i t t e n i n f o r m a t i o n . D i o Chrys-
ostom p r o v i d e s a h i n t about the mode of d r e s s a t O l b i a , D i o -
doros and Herodotos mention the c o l o n i s t s ' M i l e s i a n o r i g i n and
d e s c r i b e t h e i r d e a l i n g s w i t h the S c y t h i a n s , and Strabo tells
us that a major,preoccupation of the O l b l o p o l i t a i was t r a d e . A
few i n s c r i p t i o n s p r o v i d e a fragmentary p i c t u r e of O i b i a n ex-
t e r n a l r e l a t i o n s i n the s i x t h and f i f t h c e n t u r i e s .
All the l i t e r a r y evidence i s p r e s e n t e d , under the heading
"Testimonia, 11
i n the next chapter.
We must t u r n t o archaeology i n order to f i l l the r a t h e r
spacious gaps i n the w r i t t e n t r a d i t i o n about O l b i a . Unfortun-
a t e l y , a l t h o u g h the s i t e ( near N i k o l a e v i n Southern Russia)
has been excavated, much of the d e t a i l e d i n f o r m a t i o n r e g a r d i n g
the R u s s i a n e x c a v a t o r s ' work i s d i f f i c u l t o f access i n the West-
ern hemisphere. Prom the r e p o r t s t h a t are a v a i l a b l e , however,
e s p e c i a l l y the l i s t s of a r t i f a c t s r e c o v e r e d from the c i t y ' s
e a r l i e s t l a y e r s , one can make a good b e g i n n i n g i n the t a s k of
r e c o n s t r u c t i n g d e t a i l s o f O i b i a n l i f e i n the s i x t h and f i f t h
c e n t u r i e s B.C. Some s i g n i f i c a n t o b s e r v a t i o n s can be based upon
the O i b i a n f a c t o r i e s t h a t s p e c i a l i z e d i n i m i t a t i o n s of S c y t h i a n
art, upon the domestic a r c h i t e c t u r e adapted In construction

7.
and style to the s p e c i a l demands of the O l b i a n c l i m a t e , and
upon the p o t t e r y t h a t o r i g i n a t e d i n the f a c t o r i e s of o n i a n

i
Greece and Athens, as w e l l as upon O l b i a n c o i n s t h a t bear some
interesting political and r e l i g i o u s c l u e s . An appendix pro-
v i d e s i l l u s t r a t i o n s of some f i n d s of p o t t e r y and metalwork, p a r t -
icularly those e x h i b i t i n g a d i s t i n c t l y Scythian influence i n
their design.
E p i g r a p h i c a l evidence at O l b i a i s scanty f o r the e a r l i e s t
c e n t u r i e s of her e x i s t e n c e . Pew of the many i n s c r i p t i o n s un-
earthed on the s i t e can be dated before the t h i r d century B.C.;
a p a r t from b r i e f s e p u l c h r a l monuments, o n l y one or two i n s c r i p t -
i o n s can be s a i d to antedate the end of the f i f t h century.
From the evidence that does e x i s t , however, an attempt can
be made to r e c o n s t r u c t the O l b i a n way of l i f e i n the f i r s t two
c e n t u r i e s a f t e r the colony's f o u n d a t i o n . T h i s evidence will
be examined w i t h a view to uncovering, where p o s s i b l e , the
aspects of l i f e i n the O l b i a n s o c i e t y that r e p r e s e n t a depart-
ure from the s t y l e of l i f e " a t home."

8.
II
TESTTMONIA
The literary evidence f o r the arguments of the f o l l o w i n g
c h a p t e r s i s s e t out here b o t h i n the Greek and i n t r a n s l a t i o n .
The Greek t e x t of each author i s t h a t of the e d i t i o n c i t e d i n
the b i b l i o g r a p h y , except i n the case of i n s c r i p t i o n s , where
I use the p u b l i c a t i o n s of L a t y s c h e v 1
and T o d 2
and c i t e by
number.
The m a t e r i a l has been r o u g h l y c l a s s i f i e d a c c o r d i n g t o con-
tent under the f o l l o w i n g headings: The S i t e and Surrounding
Country, The Climate and L i v i n g C o n d i t i o n s , Resources and Ind-
u s t r i e s , The S c y t h i a n s , The O l b i o p o l i t a i , E x t e r n a l R e l a t i o n s .
In the body of t h i s study, r e f e r e n c e w i l l be made to these
t e s t i m o n i a by number.
a. THE SITE AND SURROUNDING COUNTRY
T l . D i o Chrysostom, XXXVI, '1,2.
rj yap 710X15 TO uev etXncpev anb TOC Bopuoêvou? 6ioc TO ndWo?
1. L a t y s c h e v , B a s i l i u s , I n s c r i p t i o n e s Antiquae Orae S e p t e n t r i o n -
a l l s P o n t l E u x l n l Graecae e t L a t i n a e , H i l d e s h e i m , 1965.
2. Tod, Marcus N., A S e l e c t i o n of ;Greek H i s t o r i c a l I n s c r i p t i o n s

I I , Oxford, 19l|8. ~
9.
xa\ TO ueyeôs TOG noTauou, x e t T a t 6e %pbq TCU T n d v i 6 t , r{ TC

vuv xa t i i n p o r e p o v
N
ourto? coxelTO, OU TCOXU a v i o S e v ir{c; TTCTCO\CXOU
xaAoujie'vnc; a x p a c , ev TG Hat* dvTtxpu. TOGTO 6e e a T t TT}C; x ^ p a g
o£u x a \ aTepebv Monep euôXov, uep't o auuntTCTOuatv o l TtoTap.ot.
TO 6e evTeuêv T(6T) XtuvaCouat ne'xpt ftaXxcTTnc; eVt aTabtouc, axebo'v

Tt btaxoatous* not Tb eupog ov\ T)TTOV TauTT) TCOV TtoTau&v. eoVl
6e aiiTou TO u.ev TC\E'OV T e ' v a y o ? xat Y XT)VTi xalc;
a
eubtatg ev \tp.vT)
ytyveTat OTaSepa'.
For, the c i t y has taken i t s name from the Borysthenes
because of t h a t r i v e r ' s g r e a t s i z e and beauty; i t l i e s on the
Hypanis R i v e r — a n d the o r i g i n a l s e t t l e m e n t was founded on t h i s
s i t e — n o t f a r upstream from the headland c a l l e d H i p p o l a u s , on
the o p p o s i t e side o f the r i v e r . This point of land about
which the two r i v e r s converge i s sharp and l i k e a ramming- beak,
but the t e r r a i n from t h e r e to the sea f o r almost two hundred
stades forms a marshy b a s i n , and t h e w i d t h o f the r i v e r here i s
not l e s s than t h a t . There i s In t h a t r e g i o n a g r e a t d e a l o f
s h o a l water and a calm brought about by the l a c k of winds, such
as one f i n d s on a q u i e t lake.
T 2 . D i o Chrysostom, XXXVI, 6 .
Enue'Cov 6e TT)C; d v a a T a o e w s r{ T e m a u X o r i r s tfiv otxo6ou.np.dTwv x a t TO

a u v e a T a M t a t TTIV TCOXLV hq P p a x u . uepet Y « P t ^ v t npoawxoboianTat
TOU T t a X a t o u - r c e p t p d X o u , x a $ ' o u t f p Y o t T t v e g ou TCO\\O\ b t a u e v o u a t v

10.
ov upbs TO uxYeftoc, ou6e upo$v

XTJV tox^v TT]S noXeto?.
The poor q u a l i t y o f the b u i l d i n g s and the s h r i n k i n g of

the c i t y w i t h i n n a r r o w l i m i t s are evidence o f i t s o v e r t h r o w ;
f o r I t has been b u i l t up near one p a r t i c u l a r s e c t i o n of the
old c i t y - w a l l along which a s m a l l number o f towers remain stand-
i n g , now d i s p r o p o r t i o n a t e to the s i z e and power of the c i t y .
T3. Herodotos, IV, 101.
anb yap.Iaxpou kn\ B o p u a $ e v e a Sena Tiuepewv 06 6q, anb B o p u a & e v e o c ;

xe erci TT)V xCuvnv xrjv Matf)xuv exe'petov dena• K O U T O anb S-aXaaanc;
e$ ueaoYaiav es xoug MeXayxXaivouc; xot>s HaxO'iTep-&e Exu-frecov O!HT)-
nevous etnoat riuepe'cov 0605. TI 6e 060s TJ tiuepnaCn ava 6ir)K<5caa

axa6ia aupipepXnxai u o i . ovxws av eiT) xf)s Z H U $ I H T ) S xa e T u x a p a i a
xexpaHtaxi»Xiu)v o*xa6£wv nat xa op&ta xa ec, XT)V neaoyatav cpepovxa
exe'pwv xoaouxtov axa6uiov. rj utv vuv yt) curcn eax\ u-eyaôs xoa-
auxT).
Prom the I s t r o s to the Borysthenes R i v e r i t i s a ten-day
journey, and t e n days' f a r t h e r t r a v e l b r i n g s one to the M a i -
o t i a n Lake; from the sea i n l a n d to the B l a c k Cloaks who d w e l l
beyond the S c y t h i a n s i s a j o u r n e y o f twenty days. Now, since
by my r e c k o n i n g a day's j o u r n e y i s a p p r o x i m a t e l y two hundred
stades, the b r e a d t h of S c y t h l a would be about f o u r t'aotisand
s t a d e s , and the i n l a n d d i s t a n c e a s i m i l a r number of the same
units. The l a n d , then, i s o f t h i s order o f magnitude.

11
Tlj.. S t r a b o , V I I , lj.,8.
&r)pai 6' e l o t v , ev |iev x o i s eXeatv eXacpwv not o-aaypcov, ev 6e

xolc; ne6Cot? ovaypwv xa\ 6opxa6wv. 'tduov 6 e ' x t xoa T O aexov U T )
Y^veaât ev xotc; XO'TCOIC, xouxotc;. eaxt 6e x(3v xexpaTiodcov o xa\-
ouuevos xoXos, uexa£i> .kXacpou H O I xpiou xo pi^Yeôg, Xeuxo'e;,
o£uxepos xouxcov x Q 6poîci), Ttlfviov xotc, pio'&cucav eie; TT)V xe9a\T)v,
etx* evxeuêv e'u? T)uxpas xauteviov TtXet'ovc,, wax''ev x p &vv6p({) v ^ -

ea$ou pa6u*)s. xotaurq nev rj exxbc;'laxpou rcScra TI nexaEu xou
'Prfvou xou x o O Tavaidoc, Ttoxauoft, u e ' x p i x^novxtxf}? ftaXaxxnc; xcu
XT\<; Maiotfxifios.
The w i l d game i n the marshes i n c l u d e deer and w i l d boar,
w h i l e on the p l a i n s t h e r e are w i l d asses and a n t e l o p e . But
it i s a strange f a c t t h a t the e a g l e I s n o t found i n t h i s coun-
try. There i s a f o u r - f o o t e d c r e a t u r e c a l l e d the "stump-horn-
ed goat," which f a l l s between the deer and the domestic sheep
i n s i z e , b u t i s more s w i f t - f o o t e d than e i t h e r o f them. The
c r e a t u r e , which i s white ii c o l o u r , d r i n k s up water through i t s
n o s t r i l s i n t o i t s head, managing on t h a t supply f o r many days
a f t e r w a r d so t h a t i t s u r v i v e s without d i f f i c u l t y i n waterless
regions. Such i s the whole r e g i o n beyond the I s t r o s R i v e r from
the Rhenos to the T a n a i s as f a r as the B l a c k Sea and Lake
Maiotis.
12.
T5. Strabo, VII, 3,17.
eixa BopuaSevTK noxa^bc; nXwxbc; e<p' efcaHoaious axadCouc; wai

TtXnaiov IxXXoc; noxaubs"Y-rcavK n a t VTIOOS rcpb xou axouaxoc; xou
Bopua$evouc;, exouaa Xiu^va. TiXetfaavxi, 6e xbv Bopuaêvn a x a 6 i -
ouc; dianoat'ouc; 6u(j5vup.os xQ uoxauQ TIOXIC;. r) 6' OCUXT) not ÔXBia
xaXeixai, \x£ya e u n o p t o v , x x t a u a MIXT|O-IGJV . r\ 6e 6uepHetnevTi uaaa
X<4pa xou Xexêvxo? u.exa£u BopuaSevouc; xai/Taxpou upwxri u.ev eaxtv
il xwv Texcov e p n u t a , 'ercetxa ou T u p e y e x a i , ued' ouc; ou 'icfeuYec;
Zapuaxat xa\ o l BaatXeiou XeyoVevoi xaV Oupyot, xo u£v
itXeov v o u a 6 e s , bXiYOi- °£ HCXI y e w P Y ^ S emueXouuevoi.
Next i s the B o r y s t h e n e s R i v e r , n a v i g a b l e f o r a d i s t a n c e
of s i x hundred s t a d e s , and adjoining i t there i s another river
called the H y p a n i s . At the mouth of the B o r y s t h e n e s there i s
an i s l a n d t h a t has an a n c h o r a g e . I f one sails two hundred
s t a d e s up the Borysthenes, one will come u p o n a c i t y o f the same
name as t h e r i v e r ; the c i t y i s also called Olbia. It i s a
great trading c e n t r e , a colony of M i l e t o s . Of a l l the territ-
o r y b e y o n d whst I have d e s c r i b e d , b e t w e e n t h e B o r y s t h e n e s and
the I s t r o s , the f i r s t part i s the D e s e r t o f the G e t a i , and then
one comes t o t h e T y r e g e t a n s and the I a z y g i a n Sarmatians, the
so-called R o y a l S c y t h i a n s , and t h e O u r g o i , who a r e nomads f o r
t h e most p a r t , a l t h o u g h a few of them engage i n f a r m i n g .

13.
b. THE CLIMATE AND LIVING CONDITIONS
T6. Herodotos, IV, 28.
6vax£M-i£poc; 6e auTT) rj xaTa\ex$e*to"a uaaa x^pn OUTW 6T/ T t e a T t ,

ev$a Tobs uev OHTW TGV unvflv acpopnTos oTos y ^ v e T a t n p u u o s , ev
Totat ubiop CHX&XC, 7tn\bv ou Tcotrfaets, rcGp 6e avaHatwv Tcotrfaets
T[T)\ov. T) 6e daXaaaa Ti^yvuTat x a t 6 Bo'aTtopos Ttas 6 Kt|iu.eptos,
not e r a TOU x p u a T a W o u ot evTbs Tacppou Enu&at HaTOtHnu.evot a T p a T -
euovTat na't T a s a u a £ a s iTteAauvouat Ttepnv £s TOU? E t v b o u s . OUTIO
uev 6r) TOUS OHTIO uflvac; 6 t a T e \ e e t xe^P-wv eiov, TOUS 6* ent\otTtous
Teaaepas 4>uxea auTO$t e a T t . nextoptaTat 6e OUTOS O XELHWV TOUS
TPOTCOUS Ttaat T o t a t ev a W o t a t xupioioa Y < « Y v o u e v o t a t xziiiQoi,
'ev TtJ TT)V |iev copatnv OUH uet Xoyou a £ t o v oubev, TO 6e $epos
ua)v OUH a v t e t .
All t h i s l a n d that I have d e s c r i b e d s u f f e r s harsh w i n t e r s
to such a degree that f o r e i g h t months o f t h e year there occurs
unbearable c o l d , and I n these months you cannot c r e a t e mud by
p o u r i n g out water, b u t by l i g h t i n g a f i r e . The sea and a l l
the Kimmerian Bosporos f r e e z e over, and a l l the Scyths who
d w e l l on t h i s side of the channel make e x p e d i t i o n s a c r o s s the
i c e and d r i v e t h e i r wagons a c r o s s to the S i n d o i . Thus w i n t e r
continues f o r e i g h t months, b u t there i s c o l d weather there
d u r i n g even the f o u r r e m a i n i n g months. T h i s k i n d of w i n t e r I s

In-
d i f f e r e n t from the w i n t e r s t h a t occur i n a l l other lands;
here, i n the season when one would expect r a i n , none f a l l s
worth r e c o r d i n g , b u t d u r i n g the summer i t never stops r a i n i n g .
T7. Homer, Odyssey, X I , 13-19.
TI 6' ec; TteCpad* I'xave Baûppoou "'Qxeavolo.

ev$a 6e Kuujjeptwv hvdpGiv 6f]uoc; xe
/
TCOXIC; xe,
Tjepi xai, verpeXn xexaXuauevoi• ou6e TIOX'auxouc;
TieXioc; $aeû)v xaxade'pxexai axxiveaaLv,
ou$' 6 n o V civ a x e i x n a i rcpbc, oupavbv aaxepoevxa,
ou$' oV av a4; e i u YCUBV cW oOpocvodev Ttpoxpatrnxai,
aXX' ETCI v0£ oXor) xexaxcu SeLXo'iai. ppoxo'Dai.
She came t o the ends of d e e p - f l o w i n g Ocean, where the r a c e
of the Kimmerians have t h e i r c i t y , and are shrouded i n m i s t
and c l o u d s . Never does the sun l o o k down upon them w i t h h i s
r a y s e i t h e r when he i s r i s i n g i n t o the s t a r r y h e v e n , or when

9
a g a i n he s e t s from the heavens, earthward; b u t unbroken n i g h t
covers l o w l y m o r t a l s .
T8. Strabo, I I , 1,16.
anaaa 5' rj xwpa 6uax£iuepos iaxi u^xpi xflv eVt tfaXaxtr, T^TXOJV
TWV pxTafcu Bopooêvouc; x a i xou axouaxoc; Tffc Mcuwxi6oc. auxwv
15.
6e T<3V ent $ a \ a T T r ) xh apxTtxioraTa -to xe axou,a xr\q Matcoxtboc;.

xa\ ex\ u'aWov TO xou Bopuaê'vouc; xai o' uuxdc; TOO Tauupdxou
xoXuou, x a \ Kapxtv^xou, xa$'$v 6 tadubc; XTJC, \xeya\r)<; Xeppovifaou.
6TI\O1 6e xa ipu'xTl, xatrcep ev rcebtotc; otxou'vxcov* ovou? Te yap
ou xpecpouat (bJaptyov yap TO C&OV), ot T e poe? ot uev axepto yev-
viovxat, TOJV 6'(XTtopptvaJat xa xepaxa (xat yap TOUTO buaptyov TO
fiepos), o t TC u u i o t utxpot, Ta 6e T t p o p a T a ueyaXa* pifrTOVTat
6e xaKxal ubptat, T a 6' evoyTa auurciftTeTat. TQV 6e Twfytov TI

a<po6po TT)s ud\ terra
/
ex Tt13v a u u p a t v c f v T i o v Ttep t v
Tb aTOua Tfic; M a t u r e t -
6oc, 6T)\O'S £ c r t t v . du.a£eueTat yap 6 btdnXouc; o etc; $ a v a y o p t a v

Ix TOU n a v T t x a n a t o u , coerce xa\ r c a y o v el v a t xa\ o6ov.
All t h i s r e g i o n as f a r as the c o a s t a l l a n d between the
Borysthenes R i v e r and the entrance to Lake M a i o t i s s u f f e r s ex-
treme' w i n t e r s . In f a c t , of the p l a c e s on the Pontos, the most
n o r t h e r l y are the mouths of the M a i o t i s and the even more
n o r t h e r l y Borysthenes, and the lagoon of the Tamyrakian Gulf
and the K a r k i n i t i s i n t o which p r o j e c t s the isthmus of Great
Ghersonesos.
A l t h o u g h there are people l i v i n g on the p l a i n s , i t i s
c e r t a i n that i t i s a cold r e g i o n . Por the i n h a b i t a n t s do not
breed tbe ans, a s p e c i e s t h a t i s i n t o l e r a n t of the c o l d , and
they have c a t t l e without horns, or e l s e they f i l e the horns o f f
because the horns are a p a r t of the animal that i s i n t o l e r a n t
of the c o l d . T h e i r horses are s m a l l , and the sheep larger.

16.
When the f l u i d w i t h i n f r e e z e s s o l i d , bronze j a r s split
open. But the i n t e n s i t y o f the c o l d i s demonstrated most clear-
l y by the phenomenon o f the entrance t o Lake M a i o t i s : there
the channel between P a n t i k a p a i o n and Phanagoria i s crossed by
wagon, the i c e b e i n g as s o l i d as a highway.
T9. H i p p o k r a t e s , de Aere, 19.
t j x t a x a TCOXU\OVOV e a x t , x a \ rf xwpn e X a x t a x a S n p t a xpecpet xaxd

ueyeôs xai. . TCXT)$OS. x e t x a t yap uV a u x f i a t xpatv dpxxots xat
xols #peat %oi<z P m a t o t a t v , o$ev 6 popenc; nvel. o x e rjXtoc
xeXeuxuW hyyvxa-za y t v e x a t , o x d x a v eVt xd? $eptvds eX$n rceptobous
xa\ xoxe oXtyov xpovov $epua£vet x a t ou acpobpa* x d x e n v e u -
u a x a o u x d c p t x v e t x a t , T)v UTI o X t y a x t s x a \ d a ^ e v e a , aXX* anb xu>v
'dpxxoov d t e \ Tcveouat n v e u u a x a (puxpa drcd' x e xi'Ovoc; x c u x p u a x a X X o u
xai ubdxwv TCOXXSV . oube'rtoxe be x"a opea e x X e t u e t * diro xouxcov b e
6uaotXTixd e'axtv. Tirfp x e x a x e x e i - noXus x f ] s iiue'pnc; x d u e b t a , xoct
ev x o u x o t a t btatxeuvxat* waxe x b v u"ev xe^P^vcx a t e \ . e l v a t , x b
b'e $epoc; bXtyac; T l H ^ p a s x a \ x a u x a ? nr) X t n v . iiexeiopa y a p to rcebta
xai iptXd x d \ o u x eaxecpdvwvxat o p e a t v , aXX* rj d v d v x e a a n b xwv
'dpxxiov auxo&t x a \ x d $x\pCa ob yivexai u e y a X a , aXX' o^ta x e ' e a x t v
uno yriv axeTtaCeadat. 6* Y & P xeÛ^v xooXuet xou, xTje; Y * k TJ (JHXOXTJS,
oxt oux e a x t v dXen oube axe'Tin. a t be uexapoXaX xOv topewv oux
e t a t ueyaXat oube t a x u p a t , 'aXX* o u o t a t x a t b x f y o v uexaXXaaaouaat•

b t o x t x a t x d e t b e a o'uotot auxo\ ecouxolc; e t a t atxw xe xpewuevot
ate\ o'uotu) eadr)xt x e XT) auxr} x a \ $epeoc; x a t XELH^VOS, xbv xe

iie'pa u b a x e t v b v eXxovxes x a \ rcaxu'v* x d x e uoaxa u t v o v x e c ; arco
Xtbvoc, xat Tcayexcov, x o u xe xaXatTtiupou aueovxec;.
17.
The S c y t h i a n r a c e i s f a r from p r o l i f i c and t h e i r territ-
ory breeds animals t h a t are v e r y small i n both s i z e and number.
The r e a s o n f o r t h i s i s that the r e g i o n l i e s near the n o r t h e r n
e x t r e m i t i e s of the world and the R h i p a i a n mountains from which
the n o r t h wind blows. As f o r the sun, even when i t i s n e a r e s t ,
at the end of the p e r i o d of i t s p a s s i n g through the summer
s o l s t i c e , i t r a i s e s the temperature f o r only a b r i e f period, and
to a s m a l l degree. Winds blowing from the warm l a t i t u d e s
never r e a c h so f a r n o r t h , except f e e b l y on r a r e o c c a s i o n s . Prom
the a r c t i c r e g i o n s , however, winds c h i l l e d by snow, i c e and
heavy r a i n s blow u n e n d i n g l y . Because t h i s c o l d never l e a v e s
the mountains, they are u n i n h a b i t a b l e . The S c y t h i a n s spend
t h e i r l i v e s on p l a i n s over which m i s t s hang throughout the day,
so t h a t w i n t e r i s continuous, and a dubious s o r t of summer
l a s t s o n l y a few days.
A l t h o u g h the p l a i n s , which are h i g h and unwooded, are
not e n c i r c l e d by mountains, they are steep i n t h e i r n o r t h e r n
reaches. No s i z e a b l e b e a s t s are indigenous to t h i s r e g i o n , but
only the s p e c i e s that can s h e l t e r under ground. The reason
for their s c a r c i t y i s the c o l d and the bareness of the l a n d ,
which p r o v i d e s no warmth or s h e l t e r . As f o r the seasons, their

18
changes are s l i g h t and i n s i g n i f i c a n t , a l l months b e i n g much
the same without v a r i a t i o n . Thus the people here a l l l o o k
a l i k e because they a l l eat the same food and wear the same
c l o t h i n g , summer and w i n t e r ; and they are a l l s u b j e c t to b r e a t h -
i n g the t h i c k , m o i s t atmosphere, and to d r i n k i n g water that
comes from snow and i c e , and to a v o i d i n g heavy exertion.
c. RESOURCES AND INDUSTRIES
T10. D i o Chrysostom, XXXVI, 3.
. . .TO 6e XOCTCOV rjtov ianv k\u6r)<; xa\ 6aae1a xa\.auu> xat 6ev-
6potc;. tpauvexat 6e xflv 6efv6pu)v TtoWa x a l ev ut:ap XT) Xtuvp, u$s
taxots Tcpoaeotnevat, x a i ffcn xtvec; xQv anetpox£pajv 6uriuapxov f
we; in\ nXola enexovxes. xauxr) 6e x a l x&v ci\u)v eaxt xb TX\T)VOS ,

o$ev ot %\eiovq xflv BapBapwv Xaupavouaiv wvouuevou TOUC; aXac; xa\
x<3v 'EWrfvwv x a l Zxu&Sv oi Xeppovnaov olxoGvxec; XTJV Tauptxrfv.
The remainder of the r i v e r s i d e i s marshy and thickly
covered w i t h r e e d s and t r e e s . In f a c t many of the t r e e s stand
up even f a r out i n the r i v e r , g i v i n g the appearance of s h i p ' s
masts, so that there have been o c c a s i o n s when c e r t a i n r a t h e r
i n e x p e r i e n c e d men, supposing themselves to be approaching s h i p s ,
have been l e d o f f course. Here too i s the g r e a t concentrat-
i o n of s a l t works from which most of the b a r b a r i a n s and the
Greek and S c y t h i a n i n h a b i t a n t s of the T a u r i c Chersonese pur-
chase salt.
19
Til. Herodotos, IV, 53, 2-lj..
. . .ntvea&at xe nbtaxos e a x t , peet xe xa$apbs napd ôXepdTat,

aTtopos xe Ttap* auxbv aptaxos y t v e x a t , notn xe, xri ou aitetpexat
TI x^PT)» pa&uxdxiT aXes xe era xQ axbuaxt auxou auxo'uaxot TCTIY-
vuvxat a i t X e x o f xfijed xe ueyaXa dvdxavâ, xd dvxaxatous xaXe-

ouat, Ttapexexat i s xapCxeuatv....
(The Borysthenes) i s the sweetest of r i v e r s from which
to d r i n k , and compared to other r i v e r s , which are muddy, i t
flows c r y s t a l clear. The b e s t crops grow along i t s banks, and
v e r y t a l l grass wherever the l a n d i s not c u l t i v a t e d . At the
r i v e r ' s mouth, boundless n a t u r a l s a l t - b e d s accumulate, and
g r e a t s c h o o l s of s p i n e l e s s f i s h , which they c a l l a n t n k a i o l , are
available f o r salting.
T12. P o l y b i o s , IV, 38,J+-5.
rcpbs uev yap xaq dvayxatas xou ptou x P ^ S tcx xe ^peuuaxa not
E A
TO x<3v e l s t a s bouXetixs dyoue'viov au)p.dxu)v TCXT}§OS ot xaxd xbv

IIovxov f\\itv xonot TtapaaxeuaCouat bacHXe'axaxov xa\ xPU a t
^ x a T O V
ouoXoyouue'vws, Tipbs b£ ueptouatav ueXt Hrjpbv xdptxos dcp^bvcos

T\utv xoPT^youatv. bexovxat yz urjv xu3v ev xol^s âp Jiu/tv xo'rcots
neptxxeubvxwv eXatov xat rcav o'tvou yevoc;. atxu) 6 duetpovxat, J
Ttoxe uev euxatptos bibovxes Ttoxe b£ Xaupdvovxes.
As f o r the n e c e s s i t i e s of l i f e , everyone agrees t h a t the
r e g i o n of the B l a c k Sea p r o v i d e s most abundantly and conven-
i e n t l y our supply of c a t t l e and the g r e a t e s t number of men

20.
who can be used as s l a v e s . And In a d d i t i o n t h a t r e g i o n sup-
p l i e s an abundance o f honey, wax, and p r e s e r v e d f i s h w i t h o u t
l i m i t , r e c e i v i n g from our l o c a l i t i e s i n exchange our p l e n t i -
f u l o l i v e o i l and wine o f every k i n d . But as f o r g r a i n , the
s i t u a t i o n v a r i e s ; i n some growing-seasons they export grain,
and i n o t h e r s they import i t .
T13. S t r a b o , V I I , 6,2.
. . . e l s ous ( sc. XOXTTOUS) iiinCnxovaa TJ T c n X a u u c ; a X u a x e T t u p a -

6uu>s 6ude x e TO TtX.fv&os OCUTTIS x a u TT)V B u a v TOO a u v e X a u v o v T O S p o0 r
xou TV o*TevoTT)Tcx TOV H6\TIWV, <&rce x a u x e p c u v a\uaxea$au 6ua

TTJV a T e v o x w p u a v . y e v v a x a u u e v oSv TO Cwov e v TOUS e\eau Mau-
WTU6OS, laxuaav 6e uuxpbv exuuVteu 6ua TOO aTouaTos ayeX-n&bv xau

cpepexau naph TTJV A a u a v r ) v 'rjuova ue'xpu TpaneCouvTOs xa\ $apvaxuas*
J
e v T a u ^ a 6e i x p o T e p o v a u v C a T a a ^ a u auuSau'veu TTJV -ihjpav, o u i t o W r j

6'* e a T u v o u yap TOO TO rcpoaT)xov ^ x e i ueyeSos.
X
e l s 6e Euvunrnv
rcpo'uoOaa w p a u o T e p a 7tpos T e TTJV $rjpav xa\ TTJV Tapuxeuav COTUV.
The tunny f i s h , r u s h i n g down i n t o these (the Bosporan)
straits, are e a s i l y caught because o f t h e i r great number and
the f o r c e o f the c u r r e n t that d r i v e s them along, combined
w i t h the narrowness o f the waters; here, because o f the con-
f i n e d passage, they can be caught even by hand. The t u n n i e s

21.
begin l i f e i n the shallows of Lake M a i o t i s , and then, having
gained a l i t t l e s t r e n g t h , they migrate i n s c h o o l s out through
the narrows and are swept along the A s i a n coast toward Trap-
ezos and Pharnakia where f o r the f i r s t time I t i s p o s s i b l e to
make a c a t c h of them,- a l t h o u g h not a g r e a t one. At t h i s point
they have not y e t reached a u s e f u l s i z e . But by the time they
have reached Sinope, they are more n e a r l y ready f o r c a t c h i n g
and salting.
Tllj.. Theophrastos, IV, 5,3
TWV 6e Tûepouu-evtov Tpttaxd cpaatv ev To"ts ipuxpois unou-eveiv 6occp-

vnv xou. uupptvnv, xa\ TOUTWV 6e TJTTOV ZXI TT)V u.upptvT)v.... ev 6e
TU> n b v x a ) rcept n a v T t x d r t a t o v ovtf e r e p o v xatrcep aTcoubaCovTiov xai
TidvTa p i n x a v a j u e v w v npb<z xa<z t e p o a u v a s * auxat 6e TcoXXa\ xa\ eu-
ueye&etc; x a t pota\ 6e TteptaxeuaCouevat. autot 6e xaY u n X e a t TtXe't-
axat xa\ TxavTobanurcaTat x d \ xPôtat. aurat 6' e a p t v a \ TtX^jv et
apa & i H a t « xr\c; 6e ayptac; u\ns eaTt 6p0s rcTeXea ueXta xat oaa xot-
auTtt. Tieuxn 6e xa\ ikdxr) xa\ TUTUS OUX eaTtv ou6l o'Xcos ou6ev
fvbctbov • uypa 6e aurn xat xzipwv TCOXU xr\c\ Itvwutxfis, wore ou6e
TCOXU xP^vxat a\)xr\ TtX^v Ttpbs xa uTtat-Opta. xaOxa uxv otv rcep\ xbv
ndvTOv TI e v Ttat ye TOTtots auTOU.
Of g l l the domestic p l a n t s , they say t h a t the l a u r e l and
the m y r t l e are l e a s t a b l e to stand the c o l d , and the m y r t l e
l e s s than any.... In the Pontos near P a n t i k a p a i o n n e i t h e r grows,

22.
even though people are most anxious to r a i s e these plants,
and t r y every means to encourage them because they are need-
ed f o r r e l i g i o u s r i t e s . But many good-sized f i g and pome-
granate t r e e s are c u l t i v a t e d under s h e l t e r , and numerous pear
and apple t r e e s of v a r i o u s k i n d s — a l l of them p r o l i f i c —
grow t h e r e . These bear f r u i t i n the s p r i n g except when they
are retarded. Although the i n d i g e n o u s f o r e s t i n c l u d e s such
t r e e s as oak, elm and ash, n e i t h e r f i r , p i n e , nor any of the
r e s i n o u s woods occur at a l l . The wood here i s damp and v a s t l y
inferior to that of Sinope, so t h a t they do n o t make much use
of i t , except f o r outdoor construction. Such are the t r e e s
of most of the P o n t i c r e g i o n .
T15. Strabo, X I , 2,3.
nv 6' euTcopia v xotvov Ttuv xe 'Aataviov xa\ xuiv EuptoTtauov vop.a6wv

xat xuiv ex xoG Boarco'pou xr)v \i4ivnv nXeovxiov, xtov uev dv6paTto6a
ayo'vxtov xa t 6epuaxa xa\ el' xt a\\o xQv voua6tx<2v, xtov 6' eaSnxa
N
xa\ olvov xat xaWa, oaa XTIS riuepou 5tatxns o t x e t a , dvxtcpop-

xtCoue'viov.
It (Tanais) was a common market-place to b o t h A s i a n and
European nomads and to the seamen who s a i l e d from the Bos-
poros i n t o the l a k e . The nomads had s l a v e s and h i d e s f o r s a l e ,

23
and whatever e l s e nomads possess, w h i l e the o t h e r s offered
c l o t h i n g , wine and the o t h e r items of everyday use.
d. THE SCYTHIANS
Tl6. Herodotos, IV, 1^,2.
TO 6e u e y t o x o v ouxw a<pt a v e u p n x a t waxe anoyvycZv t e u.nde'va

ine\$6vxa ini acpeac;, at) SouXouevouc; x e e£eupe$f|vat xaxaXaBetv
UTI o'to'v x e e t v a t * x o t a t y^P aaxea urjxe xetxea p exxtaue'va,
a \ X a <j>epeotxot eo'vxes rcavxec; e w a i i i t T t o x o S o x a t , £c3vxec; at) a n '
a p d x o u 'aXX' a-rcb xxrjveujv, o l x r i i a a x a xe' aqpt Ceuyewv, xw?
oux av e'tnaav ot>xot a u a x o t xe x a \ arcopot ixpoauLayetv;
Now the g r e a t e s t t h i n g they have l e a r n e d i s the means to
prevent anyone who a t t a c k s them from making a safe r e t r e a t ,
or from c a t c h i n g up w i t h them when they do n o t wish to be found.
Certainly to men who have n e i t h e r e s t a b l i s h e d c i t i e s nor fort-
ifications, but who by custom are a l l nomads and mounted a r c h -
ers l i v i n g not by a g r i c u l t u r e but by r a i s i n g cattle, and who
have t h e i r homes on wagons, there i s a sure s t a t e of i n v i n c -
ibility and d i f f i c u l t y of approach.
T17. Strabo, VII, Ij., 6
ot uev ouv Nouddec; n o X e u t a x a \ uaXXo'v e t a t v TJ X n a x p t x o t , rcoXeu-

21*.
ovai 6e urcep %Qv cpopiov. eTttTpeipavTes yap e'xetv TTJV yr\v Tots
ede'Xouat yewpytZv avx\ xauTTis ayanQai cpopouc; Xau^dvovTes TOUC;

auvTeTayuevouc; u e T p t o u g T t v d s OUX e l ? Tteptouatav, ' a \ \ ' e t s T&
iîffaepa xal xd dvayxata TOU ptou* at} 6c6o'vTajv 6e, a u T o t ^
Tco\euouatv.
Now the S c y t h i a n nomads are w a r r i o r s r a t h e r than b a n d i t s ,
but when they go to war, i t i s f o r the sake of t r i b u t e ; f o r
they t u r n over t h e i r l a n d t o whoever wants i t f o r a g r i c u l t u r a l
purposes, and are happy to c o l l e c t the moderate t r i b u t e that
they have assessed. T h e i r p r i c e s are f a i r because they are
n o t i n t e r e s t e d i n l u x u r y , but o n l y i n t h e i r d a i l y needs :«nd
the n e c e s s i t i e s of l i f e . But, i f the t e n a n t s do n o t pay the
fee, the S c y t h i a n s go t o war w i t h them.
T l 8 . H i p p o k r a t e s , de Aere, 18
TI 6e Exu$eu>v epnutTi xaXeuu.e'vT) rtedtac; eaTt xai \etuaxio6ris xat
<\>i\r) xa t s
e'vubpos ueTptws. rcoTaum yap etat ueyaXot', o^ ££o-
XeTeuouat TO u6iop ex TC3V T t e 6 t i o v . £vTaO$a xat ot Exu&at 5t-
atTeuvTat, Noua6es 6e xaXeOvTat, 6rt oux eaTtv oixTfuaxa, a\\* J
ev
auaSpatv otxeuatv. at 6e aua£at etatv at uev e\.dxtaTat TeTpd-

xuxXot, ai 6e e £ a x u x \ o t * au\at 6e TttXotc; n e p tTtecpayp-evat • etat
6e xa\ TeTexvaauevat coarcep otxTfuata T a uev 6tTt\a, T a 6e TptTtXS.
TauTa 6e xa\ aTeyvd npbq u6top xa\ up'bc; x ^ ^ v a xa\ npos T a Ttveu'-
u a T a . Tdc; 6e d u d £ a s e'x.xouat Ceuyea Tae; uev 6 u o , xa<z 6e Tpt'a

25.
8ouW xepujc; axep. ou yap exouat xepaxa UTIO xou (l^xeos. ev

xauxrjat ubv o'Sv xrjatv audSrjatv at yuvatxec. 6tatxe0vxat« auxot
6' eY i i w oxeOvxac ot av6pes. ETtovxat 6e auxotc, xa\ xa upoS-
axa xa e<W xa\ at Boec x a l ot tTinot. ue'vouat 6'ev xw aux<3
xoaottxov xpovov, oaov av aTxoxpf) auxotat xoTs xxnveatv o' xopxoe;.
oxdxav 6e unxe'xt, ec; exepnv x^prjv e'pxovxat.
-Che r e g i o n c a l l e d the S c y t h i a n w i l d e r n e s s i s a l e v e l
raeadowland devoid of t r e e s but f a i r l y well-watered; there are
i n f a c t g r e a t r i v e r s t h a t d r a i n the w t e r from these

a plains,
i n t h i s r e g i o n too l i v e the S c y t h i a n s who are c a l l e d ômads
because they have no permanent d w e l l i n g s , but l i v e i n wagons
the s m a l l e s t of which are four-wheeled, although some have s i x
wheels. These wagons have canvas c o v e r i n g s and are l a i d out
l i k e houses, some two-roomed and o t h e r s three-roomed, and im-
p e r v i o u s to C a i n , snow and winds. Teams of h o r n l e s s o x e n —
two, or sometimes t h r e e — p u l l these wagons. I t i s because of
the c o l d t h a t the beasts do not have horns. While the women
l i v e i n these wagons, the S c y t h i a n men r i d e along on horseback,
and behind them f o l l o w s the t r a i n of t h e i r sheep, c a t t l e and
horses. The S c y t h i a n s remain i n one p l a c e only as l o n g as i t
p r o v i d e s them w i t h s u f f i c i e n t fodder f o r the c a t t l e ; when i t no
l o n g e r does so, they move to another place.

26.
T19. Herodotos, IV, 17-18
ctTto TOO Bopua$evetxeu)v eurcoptou (xoOxo yicp x&v uapaâXaaatwv

ueaatxaxo'v eaxt Ttaarjc; xf]c; 2xu$tT)s)> dub xouxou rcpuixot K a W i n -
itt6at ve'uovxat eovxec;"EXXrjvec; Exuât, UTi£p 6e xouxwv 'aXXo e$voc;
ot *AXaCoves xaXeovxat. ouxot 6e xat ot KaXXtuutdat xa uev cxXXa
xaxa xauxa £xu$nat eTtaaxe'oucH, atxov 6£ xa\ auetpouat xa\ atxe'-
ovxat, xa\ xpou-uua xa\ axopo6a xa\ 9axo\>s xat xeyxpou?. <5uep
6e 'AXaCo'vcov oixe'ouat £xu$at apoxfjpec;, ot oux'eui atxrfat artetp-
ouat xbv atxov 'aXX* eVt tcpnat. xouxwv 6e xaxtfrcepê olxeouat
Neupot\ Neupwv 6e x o upbc; Boperjv aveuov e'prpov av^paJTcwv, oaov
N
TjueC? tbuev.
xaOxa Uev uap'a xbv ifnavtv itoxauov eVrt e#vea upb? eanepris x o u
BopuaSeveos* axap btaBavxt xbv Bopua$evea dub âXa'aanc; up'toxov
uev T) ^Xatr), dub 6e xauxrjc; a\/u) tovxt odxeouat £xu$at ye^PY ^* 0
xou?
c/
EXXr)vee; ot otxe'ovxe? erct xwVrcavt uoxauS) xaXeouat Bopua-
•ftevetxac;, aqpe'ac; 6e auxouc;-"OXB tOTtoX^xac;. ouxot Sv ot yewpyo\
Exu$at veuovxat xb u.ev up'bc; XTJV r)w £TCI xpetc; rfue^pas obou, xax-
rjxovxec; ent noxaubv xw 06'voua xetxat navxtxa'Ttnc;, xb 6e upbs
Boperjv &veu,ovTCXO'OVdva xbv Bopuaêvea rjuepe'cdv evbexa. r)5r) 6e
xaxuuep$e xouxwv rj eprjuo'c; e'axt eVt TIOXXOV . uexa 6e x r j v epTjuov
>
Av6potpayot otxeouat, e^voc; e o v t6tov xa\ ou6auwc; Xxu^txo'v. xb
7
6e xouxeov xaxurcepê eprjuov T)6T) aXr)$ewc; xa\ e'-frvoc; dv^pujmuv
ou6e v, 6aov rju,etc;

/
'tduev.
Beyond the market c i t y o f the B o r y s t h e n i t a i , which i s
the midway p o i n t o n the e n t i r e extent of the S c y t h i a n c o a s t ,
the f i r s t i n h a b i t a n t s are the K a l l i p p i d a i who are S c y t h i a n

27.
Greeks. Northward of them d w e l l s another people c a l l e d the
Alazones. Both these men and the K a l l i p p l d a i l i v e i n the
manner of the S c y t h i a n s ; i n p a r t i c u l a r they sow g r a i n f o r t h e i r
own consumption, as w e l l as onions, l e e k s , l e n t i l s , and m i l -
let. Beyond the Alazones l i v e the l a n d - t i l l i n g S c y t h i a n s who
sow wheat n o t f o r t h e i r own consumption, but f o r s a l e . And
beyond these people the N e u r o i l i v e , and to the n o r t h o f them
the l a n d i s empty as f a r as we know.
These, then, are the peoples who populate the shores o f
the Hypanis, which l i e s to the west of the Borysthenes. Be-
yond the Borysthenes R i v e r near the sea one comes f i r s t upon
the Woodland, and going i n l a n d from t h i s one meets the next
i n h a b i t a n t s , S c y t h i a n farmers whom the Greeks l i v i n g on the
Hypanis R i v e r c a l l B o r y s t h e n i t a i ( t o themselves these Greek
c o l o n i s t s g i v e the name O l b i o p o l i t a i ) . These S c y t h i a n farm-
e r s occupy the t e r r i t o r y s t r e t c h i n g three days' t r a v e l e a s t -
wards as f a r as a r i v e r to which i s g i v e n the name P a n t i k a p e s ,
and e l e v e n d a y s 1
t r a v e l northward up the Borysthenes. And
j u s t above these r e g i o n s there i s a l a n d that i s f o r the most
part empty, and s t i l l f u r t h e r beyond there d w e l l the Man-
e a t e r s , a separate and n o n - S c y t h i a n r a c e . And beyond these
the l a n d i s t r u l y empty and, as f a r as we know, d e v o i d o f
human l i f e .
28.
T20. Herodotos, IV, 76, 78-80
Setvtxo'tat be vouaii'otat xat ourot atv&c; xpSaât cpeuyouat,

UT)TE xe&v c/xXwv, EXXnvtxotat
f
be xa\ ffxtaxa, 005 6 t e b e £ a v 'Avd-
Xapat'c; xe xa\ beuxepa auxts ExuXnc;. xoOxo uev y d p Avax«po*tc;
s
ETtetxe vf}v TCOXXT)V êcoprfaac; na\ aKo6e^duevo? nax* auxriv aocptnv

uoXXriv exoutCexo hq Tv&ea xd Zxudewv, TcXeiov 6t E\\T)and'vxou <
Txpoataxet iq K u C t x o v n o t eupe yap T

f) unxp\ xcOv $e<2>v dvdyovxaq
xobq KuCtxnvous opxrjv u e y a X o n p e T t e l o c ; xdpxa, eu£axo xr| unxp\ d
'Avdxapatg, fiv aQq n d t uytT)c; aTtovoaxrfaT) iq ewuxou, &uaetv xe
xaxa xauxd xaxa topa xdvq KuCtxrjvouc; rtoteOvxac; xa\ Tiavvuxtba
axrfaetv. <Jq be dutxexo iq XTJV Zxufttxrjv, xaxabuc; ec; XT*|V xaXeo-
uevnv''YXatnv (r\ 6* eaxt uev napd xbv ÂxtXXrjtov bpbuov, xuyxdWi
<SL 7i2aa eoGaa devbp&w navxottov TtXer]), e$ xauxnv br) xaxabu?
d 'Avdxapats XT)V opx^v eitexeXee u a a a v xp $ew xOuTiavov xe e'xwv
not ^xbnaduevos'ayaXuaxa. xa\ x<3v xiq Exu&etov xaxacppaaêl?
auxbv xaGxa uoteOvxa £ar)\xT)ve xai paatXet EauXtw* 6 be xat auxbs
aTctHOuevos u>q elbe xov ' A v d x a p a t v Ttoteuvxa xaOxa, x o £ e u a a ? a6xbv
drtexxetve. xa\ vuv ffv xt? e t ' p n x a t %ep\ 'Avcgcapatc;, ou cpaat \iiv
Exu$at y^vioaxetv, btd xouxo oxt eêbrfunae xe iq xr)v *EXXdoa xat

Cetvtxo'tat eêat btexpifcraxo.
Ouxos u^v vuv ouxu) b?| enpT)£e btd £ e t v t x d xe vo'uata xat 'EXXrjvi-
Yihq 6u.t\tas. TtoXXotat be xdpxa exeat uaxepov IxuXn^ 6 'Apta-
nefoeoq e'liaê napaTtXTjata x o u x w . 'Aptarcetêt ydp xfi Exuê'cov p a -
atXet y ^ v e x a t uex* d'xXujv ua^bwv ExuXnc; • e£ *Iaxptrjvnc; be Y v a t x d < ; u
ouxos yCvexai x a t oubaucus e y X W ^ S * tbv r\ prfxrip a u x n yXwaaav

xe EXXdba x d l ypaupaxa ebtbacle.
4
uexd b e xp°"vw uaxepov Aptaneu^- J
r)q pev xeXeux'a boXw unb ZTtapYotTtetêoc; xoO'Ayaxupawv paatXe'oc;,

2xu\n<; 6e TTIV x e paatXTitnv Ttap£paXe x d t xrjv yuvaCxa xou Ttaxpo c;, y
xt) ovoua nv OTiotn* nv be auxn n Ortotrj aaxrj, e£ rjg n v Optxo?

29.
' A p t a r t E t ^ E t natc;. BaatXsuwv 6E Exude'wv 6 ExuXnc; 6tatxr) ou6au.G>c;

TJPEOXEXO E x u ^ t x r ) aXXa TIOXXOV npbc; x a E X X r j v t x a uSXXov x £ x p a ^ -
c
uevoc; T)V drab Ttat6Euatoc; xf]c; Eit£nat6Euxo, e n o ^ e e x e x o t o O x o *

EUXE d y a y o t xrjv a x p a x t r j v xrjv EXU&EWV EC; t b B o p u a ^ s v E t x s w v d'axu
( o t 6e Bopucr&EVE'txat o u x o t X e y o u a t acpe'ac; auxouc; e T v a t MtXâtbuc;)
ec; xouxouc; OMWS e X & o i o Exuftrjc;, XT)V u £ v a x p a x t r j v x a x a X t u E a x E
EV xw upoaaxEtw, auxbc; 6b oxwg ^X$ot E'C; xb xEtxoc, x a t xac; -rcuXac;
E y x X V j a E t E , xrjv axoXrjv ditoêliEvoc; xr)v E x u ^ t x r j v XaBEaxE av E X - f
Xr)vt6a E a ^ f j x a , EXWV 6''av xauxrjv rVyopaCe OUXE bopucpopwv EKOUE'VWV

OUXE aXXou OU6EVOC;» 6E nuXac, EqpuXaaaov, u r f xtc, a t v
xac; EXUSE'WV
J
t 6 o t ^ x o v x a xauxrjv xrjv a x o X r f v . x a \ x a X X a EXP&XO 6 t a t x r j EXXt?v- f
t x r i x a \ SEOIOI t p a ETCOÊE x a x a vououc, xodc, 'EXXTJVWV . 6xe 6E
6 t a x p t ( p E t e uf]va f) TIXEOV XOUXOU, aTcaXXaaoExo E'vbuc, xrjv Zxu&txrjv

axoXrfv....
'EuEtxE 6e lbz£ o t xaxwc, yEVEâât, e y t v e x o drcb Tipo9a'atoe; x o t f j a b E .

?
£7t£$u|ir)aE Atovubxj) B a x x E t w x£X£a$f)vat* u x X X o v x t 6E o t EC, x ^ P . e a c
' d y £ a $ a t xrjv XEXEXTJV EYE'VEXO 9aaua u £ y t a x o v . rjv o t EV Bopua-

ÊVEIXEWV xfj ito'Xt otx£r)C, uEydXric; x a \ TIOXUXEXEOC, TCEptBoXrf, xfjc,
xa\ o X t y w x t updxEpov xouxcov avrfuriv stxov. xrjv TC£pt£ X e u x o u
Xt&ou XE x a t ypuTCEc; • E a x a a a v * £c, xauxrjv 6 $Ebc, 'sv£axr)(|>e
aqptyyEc;
BEXOC;. x a t r] UEV x a x E x d r j n a a a , EXUXTJC; 6E OU6EV XOOXOU E^vsxa

rjaaov IUEXEXEOE xrjv XEXEXTJV . ZxuQ-at 6E XOU B a x x e u E t v TiE'pt *EXX-
riat 6v£t6tCouaf ou yap c p a a t otxoc, £ ? v a t $EOV E £ £ U p t a x E t v
xouxov baxtc. u a t v £ a $ a t evayEt dv^pwrtouc;....
'Qc, 6e UEXOC x a O x a E£r)Xauve 6 ExuXric; EC, rv9-£a x a EWUXOC, o t E x u $ a t

upoaxriaauEvot xbv abEXcpebv a u x o u 'Oxxauaadbrjv, yEyovdxa EX xf)c;
TrjpEU) Q-uyaxpbc;, s r c a v t a x E a x o xw Z x u X r j .
30.
These S c y t h i a n s s c r u p u l o u s l y a v o i d f a l l i n g i n w i t h f o r -
e i g n customs, and of a l l n a t i o n s ' customs they shun those o f
the Greeks e s p e c i a l l y ; b o t h Anachari-is and S k y l e s were cases
in point. When A n a c h a r s i s , a f t e r having seen much o f the
world and having proved the greatness o f h i s wisdom d u r i n g h i s
t r a v e l s , was r e t u r n i n g to the S c y t h i a n country he s a i l e d
through the H e l l e s p o n t and landed at K y z i k o s . There he found
the c i t i z e n s c e l e b r a t i n g v e r y l a v i s h l y a f e s t i v a l i n honour
of the Mother of the Gods, and he, A n a c h a r s i s , vowed to the
goddess t h a t , i f he made a safe a r r i v a l home, he would o f f e r
s a c r i f i c e u s i n g the r i t e he had observed the K y z i k o i p r a c t i c i n g ,
and he would e s t a b l i s h a f e s t i v a l of worship. So when he had
a r r i v e d I n S c y t h i a , g o i n g o f f i n t o the r e g i o n c a l l e d the
Woodland, which l i e s near the Racetrack of A c h i l l e s and which
happens to be covered w i t h t r e e s of a l l k i n d s , A n a c h a r s i s
c a r r i e d out i n f u l l the r i t e of the goddess, complete w i t h cym-
b a l s and s t a t u e s . But one of the S c y t h i a n s observed him i n
the .act, and r e p o r t e d him to K i n g Saulios^who, when he a r r i v e d
on the scene and w i t h h i s own eyes w i t n e s s e d A n a c h a r s i s doing
these t h i n g s , k i l l e d him w i t h an arrow. I f anyone nowadays
i n q u i r e s about A n a c h a r s i s , the S c y t h i a n s say they have never
heard o f him, because he t r a v e l l e d to Greece and took up f o r -
e i g n customs.
31.
So he f a r e d because of h i s f o r e i g n ways and h i s assoc-
i a t i o n w i t h the Greeks. But many y e a r s l a t e r a similar case
occurred, i n v o l v i n g S k y l e s the son of A r i a p i t h e s . S k y l e s was
one of s e v e r a l c h i l d r e n born t o A r i a p i t h e s , k i n g of the Scyth-
i a n s , but he was the o f f s p r i n g of an I s t r i a n r a t h e r than a
n a t i v e mother,who took i t upon h e r s e l f to t e a c h him the Greek
language, b o t h spoken and w r i t t e n . A f t e r a time, however,
when A r i a p i t h e s had d i e d by t r e a c h e r y at the hands of Spar-
g a p i t h e s the A g a t h y r s i a n k i n g , S k y l e s i n h e r i t e d b o t h the throne
and the w i f e of h i s f a t h e r . T h i s woman, whose name ( a f t e r her
n a t i v e town) was Opoeia, had borne a son, O r i k o s , to A r i a -
p i t h e s ; S k y l e s , however, assumed l e a d e r s h i p of the S c y t h i a n s .
But s i n c e he was a l t o g e t h e r d i s s a t i s f i e d w i t h the S c y t h i a n
way of l i f e , and g r e a t l y p r e f e r r e d H e l l e n i c customs because of
the e d u c a t i o n t h a t he had enjoyed, he used to do as f o l l o w s :
he would l e a d the S c y t h i a n army to the c i t y o f Borysthenes

:
(the
i n h a b i t a n t s of t h i s c i t y r e f e r to themselves as M i l e s i a n s ) and,
l e a v i n g the army to wait on the c i t y ' s o u t s k i r t s , he h i m s e l f
would e n t e r w i t h i n the w a l l s and c l o s e the gates behind him.
Then, throwing a s i d e h i s S c y t h i a n costume and p u t t i n g on Greek
c l o t h i n g , he used to go about the s t r e e t s d r e s s e d thus, and
unattended by spearmen or anyone e l s e . Meanwhile someone

32.
used to guard the gates to prevent any of the S c y t h i a n s from
seeing him wearing t h i s mode o f d r e s s . S k y l e s conformed to
all aspects o f Greek l i f e , even to the e x t e n t of p e r f o r m i n g
s a c r i f i c e a c c o r d i n g t o the Greek r i t e s . F i n a l l y , when he had
spent a month or more i n t h i s f a s h i o n , he would put on S c y t h -
ian c l o t h i n g and d e p a r t . He d i d t h i s q u i t e f r e q u e n t l y . He
even had a house b u i l t i n Borysthenes, and he m a r r i e d a l o c a l
woman.
But sooner or l a t e r t h i n g s had t o t u r n out b a d l y f o r him,
and i t happened under the f o l l o w i n g c i r c u m s t a n c e s : he wished
to be admitted to the r i t e s of the BaKchic Dionysos, b u t , as
he was on the p o i n t o f u n d e r t a k i n g t h i s , a very significant
portent occurred. S k y l e s had i n the c i t y o f Borysthenes a
g r e a t and expensive house, which I mentioned a few l i n e s above,
around which sphinxes and g r i f f i n s i n white stone formed a
d e c o r a t i o n ; upon t h i s house the god l e t f a l l a thunderbolt.
But, a l t h o u g h the e n t i r e b u i l d i n g was burned down, S k y l e s
nevertheless carried out the BaKchic r i t e . The S c y t h i a n s , how-
ever, o b j e c t to the Greek custom of engaging i n t h i s r i t e , on
the ground that i t i s unreasonable to worship a god who d r i v e s
men i n t o a f r e n z y . . . .
33.
So, when a f t e r t h i s S k y l e s rode back to h i s own people,
the S c y t h i a n s , e n l i s t i n g the l e a d e r s h i p of h i s own brother
Oktamasades the grandson of T e r e s , r e b e l l e d against Skyles.
d. THE OLBIOPOLITAI
T21. Athenaios, XII, 523
MUTICHOI 6' eio? uev OUH expt^cpcov, ev6tu>v EHOOCS, IOS cpocatv 'jUcpopos,
HCU xag xe eV E\\naTtbvxu) noXeic; enxtcrav
<
HCU xbv Etfeetvov TIO'VX-
O V naxt^Huaav tcoXeai Kauixpa'ts, H C U ndvxe? urcb xf}v MtXnxov e$eov.

cu? 6e i57iT)x^no-av nbovp H C U xpucpfj, naxeppun xb xffo itoXeux; dvbpeX-
ov, âcav 6 'Apiaxoxe'XTis, n a l T i a p o c u ^ a xt? ^YYevvfat) In' auxflv
ucxXcu TCOX'rfaav aXniuot MiArfaioi,.
As l o n g as the M i l e s i a n s d i d not y i e l d to s o f t living
they held the S c y t h i a n s i n c o n t r o l , as Ephoros t e l l s us, and
founded the c i t i e s on the H e l l e s p o n t and s e t t l e d the Euxine
w i t h renowned c i t i e s . At M i l e t o s everyone competed i n the
races. But when they were overcome by p l e s s u r e and luxury, the
s t a t e ' s manliness d r a i n e d away, as A r i s t o t l e r e c o r d s , and a
maxim about these people became c u r r e n t : "Once l o n g ago the
M i l e s i a n s were s t o u t - h e a r t e d men."
T22. Dio Chrysostom, XXXVI, 7
TtapeCwaxo be uaxaipav ueyaXnv xwv ITITUHIUV not ava£upibas etxe

31*-.
xat TT)V a\\r)v axo\i)v Zxu^txrfv, avw$ev be xtov touiov tuaxtov

utxpbv ue\av, XETIXO'V, coarcep etateaatv ot Bopua$evetxat.
He wore on h i s b e l t a great c a v a l r y sword, and was dress-
ed i n t r o u s e r s and the r e s t of the S c y t h i a n costume, and over
his shoulders he wore a b l a c k cloak of l i g h t c l o t h , as the
Borysthenitai generally do.
f . EXTERNAL RELATIONS
T23.. A r c h i l o c h o s , f r a g . 7 9 ( D i e h l )
xuu[aat] Tt\a[ Coji] evo? .

xav Ea\uu6[ naa]tut yuiivbv evcppove'at xaxa]
©pj|K£S axpo[x]ouot
\apotev — e v $ a nbW dvatc\T)aet xaxdc
6ou\tov apxov e&tov —
ptyet rceTtnyoV auxbv.
May the mop-haired T h r a c i a n s m e r r i l y s e i z e him, sent astray
by the waves and naked at Salmydessos — f o r there he w i l l have
his fill of numerous t r o u b l e s as he eats the bread of s l a v e s -
his body s t i f f e n e d by the c o l d .
T21|. Xenophon, Anabasis, V I I , 5, 12-11).
ev$a xwv eiq xbv IIovxov nXeouaulv vetov Tto\\a\ bxeMouat xa\ ex-
7itnxoucrf xe'vayos ydp eaxtv kiii •jrdu.TtoA.u xf)$ $a\dxxr)s xa"t ©paxes
35.
ot xaxa x a u x a O I X O O V X E S axT)Xas optadpiEvot xd xa&' auxouc; ex-

n^Ttxovxa exaaxot X^Covxat. xeuvs 6\ £\zyov
}
7tp\v 6ptaaa$at dp-jtaC-
ovxac; rtoXXouc; u V aXXrjXwv aTto^vpaxEtv. evxaO-fra nuptoxovxo
uoXXaY U E V xX?vat, noXXd 6e xtptoxta, ttoXXat 6e ptpXot y E y p a u -
UEvat, xat xaXXa TioXXd oaa E V £uXCvot$ xeuxeat vauxXrjpot ayouatv.
Here (Salmydessos i n n o r t h e r n Thrace) many o f the s h i p s
bound f o r Pontos r u n aground and are wrecked — the r e s u l t o f
shoals t h a t abound i n t h i s p a r t o f the s e a . And the Thrac-
i a n s who i n h a b i t t h i s coast plunder the s h i p s t h a t r u n aground,
each band descending upon those s h i p s w i t h i n i t s own marked
boundaries. Por a time, a p p a r e n t l y , b e f o r e they e s t a b l i s h e d
these b o u n d a r i e s , they used to a t t a c k and k i l l one another i n
numbers. Here were d i s c o v e r e d many beds, many boxes and
w r i t t e n books, and many other e f f e c t s o f the s o r t t h a t ship-
owners c a r r y i n wooden c o f f e r s .
T25. P l i n y , Nat. H i s t . , I V , 13, 93
Non e s t omittenda multorum o p i n i o , priusquam d i g r e d i m u r
a Ponto, q u i m a r i a omnia i n t e r i o r a i l l o c a p i t e n a s c i , non
Gaditano f r e t o , e x i s t i m a v e r e haut improfobili argumento, quoniam
aestus semper e Ponto p r o f l u e n s numquam r e c i p r o c e t .
Before p a s s i n g on from the Pontos, one ought n o t to over-

l o o k the theory o f many people who b e l i e v e that a l l the waters
36.
within the M e d i t e r r a n e a n a r i s e from t h a t source, and not
through the S t r a i t s of Gades; and their argument d e r i v e s prob-
a b i l i t y from the f a c t t h a t there i s a current flowing con-
t i n u o u s l y out of the Pontos, and never any i n the opposite
direction.
T26. Latyschev, I n s c r i p t i o n e 3 Antlquae Orae S e p t e n t r l o n a l i s

P o n t i E u x i n i Graecae et L a t i n a e , 20 ( O l b i a n p r o -
xeny-decree, 5 t h c.)
Tuxrjt ava$f]t.
'OXB touoXtxat
'^bwxav Xatptyevet
Mr)xpo6topou Me^ri-
Pptavoot auxak xa\ i n -

yovotc; -rtpoclevtav,
rcoXtxetav, dxeXetav
rcavxcov xpTlridxwv,
(Lv av auxbc; elaayr\i
rj eCayrit, r) raxtoec;,n a-
beXcpot ofc; xotva xd
uaxpuka, f) $epa7twv
xat et'cmXouv xat exrcXouv

xat e[u] TioXeuwt xa\ ev
eCpr(vr|t aauXe[\] xa"t
d a r c o v 6 e [ t] .
W i t h the b l e s s i n g of the gods, the O l b i o p o l i t a i have de-

37.
creed proxeny to C h a i r i g e n e s of Mesembria, son o f M e t r o d o r o s ,
and t o h i s d e s c e n d a n t s ; and a l s o the r i g h t of c i t i z e n s h i p , and
o f e x e m p t i o n f r o m a l l t a r i f f s o n w h a t he h i m s e l f or h i s child-
ren or h i s brothers and c o - h e i r s o r h i s a g e n t may i m p o r t or
e x p o r t u p o n e n t e r i n g and l e a v i n g t h e c i t y i n wartime or in
peace, i n v i o l a b l y and w i t h o u t treaty.
T27. T o d , 195 ( t r e a t y b e t w e e n O l b i a and M i l e t o s , _ca.330 B.C.)
x d 6 e Tidxpta ' O X B t o u o X t x a t c ; x a t Mt\r)a[ t ] | o t c . . x b u MtXrfatov ev

>OXBtr)7t6Xet ux; 'ox) p tOTioX^xnv # u e t v kn\ xuiv auxwu BooJuQv x a \ etc.
xa i e p d x d a u x d cpotxav x d |J b n u o a i a x a x d x a a u x d x a t 'OXBtorcoXtJ
xa?* e t v a t 6e x a \ dxeXetac. MtXrjatotc. x a j f o x a a a x a t -rcpdxepov riaav
eav 6e $ e X r ] t J x t u o u x t & u , i i e x e x e t v , e n t BouXriv entxajj x a t duo-
Ypa<pe tc; uexexexw x a t âxooJJ evxeXrfc;, x a ^ o x t x a \ o t &XXot -rcoXtxatj
N
etatv e t v a t 6e x a t r c p o e b p t a y , n a t e t a x n j p u a a e a S a t etc; xouc.

dyflvac; x a \ |TiaJpda$at xa'Cc; x p t a x a a t y , xaSaaaa x a \ J eu MtXrfxwt
e-rcapwvxat* edv 6e x t auuBoJxatov ^ ( t ) xfflt MtXnacwt ev'0X8tat,
t a x e x w 6 t | x r i Y n a \ uuexe'xu) iu, rcevS* r p e p a t c . e-rctjxou b n u o x t x o u
btxaaxnptou* e t v a t 6e J [ d j x e X e t c ; uavxac. M t X n a i f o u s , n\r)v oaot
ev a X X r ^ t } uoXet uoXtxeubvxat x a \ dpxetw(u)| uexe'xouatY not 6tx-
aaxnpujv. xaxd xau|xa 6e x a l '0X8toTcoXtxac, eu, MtXrfxiot d x e l X e l l c .
etvat, x a \ x d d'xXa x a x a xbv a u x b v j xpouov ' 0 X 8 t o u o X t x a t c . eu MtX-
r|xu>t UTKxpjxetY x a ^ o x t x a \ M t X n a t o t c . ev 'OXBtouoXet.
The f o l l o w i n g p r o v i s i o n s are customary f o r the O l b i o p o l -

38.
itai end the M i l e s i a n s : t h a t the M i l e s i a n In O l b i a may sac-
rifice at the same a l t a r s as an O i b i a n citizen, and enter the
p u b l i c temples on the same terms as the citizens; and that
there are the same exemptions from t a x a t i o n f o r the M i l e s i a n
as there f o r m e r l y were, except t h a t , i f he wishes to h o l d
the o f f i c e of a m a g i s t r a t e , he must go before the Council to
be r e g i s t e r e d before holding o f f i c e , and must then be subject
to t a x a t i o n , j u s t as the other c i t i z e n s are; and, furthermore,
that the M i l e s i a n may enjoy a seat of honour at, and the r i g h t
to compete i n , the games, and the r i g h t to p a r t i c i p a t e i n
the prayers on the T r i k a d e s , j u s t as they do i n Miletos; and
that, i f a lawsuit involves a M i l e s i a n i n Olbia, i t s h a l l
come to t r i a l and receive judgement w i t h i n f i v e days before
the p e o p l e ' s t r i b u n a l . A l l Milesians are to be exempt from
t a x a t i o n , except those who have c i t i z e n s h i p or h o l d a c i v i c or
j u d i c i a l m a g i s t r a c y i n another s t a t e . T h i s agreement a l s o
ensures that O l b i o p o l i t a i are s i m i l a r l y exempt from taxation
i n M i l e t o s , and that a l l the other p r o v i s i o n s are to apply
to O l b i a n s i n Miletos j u s t as they do f o r M i l e s i a n s i n O l b i a .
39.
Ill
L I F E IN A NEW ENVIRONMENT
That the a r c h a e o l o g i c a l s i t e on a wedge of l a n d jut-
ting southward i n t o the Bug R i v e r near N i k o l a e v i n Southern
Russia i s , i n f a c t , the O l b i a of the a n c i e n t l i t e r a r y t r a d i t -
i o n i s n o t a matter of d i s p u t e . A l t h o u g h S t r a b o ^ p l a c e s the
c i t y o f Borysthenes ( a l s o c a l l e d O l b i a ) a t a p o i n t two hun-
dred stades up the r i v e r of the same name — the modern Dnieper —
t h i s I s an e a s i l y e x p l a i n e d anomaly; the Bug and the Dnieper
R i v e r s share a common e s t u a r y , the v a s t Dnieper "liman," which
i s by i t s e l f over two hundred stades i n length. Thus the ap-
proach t o O l b i a on the Bug R i v e r i n v o l v e d a voyage of n e a r l y
that d i s t a n c e up t h e . e s t u a r y of the Borysthenes t o the p o i n t
of the two r i v e r s ' confluence.
Herodotos unequivocally i d e n t i f i e s the O l b i o p o l i t a i as
"the Greeks l i v i n g on the Hypanis R i v e r , " and D i o Chrysostom^
e x p l a i n s t h a t , although the c i t y was named Borysthenes be-
1. T5.
2. T19.
3. T l .
ho.
THE SITE OP OLBIA ( a f t e r Minns, M o n g a i t ) .
I Sixth-century graves.
II. Fifths fourth-century graves.
III. Hellenistic graves.
X Archaic masonry.
in.
cause the i n h a b i t a n t s were impressed by the beauty o f t h a t
river, the s i t e was n o t on the Borysthenes, but on the Hypanis
R i v e r (the Bug). He goes on to d e s c r i b e the l o c a t i o n i n de-
tail t h a t l e a v e s no doubt about the exact p o s i t i o n , j u s t above
the sharp beak of l a n d t h a t separates the two r i v e r s , and on
the bank o f the Hypanis o p p o s i t e the promontory. He a l s o
provides a measure of t h e d i s t a n c e from the mouth of the e s t u -
ary to the p o i n t where the Hypanis f l o w s past the cape to empty
Into the Borysthenes — two hundred s t a d e s . O i b i a n c o i n s and
I n s c r i p t i o n s found i n g r e a t number on the s i t e near the mouth
of the Hypanis c o n f i r m the a n c i e n t city's identity.
1 2
The i n f o r m a t i o n g i v e n by Strabo and Herodotos that O l b i a
was a colony of M i l e t o s i s supported by the e a r l i e s t pottery
found on the s i t e . A l t h o u g h p o t t e r y appears to have been im-
p o r t e d t o O l b i a at an e a r l y date from many p a r t s of Greece —
an E r e t r i a n b l a c k - f i g u r e vase and a s i m i l a r vase o f A t t i c manu-
f a c t u r e , both of the f i r s t h a l f of the s i x t h century B.C., are

3
among the e a r l i e s t — most of the p o t t e r y found i n the low-
e s t s t r a t a i s o f E a s t Greek o r i g i n . Chian and Rhodian vases
recovered from the s i t e belong to the f i n a l q u a r t e r of the
seventh century, very s h o r t l y a f t e r the date & 1 / 3 ) g i v e n by
Eusebios f o r Olbia's founding. Small t e r r a c o t t a f i g u r e s rang-
1. T5-
2. T20.
Ing In s t y l e and date from a r c h a i c to H e l l e n i s t i c appear to
be almost e x c l u s i v e l y from A s i a Minor.^ The same i s t r u e of
Greek j e w e l l e r y found i n O i b i a n tombs; except f o r p i e c e s of
Scythian design, the j e w e l l e r y i s of I o n i a n o r i g i n i n most

2
cases. An e s p e c i a l l y v a l u a b l e i n d i c a t i o n of the r e l a t i o n s h i p
of M i l e t o s and O l b i a i s a f o u r t h - c e n t u r y i n s c r i p t i o n found at
M i l e t o s , o u t l i n i n g the r i g h t s of c i t i z e n s of each c i t y who take
up r e s i d e n c e i n the other.^
The r e g i o n of which O l b i a e v e n t u a l l y formed an important
c e n t r e was, as we have seen above, the coast and i t s hinter-
l a n d of the g r e a t n o r t h e r n bulge of the B l a c k Sea. The land
upon which O l b i a depended f o r her a g r i c u l t u r a l l i v e l i h o o d was
the q u i t e e x o t i c t e r r a i n of the southern U k r a n i a n steppes,
d r a i n e d by the mighty Bug and D n i e p e r R i v e r s . In a number of
important ways t h i s r e g i o n r e p r e s e n t e d , to s e t t l e r s coming from
Aegean shores a thousand m i l e s to the south, a very alien
environment.
O l b i a must, i n f a c t , be regarded as the most n o r t h e r l y
ground to which Greek c i v i l i z a t i o n was ever successfully trans-
planted. I t s v a s t h i n t e r l a n d of i n h o s p i t a b l e w i l d e r n e s s , i t s
1. Cf. Boardman, "Greek Archaeology on the Shores of the Black
Sea," A r c h . Reports 1 9 & 3 , PP.31+-5I.
2. R o s t o v t z e f f , I r a n i a n s and Greeks i n South R u s s i a , pp.6^-70.
3. This i n s c r i p t i o n (T27) i s discussed i n chapter V below.

1*3.
foruslhene
'river ,
Olbia ,
Tyras
jiPanVicapaiod
Chersonese
'CMetsos
5/ f\eien(»V>r)a
THRACE.
THE BLACK SEA IN ANCIENT TIMES

unfamiliar t e r r a i n , i t s severe c l i m a t e and the p r i v a t i o n that
the somewhat l i m i t e d n a t i v e f l o r a r e p r e s e n t e d demanded a very
s p e c i a l e f f o r t of a d a p t a t i o n on the p a r t of i t s new inhabitants.
One of the f i r s t e f f e c t s of the r e g i o n upon the q u a l i t y
of life among the Greek s e t t l e r s there was a process of sel-
e c t i o n and e l i m i n a t i o n . That the p o p u l a t i o n of the f i r s t set-
tlement on the Hypanis R i v e r was composed o n l y of men having
unusual courage and i n i t i a t i v e can be deduced from the forbid-
d i n g p i c t u r e of the N o r t h Euxine r e g i o n t h a t had to be shrug-
ged o f f by any man who, i n the s i x t h or even the f i f t h century
B.C., contemplated v e n t u r i n g northward.
Even i f the g e n e r a l Impression of the n o r t h e r n wastes as
an abode of m y t h i c a l monsters was t r e a t e d w i t h some i n c r e d -
ulity, the d e t a i l e d enumerations of the r e g i o n ' s n a t u r a l haz-
ards remained to be considered. The f i r s t of these consider-
a t i o n s was the g r e a t d i f f i c u l t y of e n t e r i n g the B l a c k Sea at

1 ?
all. Both P l i n y and the modern B l a c k Sea P i l o t describe the
southward-flowing c u r r e n t through the Bosporos as a. c o n s i d e r -
able o b s t a c l e to e n t r y i n t o the B l a c k Sea. "The s u r f a c e cur-
r e n t , " says the B l a c k Sea P i l o t , " i s s i m i l a r i n c h a r a c t e r to
1. T2S,
2. Black Sea P i l o t . P , 2 1 , line
1*5.
t h a t w h i c h w o u l d be p r o d u c e d by a great j e t of water, under
high pressure, d i r e c t e d down t h e n a r r o w and irregular channels."
Rhys C a r p e n t e r , i n a study* of the effect of this current
on ancient s h i p s , p o i n t s out that the prevailing northerly
winds i n the B o s p o r o s made a v o y a g e u n d e r sail into the Black
Sea impossible. Oar-driven v e s s e l s , on the other hand, had to
evolve f o r many c e n t u r i e s b e f o r e they achieved a sustained oar-
powered speed g r e a t e n o u g h t o make headway a g a i n s t the unrelent-
ing four-knot current i n the Bosporos. E v e n the G r e e k tri-
reme o f classical times, Carpenter argues, seems n o t to have
been capable of sustaining oar-driven speeds exceeding five or
six knots. To the Greek n a v i g a t o r planning a voyage from Mi-
letos to O l b i a i n the sixth century the passage through the
B o s p o r o s must certainly have l o o m e d as a forbiddingly difficult
undertaking. While c o n s i d e r i n g the problems of the northward
passage, a prospective colonist c o u l d w e l l have asked himself
how frequent and dependable O l b i a ' s contacts with the Aegean
world might be.
1. Carpenter, "Greek P e n e t r a t i o n of the B l a c k Sea," A.J.A.

LII (191+8), pp. 1-10.
2. T h a t C a r p e n t e r i s n o t g r e a t l y u n d e r e s t i m a t i n g the speed
o f a n c i e n t v e s s e l s i s i n d i c a t e d by C a s s o n ( S h i p s and
S e a m a n s h i p i n the A n c i e n t W o r l d , pp.282-281+), whose
t a b l e s o f p a s s a g e s made by a n c i e n t s h i p s show av-
e r a g e s p e e d s between t h r e e and s i x k n o t s i n n o r m a l
c o n d i t i o n s o f wind and c u r r e n t .
1*6.
Even a f t e r a s u c c e s s f u l passage of the 3osporos a Greek
s h i p i n the -sixth century was not guaranteed a safe voyage to
the n o r t h e r n coast. At the b e g i n n i n g of the seventh century
B.C., Greek c o l o n i s t s from the Aegean had A r c h i l o c h o s as a
witness^- t h a t T h r a c i a n p i r a t e s awaited t r a v e l l e r s along t h e i r
Pontic coast. Xenophon p r o v i d e s later and much f u l l e r de-
tails about t h i s hazard o f f Salmydessos; the maze of uncharted
s h o a l s along the c o a s t , he t e l l s us, formed a n a t u r a l net f o r
the capture and d e s t r u c t i o n of northbound s h i p s . The v e s s e l s
t h a t went aground, l a d e n w i t h goods f o r c o l o n i s t s on the Black
Sea, were i r r e s i s t i b l y a l l u r i n g t a r g e t s f o r the professional
p l u n d e r e r s of N o r t h Thrace.
I f the prospect of g e t t i n g there seemed poor, the p r o s p e c t
of s u r v i v i n g on the f r i g i d steppes of the N o r t h e r n Pontos were
made to seem e q u a l l y h o p e l e s s . At the date of O l b i a ' s found-

3
a t i o n , Homer's d e s c r i p t i o n of the Cimmerian kingdom was avail-
a b l e as a h i n t of what the t r a v e l l e r c o u l d expect to f i n d :
fog, c l o u d s , and a s u n l e s s c h i l l f o r most of the y e a r . In the
f i f t h c e n t u r y Herodotos put on record^- the t a l e s t h a t were
c u r r e n t about that n o r t h e r n Euxine c o a s t ; there were f r o z e n
1. T23.
2. T2l*.
3. T 7 .
1*. T6.
1*7.
harbours that promised w i n t e r - l o n g isolation for colonists,
and unending summer r a i n s t h a t would cheat s u n - l o v i n g Greeks
of the few months of outdoor weather the c l i m a t e had to o f f e r .
These were the s t o r i e s about the n o r t h coast of the
Black Sea, i n s p i t e of which the b o l d e s t of the M i l e s i a n s were
not d e t e r r e d from m i g r a t i n g to t h a t r e g i o n , because, i n the
words of E l l i s Minns, " "the Euxine coast was

1
the f i r s t E l Dor-
ado, the f i r s t m y s t e r i o u s l a n d to draw adventurers across
broad seas i n search of fame and treasure." But what was the
environmental r e a l i t y ? How f o r b i d d i n g was the world that O l -
b i a n s e t t l e r s found on the Hypanis R i v e r and the steppes of
the hinterland?
There i s a c o n s i d e r a b l e body of a n c i e n t evidence of what
the c o l o n i s t s found i n t h e i r new surroundings, and how they
reacted. To the Greek p h y s i c a l c o n s t i t u t i o n , the c l i m a t e of
the r e g i o n seemed n e a r l y as i n t o l e r a b l e as t r a v e l l e r s had been
led to expect. F a s c i n a t e d by the v a r i e t y of t h e i r new ex-
p e r i e n c e s w i t h i c e , snow and f r e e z i n g c o n d i t i o n s g e n e r a l l y , the
Greek i n h a b i t a n t s of a l l the n o r t h e r n Euxine c o l o n i e s collect-
ed a body of l o r e , a canon of s t o r i e s about the s o r t of t h i n g
they were f a c e d w i t h i n an a l i e n c l i m a t e . Both Herodotos and

p
Strabo r e c o r d r e p o r t s of c a v a l r y e x p e d i t i o n s conducted by the
1. Minns, S c y t h i a n s and Greeks, p.1+36.
2. T6, T7.
1*8.
S c y t h i a n s on the i c e of the f r o z e n seas along the n o r t h e r n
e o a s t s , and Strabo mentions-*- the customary use of the i c e -
covered s t r a i t s at the mouth of Lake M a i o t i s (the Sea of Azov)
as a winter highway f o r wagons. Strabo and H i p p o k r a t e s 2

des-
c r i b e herds of c a t t l e Indigenous to the r e g i o n , t h e i r horns
s t u n t e d because of the c o l d , and horses d i s p l a y i n g r e t a r d e d
development f o r the same r e a s o n . T y p i c a l of s t o r i e s intended
to impress s t r a n g e r s to the n o r t h e r n Euxine i s the r e p o r t by
S t r a b o ^ (which he c o n s i d e r s s u f f i c i e n t l y noteworthy to warrant
telling twice) about the f a t e of bronze w a t e r - j a r s l e f t out-
doors; when t h e i r f l u i d contents s o l i d i f y , the j a r s shatter.
One of the most important e f f e c t s of the c o l d w i n t e r clim-
ate, from the c o l o n i s t s ' p o i n t of view, was the I n a b i l i t y of
the r e g i o n to support c e r t a i n k i n d s of v e g e t a t i o n . Theophrast-
os^- i n h i s essay de P l a n t l b u s , e l a b o r a t e s on t h i s theme, c a t a -
l o g u i n g the p l a n t - s p e c i e s that w i l l (or w i l l not) grow i n the
harsh c o n d i t i o n s of the B l a c k Sea's h i g h e s t l a t i t u d e s . Laurel
and m y r t l e cannot s u r v i v e the c o l d , he says. Fruit-trees,
which do e x i s t on the c o a s t , are sometimes r e l u c t a n t to bear
fruit. S i g n i f i c a n t a l s o i s the l a c k of b u i l d i n g timber of good
q u a l i t y ; the few kinds of t r e e s that grow i n the r e g i o n are
1. T8.
2. T8, T18.
3. T 7 , T8.
1*. Til*.
1*9.
damp, stunted and f a r i n f e r i o r to wood produced f u r t h e r south.
That o l i v e s and grapes c o u l d not be persuaded to mature i n
the n o r t h Euxine c l i m a t e i s i m p l i e d by Strabo and Polybios. 1
I t i s i n t e r e s t i n g to compare these ancient observations
of the c l i m a t e and p r o d u c t i v i t y of the P o n t i c coast w i t h mod-
ern c l i m a t o l o g i c a l r e c o r d s f o r the same r e g i o n . Statistics
p u b l i s h e d by the B r i t i s h M e t e o r o l o g i c a l O f f i c e 2
i n d i c a t e that
s e t t l e r s from M i l e t o s d i d , indeed, f i n d c o n d i t i o n s to which
they were not accustomed. At Odessa, on the coast i n the vic-
i n i t y of O l b i a , a January minimum of minus e l e v e n degrees
Fahrenheit can be expected; at Izmir on the T u r k i s h coast near
the s i t e of M i l e t o s the r e c o r d s i n d i c a t e t h a t midday temperat-
ures of seventy degrees — s u b t r o p i c a l warmth — are not r a r e i n
January.
The v a l l e y of the Bug R i v e r near i t s mouth i s , as the
a n c i e n t w r i t e r s noted, b e t t e r s u i t e d to the p r o d u c t i o n of hardy
c e r e a l s than of t r e e s or s u b t r o p i c a l p l a n t s ; the c h i e f i n d -
u s t r y of the r e g i o n today i s wheat-farming. The possibility
of l u x u r i a n t f o r e s t - g r o w t h i s r u l e d out not o n l y by the low
winter temperatures, but a l s o by the annual r a i n f a l l of only
about f i f t e e n i n c h e s . ( T h i s does not c o n f l i c t w i t h the ancient
complaint about annoying r a i n f a l l ; n e a r l y h a l f of the total
f a l l s d u r i n g the summer months, j u s t as Herodotos recorded.3)
1. T15, T12.
2. Great B r i t a i n , M e t e o r o l o g i c a l O f f i c e , Tables of Temperature.
3. T6.,
50.
Yet the i m p l i c a t i o n t h a t f r u i t and v i n e s were i n t o l e r a n t o f
the v i c i n i t y ' s f r o s t s i s perhaps exaggerated. The coast i s
described today 1
as s u p p o r t i n g "some orchards and virteyards."
Not a l l the environmental c o n d i t i o n s on the n o r t h Eux-
ine c o a s t as d e s c r i b e d by the a n c i e n t w r i t e r s were m a t t e r s f o r
complaint; the ijegion had i t s advantages as w e l l . There was
much w i l d game to be hunted, i n c l u d i n g c e r t a i n s p e c i e s with
which the Greeks had not p r e v i o u s l y been f a m i l i a r , as Strabo

2
records. The c i t y o f O l b i a was i d e a l l y s i t u a t e d , as b o t h D i o
•x
Chrysostom and Herodotos inform u s , to r e a p the advantages o f
a n a t u r a l s a l t d e p o s i t at the j u n c t i o n o f the Borysthenes and
Hypanis R i v e r s , and of the r i c h s t u r g e o n - f i s h i n g grounds of
the Borysthenes e s t u a r y . (The commercially more d e s p i c a b l e
tunny f i s h , however, although they spawned i n the n o r t h e r n wat-
ers of the Black Sea, were l a r g e enough f o r c a t c h i n g only after
they had l e f t the v i c i n i t y of O l b i a . )
The r e g i o n surrounding O l b i a provided the arable l a n d

5
that M i l e s i a n s e t t l e r s had hoped f o r , Herodotos and P o l y b i o s
d e s c r i b e the abundance of wheat and c a t t l e that the country
1. Hooson, The S o v i e t Union, p . l 5 6 .

2. T5.
3 . T10, T i l .
1*. T13.
5. T19, T12.
51.
supplied. The mouth of the Hypanis R i v e r , w i t h i t s s h e l t e r e d
anchorage^", o f f e r e d the n a t u r a l advantage of a p o r t from which
the r e g i o n ' s produce c o u l d be embarked f o r e x p o r t . And finally,

2
as DIo Chrysostom observes, the s i t e was not without i t s
a e s t h e t i c charms.
Although evidence f o r the d e t a i l s of everyday life i n the
s i x t h or f i f t h century at O l b i a i s not p l e n t i f u l , there are
i n d i c a t i o n s of some a d a p t a t i o n s f o r c e d upon the i n h a b i t a n t s by
the demands of the p h y s i c a l environment. That the b u s i n e s s of
export and import formed an e s s e n t i a l b a s i s of the O i b i a n e x i s t -
ence i s i m p l i c i t i n the colony's p o s i t i o n ; to m a i n t a i n a Greek
way of l i f e so f a r beyond the range of the M e d i t e r r a n e a n clim-
ate must have r e q u i r e d a c o n t i n u i n g supply of many commodities
from the south. The wheat and f i s h i n which the r e g i o n abound-
ed formed O l b i a s medium of t r a d e .
1
I t seems t h a t e x t e n s i v e
areas immediately adjacent to the town i t s e l f were used f o r the

3
c u l t i v a t i o n of c e r e a l s , and a l a r g e submerged s t r u c t u r e i n
the Bug R i v e r about f i f t y y a r d s o f f the present s h o r e l i n e of the
O i b i a n "lower town" appears to have been a quay f o r d e e p - d r a f t
1. T l , T5.
2. T l .
3. Cf. Mongait, Archaeology i n the U ; S . S . R e t r a n s l a t e d by

David SKirsky, pp.190-195.
52.
v e s s e l s . A f e a t u r e of e x c a v a t i o n a t O l b i a i s the f r e q u e n c y
of the appearance of p o i n t - b a s e d amphorai t h a t were used f o r
the storage and s h i p p i n g of f o o d products.*
A l t h o u g h the presence i n O l b i a o f p o t t e r y from every part
of the Greek world, even e a r l y i n the s i x t h century B.C., and
of much j e w e l l e r y and s m a l l statuary artwork imported from
I o n i a , as w e l l as the q u i t e e a r l y attempts a t a h i g h l y civiliz-
ed s t y l e of s u b s t a n t i a l hewn-stone houses i n the town are e v i d - >
ence t h a t the c o l o n i s t s of O l b i a were eager to reproduce i n
their city the d e t a i l s o f l i f e at home i n Greece, nevertheless
c o n d i t i o n s f o r c e d upon them some p r a c t i c a l measures that r e -
mind one of the p i o n e e r i n g aspect of t h e i r f i r s t encounter w i t h
these n o r t h e r n lands. No l i f e - s i z e d sculpture has been found
on the s i t e of O l b i a , and no marble appears to have been used.
L o c a l l y made r e p r e s e n t a t i o n s of f i g u r e s are small terracottas

2
and r a t h e r crude c a r v i n g s i n stone.
As f o r the matter of p e r s o n a l d r e s s , Herodotos t e l l s u s J
that the O l b i o p o l i t a i went about the s t r e e t s of t h e i r colony i n
t r a d i t i o n a l Greek a t t i r e ; y e t D i o Chrysostom d e s c r i b e s ^ an
1. C f . Mongait, Archaeology i n the U.S.S.R., pp.190-195.
2. C f . Minns, S c y t h i a n s and Greeks, p.317.
3. T20.
1*. T22.
53.
O i b i a n f r i e n d who, p r o b a b l y because of the n o r t h e r n c l i m a t e ,
has adopted the t r o u s e r s and cloak of the S c y t h i a n n a t i v e s . A
small t e r r a c o t t a s t a t u e t t e , p o s s i b l y of O i b i a n manufacture,
i l l u s t r a t e s a Greek c o l o n i s t wearing precisely t h i s mode of
dress.^
The e a r l i e s t houses of the s e t t l e r s , as r e v e a l e d by excav-
a t i o n s at both O l b i a and the primary settlement on the island
of Berezan at the mouth of the e s t u a r y , are another concession
to the d i f f i c u l t y of the circumstances. The f i r s t O i b i a n houses
were simply p i t s i n the e a r t h r o o f e d over w i t h s a i l s and some-

2
times equipped w i t h adjacent storage p i t s . Second-generation-
houses, dated to the middle of the s i x t h century B.C., are one-
or two-roomed mudbrick s t r u c t u r e s on unusual f o u n d a t i o n s of
ashes and c l a y , demanded by the spongy nature of the r i v e r s i d e
building sites.
Even i n the much l a t e r houses c o n s t r u c t e d at a time when
O i b i a n p r o s p e r i t y made grander b u i l d i n g s and g r e a t e r freedom of
design p o s s i b l e , c o n s i d e r a t i o n s of the l o c a l c l i m a t e seem to

have been as important as the requirements of t r a d i t i o n . Al-
2
though the best preserved example of an O i b i a n house belongs
1. For a r e p r e s e n t a t i o n of t h i s t e r r a c o t t a f i g u r e , see the

appendix.
2. Cf. Minns, S c y t h i a n s and Greeks, pp.l|50-l4.90.

5k.
to a p e r i o d l a t e r than the pioneer e r a of the sixth century
at O l b i a ( I t i s a H e l l e n i s t i c house of the t h i r d century B.C.),
still, the l o c a l f a c t o r s t h a t i n f l u e n c e d i t s design are indic-
a t i v e of the s p e c i a l a r c h i t e c t u r a l problems t h a t the Olbian
s i t e f o r c e d upon b u i l d e r s there at any period. The positioning
of the house i s a s i g n i f i c a n t f e a t u r e ; the p r o s t a s , which i n
Greece would u s u a l l y open to the south, f a c e s toward the north-
e a s t , because i n O l b i a a house f a c i n g south would be unbearably
hot i n summer, w h i l e i f i t f a c e d west i t would be exposed to
the severe w e s t e r l y winds of the steppe. Another p u r e l y local
aspect of the b u i l d i n g ' s d e s i g n i s Its roof. Heavy w i n t e r snow-
falls e x p l a i n the comparatively steep p i t c h of the r o o f on
t h i s O l b i a n house; the remains show v e s t i g e s of eaves at an
angle of more than twenty degrees.
If the p h y s i c a l environment of O l b i a exerted an influence
upon the l i v e s of the Greek c o l o n i s t s , a dominant p a r t of that
i n f l u e n c e must have bjelonged to the r i v e r i t s e l f . The Hypanis
was one of those impressive south R u s s i a n r i v e r s whose grand
s c a l e was beyond the experience of the Greeks at home. The
Borysthenes estuary, which opened j u s t f o u r m i l e s below Olbia
to a b r e a d t h of more than ten m i l e s , was a sheltered inland sea
that must hsoe dominated the l i v e s of the s e t t l e r s around i t s

55.
shores. The Borysthenes, Strabo t e l l s us , was navigable f o r
a d i s t a n c e of s i x hundred stades; Dio C h r y s o s t o m 2

describes
the r i v e r ' s m a g n i f i c e n t beauty, and Herodotos^ adds t h a t i t s
e x c e p t i o n a l l y pure waters were the source of the s u r r o u n d i n g
fertility and the r o b u s t crops along the r i v e r b a n k .
•••he importance of the r i v e r i n the l i v e s of the Greek c o l -
o n i s t s i s p o i n t e d out by G.M. Hirst,^ who makes r e f e r e n c e to
the c u l t of the River-God Borysthenes at O l b i a . The c u l t , Miss
Hirst Informs us, i s r e p r e s e n t e d on O i b i a n c o i n s more o f t e n
than any other except that of A p o l l o . I l l u s t r a t i o n s of some
O i b i a n c o i n s that d e p i c t the River-God are p r o v i d e d i n the ap-
pendix below.
The e f f e c t of an a l i e n landscape upon the l i v e s of the
Greek c o l o n i s t s i s u n d e n i a b l e ; we have b o t h the testimony of the
a n c i e n t authors and the evidence of archaeology to support this
belief. But the Greeks I n the n o r t h Euxine r e g i o n f a c e d an i n -
f l u e n c e upon t h e i r l i v e s f a r more powerful than t h e i r physical
surroundings i n the S c y t h i a n n a t i v e s w i t h whom they had to d e a l
on an everyday basis. We must now c o n s i d e r the nature of those
people and of t h e i r i n t e r a c t i o n w i t h the s e t t l e r s of O l b i a .
1. T5.
2. T l .
3. T i l .
k. H i r s t , "The C u l t s of O l b i a , " J.H.S. XXII ( 1 9 0 2 ) , pp.2ll5-267.
56.
IV
THE SCYTHIANS
In almost every aspect the S c y t h i a n way of l i f e was quite
a l i e n to the Greeks; to the nomadic S c y t h i a n s who i n h a b i t e d the
n o r t h c o a s t a l r e g i o n of the B l a c k Sea, the s t a b i l i t y and r e -
s t r i c t i v e n e s s of Greek urban l i f e were e q u a l l y s t r a n g e . In s p i t e
of the c u l t u r a l d i f f e r e n c e s , however, the c o n t a c t between S c y t h -
i a n n a t i v e s and Greek c o l o n i s t s was a t most times b e n e f i c i a l to
b o t h peoples, and was to the Greeks an e s s e n t i a l f a c t o r i n the
s u c c e s s f u l development of t h e i r Euxine colonies. Nowhere was
t h i s more true than a t O l b i a .
The r e f e r e n c e above to the S c y t h i a n " n a t i v e s " i n the
vicinity of O l b i a i s perhaps y e t something of an anachronism
i n mid-seventh c e n t u r y , the p e r i o d of O l b i a ' s f i r s t settlement.
I t was d u r i n g the seventh century thajs the S c y t h i a n s them-
s e l v e s l a i d c l a i m to the t e r r i t o r y t h a t Greek c o l o n i s t s found
them occupying along the B l a c k Sea's n o r t h e r n s h o r e s . The Scyths
had moved i n t o the r e g i o n from the e a s t — H e r o d o t o s describes
the m i g r a t i o n i n h i s history'''— and had spent most of the seventh
1. IV, 2.
58.
century w r e s t i n g c o n t r o l of the l a n d from i t s p r e v i o u s tenants,
the w a r l i k e Cimmerians. The p e r i o d immediately p r e c e d i n g the
a r r i v a l of the O i b i a n s e t t l e r s was, t h e r e f o r e , a time of v i o -
l e n t unrest along the n o r t h Euxine coast.
The c o n f l i c t ended w i t h the e x p u l s i o n of the Cimmerian
nomads and the c o n t r o l of their, t e r r i t o r y by the a l s o nomadic
Scythian t r i b e s . I t was the e v e n t u a l S c y t h i a n monopoly and the
r e s u l t i n g absence of i n t e r - t r i b a l s t r i f e over t e r r i t o r y that
gave the n o r t h c o a s t of the B l a c k Sea the s t a b i l i t y necessary
f o r s u c c e s s f u l c o l o n i z a t i o n by the Greeks. Rostovtzeff says:^
The Greek c o l o n i e s on the B l a c k Sea owed t h e i r
very e x i s t e n c e to the f o r m a t i o n of s t a b l e kingdoms on the
Russian steppes....The Black Sea c o l o n i e s , exposed as
they were to a t t a c k from the n o r t h , could o n l y survive
and prosper i f the surrounding country was i n a more or
less settled condition. J u s t as the p r o s p e r i t y of the
Greek c o l o n i e s i n A s i a Minor depended on the existence
of the kingdoms of L y d i a and P e r s i a , of which they were
the maritime o u t l e t s , so O l b i a , Pantlcapae.um and Cher-
sonesos o n l y throve because a u n i t e d kingdom i n the Rus-
1 . R o s t o v t z e f f , I r a n i a n s and Greeks i n South R u s s i a , p . 1 2 .

59.
s i a n steppes guaranteed them f r e e i n t e r c o u r s e with
peoples on the banks of the g r e a t R u s s i a n r i v e r s .
C o e x i s t e n c e w i t h the S c y t h i a n peoples meant, f o r the Greeks,
a c o n f r o n t a t i o n w i t h a way of l i f e t h a t was from t h e i r point
of view somewhat u n c i v i l i z e d . There was uncertainty, for in-
stance, i n d e a l i n g w i t h a people who d i d not i n h a b i t permanent
c i t i e s , but were e s s e n t i a l l y nomads. The e l u s i v e nature: of
the Scyths i s a theme upon which Greek w r i t e r s dwelt at great
length. Herodotos* p o i n t s out t h a t , h a v i n g no f i x e d headquart-
ers, the S c y t h i a n s are capable of moving s w i f t l y across the
land, a t t a c k i n g and d i s p e r s i n g i n t o the h i n t e r l a n d where they
are i n v i n c i b l e . Hippokrates 2
describes the wagons i n which the
nomads make t h e i r homes; a n a t i o n on wheels seemed r a t h e r un-
trustworthy to the Greek c o l o n i s t s .
Although i t Is true t h a t In Herodotos' day the Scythian
t r i b e s near O l b i a had begun to adopt the stationary, agricult-

i.
ural l i f e of t h e i r Greek neighbours, they must s t i l l have been
warrior nomads i n the l a s t h a l f of the seventh century, so
shortly after their expulsion of the Cimmerians. Sophisticated
1. T16.
2. T l 8 .
3. T19.
60.
though these S c y t h i a n s may have been i n some ways — p a r t i c u l a r -
ly i n the e x c e l l e n c e of t h e i r a r t s , as we shall see— they
presented what must have been a v e r y savage exterior. In the
roughness of t h e i r d r e s s , 1
i n t h e i r d i s d a i n f o r the civilized
2
p u r s u i t of a g r i c u l t u r e , and In the c r u e l harshness of t h e i r
religious rites (which o c c a s i o n a l l y demanded human s a c r i f i c e ^ ) ,
the S c y t h i a n s o f f e r e d cause f o r h e s i t a n c y on the p a r t o f new-
comers to t h e i r territory.
That the f i r s t M i l e s i a n migrants to the Borysthenes estu-
ary f e l t uneasy about t h e i r nomadic neighbours can be seen i n
the c a u t i o u s nature of t h e i r f i r s t settlement. As a p r e l u d e to
e n t e r i n g the Hypanis R i v e r and e s t a b l i s h i n g the c i t y of O l b i a
itself, the c o l o n i s t s stopped i n i t i a l l y at Berezan, an i s l a n d
in the mouth of the e s t u a r y . P i t - d w e l l i n g s and s l i g h t l y more
e l a b o r a t e single-roomed mudbrick houses have been found on the
island, as w e l l as p o t t e r y of the l a t e seventh c e n t u r y , a l l of
i t E a s t Greek — Rhodian, Chian and Klazomenian wsre.
The o r i g i n a l motive f o r the choice of Berezan as a s i t e f o r
the colony was c l e a r l y not n a v i g a t i o n a l convenience; the i s l a n d ,
which f a c e s the open sea and i s beyond the p r o t e c t i o n of the
e s t u a r y , has a r e a s o n a b l e anchorage, but no true harbour.
1. T9.
2. T16.
3. Herodotos, IV, 72.
61.
Apart from the i s l a n d ' s s t r a t e g i c p o s i t i o n i n r e l a t i o n t o the
sturgeon-fishing industry, i t f a i l e d to p r o v i d e access t o the
n a t u r a l ( c h i e f l y a g r i c u l t u r a l ) r e s o u r c e s of the mainland.
C l e a r l y a major c o n s i d e r a t i o n was the s e p a r a t i o n of the i s l a n d
from mainland neighbours whom the f i r s t c o l o n i s t s d i d not t r u s t .
E v e n t u a l l y , however, the Greeks, i f a s u c c e s s f u l colony
such as O l b i a was ever to become a r e a l i t y , had t o e s t a b l i s h a
b a s i s of c o o p e r a t i o n w i t h the S c y t h i a n p e o p l e s . There i s e v i d -
ence i n both the l i t e r a r y and the a r c h a e o l o g i c a l r e c o r d s t h a t
t r a d e was the means by which t h i s c o o p e r a t i o n was e f f e c t e d . It
can be seen i n the S c y t h i a n s ' own a r t i s t i c endeavours t h a t they
prized the l u x u r i e s of artwork and f i n e c r a f t s m a n s h i p ; the
c o l o n i s t s at O l b i a were a source o f these Items and other com-
m o d i t i e s that the n o r t h e r n steppes lacked — c h i e f l y wine and
oil. To a c q u i r e these l u x u r i e s the S c y t h i a n s had to have out-
l e t s f o r the products of t h e i r own s o c i e t y , h i d e s , m e t a l s , wheat
and s l a v e s , " the export of which t h e i r u n f a m i l i a r i t y w i t h s h i p s

1
and the sea g r e a t l y hindered.
That the S c y t h i a n s welcomed a f r i e n d l y exchange of goods
w i t h the Greek c o l o n i s t s at O l b i a a t an e a r l y stage o f the
1. T l 5 ( a d e s c r i p t i o n of the exchange of goods between Greeks

and S c y t h i a n s at T a n a i s , b u t e q u a l l y d e s c r i p t i v e of the
trade at nearby O l b i a ) .
62.
colony's development i s e v i d e n t i n the E a s t Greek p o t t e r y and
j e w e l l e r y t h a t appears i n S c y t h i a n graves near O l b i a . One
of the e a r l i e s t Greek vases r e c o v e r e d i n South R u s s i a i s from
a S c y t h i a n tomb of the l a t e seventh century, near Nemirov on the
Bug R i v e r , two hundred m i l e s upstream from O l b i a . 1

Nearer O l -
b i a , i n s i x t h - c e n t u r y S c y t h i a n tombs on the Borysthenes e s t u -

p
ary, there are Greek bronze m i r r o r s w i t h f i g u r e d supports, and
n o r t h of O l b i a remains of a r c h a i c Greek bronzes i n c l u d i n g a
l a r g e bronze c r a t e r . At a l a t e r stage, i n an e a r l y f i f t h - cent-
ury tomb on the e s t u a r y between O l b i a and Berezan, the occup-
ant of the grave, a S c y t h i a n w a r r i o r , i s p r o v i d e d w i t h two Chian
wine j a r s , an A t h e n i a n cup, a Greek bronze d i p p e r and a strain-
er i n c i s e d w i t h a Greek d e s i g n .
By the date at which t h i s w a r r i o r was b u r i e d , accompanied
by items a c q u i r e d at nearby O l b i a , a f i r m p a t t e r n of commerc-
ial i n t e r c o u r s e had been e s t a b l i s h e d between the c o l o n i s t s and

3
t h e i r S c y t h i a n neighbours. Herodotos t e l l s of land-tilling
S c y t h i a n s who raise crops not f o r t h e i r own consumption, but
p u r e l y f o r s a l e to the c o l o n i s t s at O l b i a . Rostovtzeff^" com-
1. Boardman, The Greeks Overseas, p.2£2.
2. i b i d . , p.272.
3. T19.
I*. R o s t o v t z e f f , I r a n i a n s and Greeks i n South R u s s i a , p.12.
63.
ments that "Scythians and Greeks c o n s t i t u t e d an economic u n i t ,
and t h e i r muttial i n f l u e n c e was n e c e s s a r i l y the dominant f a c t -
or i n t h e i r lives."
The c o o p e r a t i o n between S c y t h i a n s and Greeks at O l b i a i s
seen not o n l y i n t h e i r m u t u a l l y beneficial trading arrange-
ments, but i n the e v e n t u a l p a r t i c i p a t i o n of at l e a s t some S c y t h -
i a n s i n the urban l i f e of O l b i a . In f a c t the p r e c i s e p o s i t i o n
of the Greek c o l o n i s t s seems to have been t h a t of tenants on
t e r r i t o r y l e a s e d from the S c y t h i a n t r i b a l kings,, who retained
the r i g h t to some s o r t of r e p r e s e n t a t i o n i n the administration
of the colony. Strabo t e l l s us t h a t the a g r i c u l t u r a l lands
used by the c o l o n i s t s i n a l l the Greek c i t i e s on the north
Euxine coast are l e a s e d to them by the S c y t h i a n s , whose peace-
ful c o o p e r a t i o n depends upon a r e g u l a r payment of r e n t .
Some of the S c y t h i a n s apparently r e s i d e d w i t h i n O l b i a ;
among the graves i n the cemeteries immediately o u t s i d e the city's
w a l l s are a number of o b v i o u s l y S c y t h i a n b u r i a l s , w i t h the
bodies laid i n their tombs i n the f o e t a l p o s i t i o n (a Scytohian
custom) and b u r i e d w i t h S c y t h i a n weapons. Prom the size and
1. Although there i s no evidence f o r the c o n s t i t u t i o n a l s t r u c t -

ure of the colony i n the e a r l y p e r i o d , much l a t e r i n -
s c r i p t i o n s and c o i n s i s s u e d at O l b i a i n the f o u r t h and
t h i r d c e n t u r i e s I n d i c a t e the e x i s t e n c e of a m a g i s t r a t e
(perhaps a f i g u r e h e a d ) , the "King Archon," whose r e p r e s -
e n t a t i o n on the c o i n s i s o f t e n as a l o n g - h a i r e d , bearded
S c y t h i a n type. One such K i n g Archon, d e p i c t e d on a f i f t h -
century c o i n of O l b i a (Minns, S c y t h i a n s and Greeks, p . i j . 8 7 ) ,
has the probably S c y t h i a n name f r M i r ' A K O .
2. T17.
61*.
s t y l e of these graves i t appears that the occupants were not
important c i t i z e n s , nor prominent i n t h e i r own Scythian soc-
iety. As a r u l e , i t seems, S c y t h i a n r e s i d e n t s i n O l b i a d i d not
occupy p o s i t i o n s of any considerable authority. A . J . Graham
observes 1
t h a t , "of the names p r e s e r v e d on i n s c r i p t i o n s from
the s i x t h to the f o u r t h c e n t u r i e s , o n l y f o u r are non-Greek, and
among the names of the m a g i s t r a t e s , none." Here Graham i s ex-
c l u d i n g , of course, the numismatic evidence.
But the house i n O l b i a of a wealthy S c y t h i a n i s d e s c r i b e d
by Herodotos i n h i s s t o r y of S k y l e s , one of the S c y t h i a n kings.
The at l e a s t u n o f f i c i a l i n f l u e n c e of a S c y t h i a n k i n g i n the
Greek colony can be r e a d between the l i n e s of t h i s s t o r y , which
occupies chapters seventy-eight to e i g h t y , i n c l u s i v e , of Book
IV. One d e r i v e s c o n s i d e r a b l e i n s i g h t i n t o the strategic relat-
i o n s h i p between the Greek c o l o n i s t s and the S c y t h i a n k i n g s —
the tenants and t h e i r l a n d l o r d s — w h e n one r e a d s of Skyles
marching up to the gates of O l b i a w i t h the S c y t h i a n army at h i s
back. I t i s l i t t l e wonder t h a t he f e l t q u i t e at h i s ease
while p l a y i n g the game of O i b i a n c i t i z e n s h i p , knowing t h a t h i s
army attended him at the gates of the city.
1. Graham, Colony and Mother C i t y i n A n c i e n t Greece, p.101*.
2. T20.
65.
The O l b i a n house of S k y l e s , as d e s c r i b e d by Herodotos, i s
a measure of h i s i n f l u e n c e and prominence I n the Greek colony.
I t i s a "great and expensive house" and, with i t s ostentatious
d e c o r a t i o n , one of the showplaces of the c i t y . It i s interest-
i n g to note, too, t h a t S k y l e s ' w i f e was an O l b i a n woman; here
we have the most c e l e b r a t e d s t o r y of i n t e r m a r r i a g e between a
S c y t h i a n and a Greek colonist.*
The s t o r y of S k y l e s , of course, r e p r e s e n t s the p o t e n t i a l
i n f l u e n c e of a S c y t h i a n k i n g at O l b i a , r a t h e r than the normal
r e l a t i o n s h i p of the kings and the O l b i a n c o l o n i s t s . Herodotos'
purpose i n r e l a t i n g t h i s s t o r y , as i n the s t o r y of Anacharsis
that precedes i t , i s to acknowledge two notable exceptions to
the g e n e r a l o b s e r v a t i o n that "these Scythians scrupulously avoid
f a l l i n g i n w i t h f o r e i g n customs, and of a l l n a t i o n s ' customs
they shun those of the Greeks e s p e c i a l l y . " 2

Yet, as we have
seen i n the a r c h a e o l o g i c a l evidence mentioned above, the Scyth-
i a n s were not averse to a c c e p t i n g the m a t e r i a l b e n e f i t s of the'
Greek c u l t u r e ; i t appears to have been Greek r e l i g i o n , s p e c i f -
i c a l l y , from which they p r e f e r r e d to remain a l o o f .
1. I n t e r m a r r i a g e at O l b i a and i t e f f e c t s w i l l be f u r t h e r d i s -
cussed i n Chapter VI below.
2. IV, 76.
66.
The r e l i g i o n of the S c y t h i a n s was powerfully governed by
two dominant f a c t o r s : the p h y s i c a l environment, i n i n t i m a t e con-
t a c t w i t h which these nomads l i v e d , and the immense importance
t h a t they attached to the l i f e beyond the grave. T h e i r homage
was p a i d , Herodotos t e l l s u s , l to gods r e p r e s e n t i n g motherhood
and the e a r t h — T a b i t i and A p i a . T h e i r own ancestor was the
R i v e r God, Borysthenes. The p l a c e of t h e i r worship was the
land i t s e l f ; temples, as Herodotos observes, were not a normal
p a r t of t h e i r religion.
The important p l a c e h e l d i n the S c y t h i a n r i t u a l by death
and i t s aftermath can be seen i n the l a v i s h l y extravagant burial
rites^ i n v o l v i n g embalming of the body, s e l f - m u t i l a t i o n by rel-
a t i v e s and f o l l o w e r s , the Inhumation of t r e a s u r e , and, most
d r a m a t i c a l l y , human s a c r i f i c e . A r c h a e o l o g i c a l c o r r o b o r a t i o n of
t h i s Herodotean i n f o r m a t i o n i s found i n the m a g n i f i c e n t tumuli
of the noble Scyths, the o n l y s i g n i f i c a n t monumental remains of
their culture.
All these aspects of the S c y t h i a n r e l i g i o n were founded
upon i n s t i n c t s s u f f i c i e n t l y powerful to w i t h s t a n d , to a l a r g e
extent, the i n f i l t r a t i o n of i n c o m p a t i b l e ideas. Thus, i n the
1. IV, 59.
2. IV, 5.
3. IV, 71.
67.
s i x t h century when the S c y t h i a n p h i l o s o p h e r A n a c h a r s i s , i r e t u r n -
i n g to S c y t h i a a f t e r c o n s o r t i n g w i t h the Greeks a t Athens, was
observed practising a Greek r e l i g i o u s r i t e , h i s own b r o t h e r
slew him w i t h an arrow. I n the s t o r y o f S k y l e s , t o o , the S c y t h -
i a n k i n g ' s a s s o c i a t i o n w i t h the m i s t r u s t e d Greek r i t e of D i o -
nysos r e s u l t s i n h i s e x p u l s i o n from the ranks o f h i s own people.
Of perhaps g r e a t e s t importance i n a catalogue o f the a t -
t r i b u t e s o f the S c y t h i a n people i s the e x c e l l e n c e o f t h e i r a r t ,
p a r t i c u l a r l y l n the f i e l d o f wrought and c a s t metal-work. The
c o l o n i s t s at O l b i a , e n c o u n t e r i n g the q u i t e non-Greek s t y l e s of
S c y t h i c a r t f o r the f i r s t time i n t h e i r e a r l y trade w i t h the
c o a s t a l n a t i v e s , were immediately exposed to the most powerful
s i n g l e i n f l u e n c e t h e i r new environment would ever b r i n g to bear
upon them.
Although the S c y t h i c s t y l e i s so d i s t i n c t i v e t h a t i t can
e a s i l y be d e s c r i b e d v e r b a l l y , the i l l u s t r a t i o n s i n the appendix
to t h i s study w i l l a s s i s t the r e a d e r i n g r a s p i n g the q u a l i t y of
some o f the work. While Greek a r t i s t s experimented widely with
the human f i g u r e , and w i t h the p o r t r a y a l of human a c t i v i t y ,
scenes i n c l u d i n g the human f i g u r e were e s s e n t i a l l y f o r e i g n to
the S c y t h i c a r t i s t . The b a s i c themes f o r S c y t h i a n works o f a r t
i n bone, wood or metal are f l o r a l and animal shapes d e p i c t e d

68.
i n the form of s w i r l i n g semi-abstract designs.
A s t r i k i n g c h a r a c t e r i s t i c of the S c y t h i a n a n i m a l - s t y l e i s
the use of s h a r p l y c o n t r a s t e d s l a n t i n g planes t h a t meet along
distinct j u n c t u r e s to c r e a t e b o l d , c u r v i n g l i n e s of design.
The most e x c i t i n g aspect of t h i s work i s the d i s c o v e r y , by the
S c y t h i a n a r t i s t , of the s e c r e t of c a p t u r i n g the essence of mot-
i o n , while d e p i c t i n g an animal s u b j e c t at r e s t ; i t i s a matter
of s t r i k i n g the body through and through w i t h t i g h t l y coiled
p a t t e r n s of sinuous line.
This l i v e l y s t y l e was a p p l i e d by i t s S c y t h i a n i n v e n t o r s to
a wide v a r i e t y of p r a c t i c a l c r a f t s . I t c h a r a c t e r i z e s the dec-
o r a t i o n of the weapons and the p e r s o n a l j e w e l l e r y found i n Scyth'
i a n tombs of the e a r l y s i x t h c e n t u r y , and i t i s the b a s i s of
an e n t i r e S c y t h i a n i n d u s t r y — the p r o d u c t i o n of worked metal
p l a q u e s ( o f t e n gold) t h a t became an e s s e n t i a l p a r t of the cloth-
i n g , armour and r i d i n g equipment of the Scyths. Among the
forms most o f t e n r e p r e s e n t e d on these plaques and i n the jewel-
l e r y are the stag, the l i o n and the g r i f f i n . The latter had
special s i g n i f i c a n c e to the S c y t h i a n s , as I t had a l s o to the
Egyptians and the S y r i a n s ; i t i s a m o t i f t h a t appears everywhere
1. See Minns, "The A r t of the N o r t h e r n Nomads," Proceedings of

the B r i t i s h Academy(191*2) , pp.lj.7-8l; R i c e , The S c y t h i a n s ,
passim.
69.
i n S c y t h i c a r t , . I n c l u d i n g , as Herodotos noted, the decoration
of Skyles 1
house at O l b i a .
In c o n t r a s t w i t h the m a g n i f i c e n c e of t h e i r metal-working
a r t s , the p o t t e r y of the Scyths i s uninteresting; i t i s purely
u t i l i t a r i a n i n design. T
he bowls, j a r s and d r i n k i n g v e s s e l s of
S c y t h i a n o r i g i n are simple i n d e c o r a t i o n , and n o r m a l l y grey or
d u l l black i n colour.
From the d i s c u s s i o n above, one can gather some f e e l i n g f o r
the S c y t h i a n world i n t o which the c o l o n i s t s at O l b i a t r a n s p l a n t -
ed t h e i r Greek s o c i e t y . In some aspects i t was a harsh and
f r i g h t e n i n g world; the b e s t of the n a t i v e s were a p p a r e n t l y un-
c i v i l i z e d nomads, and the worst were r e p u t e d 1

to be cannibals.
Other aspects of the S c y t h i a n people were more a p p e a l i n g ; they
were w i l l i n g to c o e x i s t w i t h the Greeks, and i n certain fields
of endeavour each of the two r a c e s found t h a t . the other could
be of s e r v i c e . I f the r e l a t i o n s h i p tended to be t h a t of power-
ful, though benevolent, k i n g s and t h e i r r e n t - p a y i n g guests, still
the O l b i a n way of l i f e was capable of a r o u s i n g a c a u t i o u s r e -
spect i n the minds of the b e s t of the S c y t h i a n s . And in return,
as we shall see i n a l a t e r chapter, the Greeks p a i d the Scythians,
to at l e a s t a l i m i t e d e x t e n t , the compliment of imitation.
1. T19.
70.
V.
CONNEXION WITH THE OUTSIDE WORLD
The power of the u n f a m i l i a r p h y s i c a l environment of the
Hypanis R i v e r and of the a l i e n and half-civilized Scythian
people to shape the development of O l b i a ' s c u l t u r e was depend-
ent, i n p a r t , on the e x c l u s i v e n e s s of t h e i r i n f l u e n c e upon the
Oibian colonists. To what extent was the colony i s o l a t e d i n
these surroundings, and what was the nature of her contact with
other c e n t r e s of Greek life?
It i s c l e a r t h a t i n the e a r l i e s t p e r i o d of O l b i a ' s exist-
ence her connexion w i t h the o u t s i d e world was tenuous. As we
have seen In Chapter I I I , t r a v e l northward i n t o the Black Sea
was a d i f f i c u l t undertaking because of the n a t u r a l hazards to
n a v i g a t i o n on the r o u t e , and because of p i r a c y , which still
threatened every s h i p that ventured along the Euxine coast of
n o r t h e r n Thrace. The d i s t a n c e of O l b i a from the mother city,
M i l e t o s , was almost a thousand m i l e s by sea, a c o n s i d e r a b l e voy-
age f o r o a r - d r i v e n ships t h a t were capable of an average speed,
a g a i n s t the p r e v a i l i n g n o r t h e r l y winds, of perhaps three or

71.
f o u r knots. A n c i e n t r e f e r e n c e s to these v a r i o u s d i f f i c u l t i e s
2
are found i n A r c h i l o c h o s , Xenophon and P l i n y , as we have not-
ed above.
The n e a r e s t c e n t r e s of Greek c i v i l i z a t i o n were, of course,
the o t h e r Greek c o l o n i e s s i t u a t e d on the shores of the B l a c k
Sea; i t was to these c i t i e s that O l b i a n s c o u l d most e a s i l y sail,
keeping at a l l times w i t h i n s i g h t of the coast and w i t h i n mod-
e r a t e range of the r e l a t i v e s e c u r i t y of t h e i r own territory.
In the f i r s t decades of i t s s e t t l e m e n t O l b i a was truly isolated,
for t h e r e were few c l o s e neighbours. Although the f o u n d i n g of
O l b i a d u r i n g the f i r s t of three waves of c o l o n i z a t i o n i n t o the

3
B l a c k Sea was r o u g h l y contemporaneous w i t h t h a t of I s t r o s on
the western shore of the Euxine, and Sinope on the south c o a s t ,
these s e t t l e m e n t s were q u i t e remote from O l b i a . The journey
to I s t r o s i n v o l v e d a c o a s t a l voyage of over two hundred m i l e s ;
the journey to Sinope — a d i r e c t , open-sea c r o s s i n g — was
three hundred and f i f t y m i l e s .
A second wave of c o l o n i z a t i o n , In the f i r s t h a l f of the
s i x t h century B.C., added two important s e t t l e m e n t s to the
1. Carpenter, OJJ. c i t . , pp.1-10.
2. T23, T21+, T2£.
3. Roebuck, I o n i a n Trade and C o l o n i z a t i o n , p. 121*.

72.
north c o a s t — P a n t l k a p a i o n , two hundred m i l e s e a s t of O l b i a ,
and T y r a s , l e s s than a hundred m i l e s to the west. In the second
h a l f of the s i x t h century numerous other c o l o n i e s sprang up
along the n o r t h c o a s t , i n c l u d i n g Chersonesos, which, l o c a t e d on
a s h e l t e r i n g harbour near the southern t i p of the Crimean pen-
i n s u l a , formed an important halfway stop-over on both the l o n g
c r o s s i n g to Sinope and the eastward c o a s t a l voyage to Pantikap-
aion.
The most important reason f o r m a i n t a i n i n g r e l a t i o n s with
other Greek c i t i e s on the B l a c k Sea was what had prompted the
first c o n t a c t between the c o l o n i s t s and t h e i r S c y t h i a n n e i g h -
b o u r s — the need f o r t r a d e . A n a t u r a l exchange of commodities
between the c i t i e s of the n o r t h coast and those of the south
( e s p e c i a l l y the important colony of Sinope) arose because of
the g e o g r a p h i c a l d i f f e r e n c e s of the two r e g i o n s . While timber
of good q u a l i t y f o r c o n s t r u c t i o n was, as Theophrastos t e l l s us, 1
r a r e on the n o r t h coast of the B l a c k Sea, Sinope w i t h i t s a l -
most s u b - t r o p i c a l c l i m a t e was provided with l u x u r i a n t f o r e s t -
growth, the n e a r e s t e x p o r t a b l e timber supply to O l b i a . The
superb harbour of Sinope, the only harbour on the e n t i r e south
1. Tib,.
73.
coast, made t h a t c i t y a market f o r the southward-moving trade
of the B l a c k Sea, f o r the g r a i n , h i d e s , s l a v e s and r e f i n e d salt
t h a t were O l b i a ' s e x p o r t a b l e p r o d u c t s . I n i t s key p o s i t i o n
Sinope was the n a t u r a l meeting p l a c e f o r the t r a d i n g e n t e r p r i s e s
of the n o r t h and e a s t c o a s t s o f the B l a c k Sea; S t r a b o 1

confirms
that t h i s was the case.
Although O l b i a was the most remote B l a c k Sea colony from
t h i s centre o f commerce, her t r a d i n g v e s s e l s found t h e i r way
e a s i l y i n t o the busy harbour of Sinope. Seamen n a v i g a t i n g
south from O l b i a by way o f the s t o p p i n g - p l a c e at Chersonesos
c o u l d , on days o f c l e a r e s t v i s i b i l i t y , j u s t c a t c h s i g h t of the
headland a t Sinope w h i l e the h i l l s of the Crimea were s t i l l vis-
ible astern. The passage from Ghersbnesos to Sinope i s the o n l y
direct c r o s s i n g of the B l a c k Sea t h a t can be made without l o s -

2
ing s i g h t of l a n d .
Strong t r a d i n g connexions between O l b i a and the neighbour-
ing c o l o n i e s are r e f l e c t e d i n numerous i n s c r i p t i o n s g r a n t i n g
proxeny to c i t i z e n s of these s t a t e s . The e a r l i e s t decree, a
1. XII, 3, 11.
2. L e a f , "The Commerce of Sinope," J.H.S., XXXVI (1916), pp.1-15.

Ik.
fifth-century inscription, extends the r i g h t of c i t i z e n s h i p
and s p e c i a l t r a d i n g p r i v i l e g e s to a f a m i l y of Mesembrla, a
colony o f Megara on the western shore o f the B l a c k Sea. I t can
be seen from the r e g u l a r t r a d i n g r e l a t i o n s e s t a b l i s h e d i n t h i s
t r e a t y between O l b i a and c o l o n i s t s at Mesembria t h a t , by the
fifth century a t l e a s t , l o n g c o a s t a l voyages were a normal and
frequent undertaking i n the B l a c k Sea. The passage to Mesem-
bria, a southward journey of n e a r l y f o u r hundred m i l e s along the
western shore of the sea, would i n v o l v e stops at s e v e r a l maj-
or c e n t r e s , i n c l u d i n g T y r a s , I s t r o s , Tomis, K a l l a t i s and Odessos.
Although s i m i l a r voyages were a l s o made to the e a s t e r n
c i t i e s of the n o r t h c o a s t , the t e d i o u s r o u t e around the great
p r o t r u d i n g headland of the Crimea (whose c o a s t a l c i t i e s were
not e s t a b l i s h e d u n t i l the l a t e wave of c o l o n i z a t i o n near the
end o f the s i x t h century) c r e a t e d a g e o g r a p h i c a l h i a t u s between
the two d i s t i n c t groups of c o l o n i e s on the n o r t h c o a s t . Olbia,
the most prominent s e t t l e m e n t of the western group, found her
most n a t u r a l c o n t a c t s i n the nearby c i t i e s t o the west — Tyras
and Istros. P a n t i k a p a i o n , which l a t e r assumed l e a d e r s h i p o f
the c i t i e s c l u s t e r e d around the Cimmerian . Bosporos (the mod-
e r n Kerch S t r a i t ) to form the Regnum Bosporanum, n a t u r a l l y
1. T26 .
75.
looked to these easily a c c e s s i b l e c e n t r e s on the e a s t e r n s i d e
of the Crimean b a r r i e r .
A f t e r the end o f the s i x t h century, however, s h i p s from
O l b i a , making use of the s h e l t e r p r o v i d e d at Chersonesos and
Theodosia, could pass the dangerous promontory of the Crimea i n
order to r e a c h the important c i t i e s of P a n t i k a p a i o n and Phana-
goria. D i s c u s s i n g the s i t e s of the l a t e r c o l o n i e s on the Black
Sea's n o r t h c o a s t , Roebuck observes* that "the s e l e c t i o n of
Chersonesos probably i n d i c a t e s the k n i t t i n g together of the Eux-
ine c o l o n i e s i n the l a t t e r p a r t of the century, f o r i t was a
u s e f u l p o r t of c a l l on c r o s s i n g s . . . from O l b i a to the towns
i n the Cimmerian Bosporos." By the end of the p e r i o d under study
here, c o n t a c t between c i t i e s of the e a s t e r n and western groups
was frequent. Both Herodotos and Strabo (who, of course, des-
c r i b e s the r e g i o n at a l a t e r date) d i s c u s s the v i c i n i t i e s of
the Borysthenes and the Cimmerian Bosporos as p a r t s of a s i n g l e
neighbourhood.
But O l b i a ' s i n t e r c o u r s e was c l e a r l y not only w i t h cities
w i t h i n the B l a c k Sea. Numerous f i n d s of p o t t e r y and other manu-
1. Roebuck, I o n i a n Trade and C o l o n i z a t i o n , p,12lj..
2. T6, T8.
76.
factured goods that had t h e i r o r i g i n s i n a s u r p r i s i n g v a r i e t y
of Greek c i t i e s a t t e s t to the c o n t i n u i n g i n f l u e n c e of the out-
s i d e world upon O l b i a at q u i t e an e a r l y date. I n a d d i t i o n to
the p l e n t i f u l E a s t Greek p o t t e r y t h a t one might expect t o f i n d
on the s i t e o f a M i l e s i a n colony, O l b i a has y i e l d e d A t t i c , K o r -
i n t h i a n and even E r e t r i a n vases of the e a r l i e r h a l f of the s i x t h
century B.C. Among the most e x o t i c wares r e c o v e r e d from the
site are a s i x t h - c e n t u r y goblet from N a u k r a t i s and a f i f t h - cent-
ury b l a c k - f i g u r e h y d r i a of shape and t e c h n i c a l c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s
t h a t suggest E t r u s c a n origin. Graves at O l b i a o f b o t h Greeks
and S c y t h i a n s c o n t a i n many l u x u r y items imported from cities
i n Greece, i n c l u d i n g j e w e l l e r y , o i l f l a s k s and s t r i g i l s . Al-
though no l i f e - s i z e d statuary has been unearthed at O l b i a , small
t e r r a c o t t a s and bronzes are found, imported from I o n i a , and
a fourth-century i n s c r i p t i o n , apparently
1
a fragment from the
base of a work of s c u l p t u r e , contains the name o f P r a x i t e l e s .
That O l b i a ' s connexion w i t h the Greek c i t i e s from which such
imports a r r i v e d was a commercial connexion i s suggested by the
great mimber of p o i n t - b a s e d amphorai found on the s i t e , of a
type used f o r the storage and s h i p p i n g of f o o d .
1. Latyshev, I n s c r i p t i o n e s Orae S e p t e n t r i o n a l i s P o n t i Eux-

i n i , I , p. 11*5.
J
77.
There i s evidence f o r the e x i s t e n c e of t r a n s p o r t f o r
passengers between the Euxine and Greece as e a r l y as the b e g i n -
n i n g of the s i x t h c e n t u r y . The journey of the S c y t h i a n p h i l -
osopher A n a c h a r s i s to the c i t i e s of Greece i n Solon's day (prob-
ably as a passenger on a Greek s h i p t r a v e l l i n g south and r e -
t u r n i n g to O l b i a , s i n c e the S c y t h i a n s themselves were landsmen)
i s r e p o r t e d by Herodotos.^ I t i s s i g n i f i c a n t a l s o t h a t Hero-
dotos h i m s e l f i n the f i f t h century found i t p o s s i b l e to t r a v e l
e x t e n s i v e l y i n the n o r t h e r n Euxine.
If the remoteness of i t s p o s i t i o n and the hazards of n a v i -
g a t i o n f o r c e d upon O l b i a a degree of i s o l a t i o n i n the earliest
p e r i o d of s e t t l e m e n t , t h a t i s o l a t i o n was no l o n g e r a r e a l i t y
in the l a t t e r h a l f of the f i f t h century. The voyage of P e r I k i e s

2
into the B l a c k Sea may have been an attempt to secure f o r
Athens the important g r a i n - p r o d u c i n g c e n t r e s of the r e g i o n by
r e p l a c i n g w i t h Athenian t i e s the c o l o n i s t s ' o l d e r l o c a l ties
with Scythian kings. I n the y e a r s f o l l o w i n g P e r i k l e s ' tour of
the Euxine, many of the c o l o n i e s appeared on an A t h e n i a n list
of P o n t i c s t a t e s ; i n t h i s p a n e l , c a l l e d " C i t i e s of the Euxine,"
1. T20.
2. See Chapter VII f o r a d i s c u s s i o n of the date of t h i s voyage.
3. A9, IV, 162, i n M e r i t t , Wade-Gery and McGregor, The Athenian

T r i b u t e L i s t s , I I , p.109.
78.
most o f O l b i a ' s n e a r e s t neighbours can be i d e n t i f i e d , i n -
c l u d i n g T y r a s immediately to the west and K a r k i n i t i s and Tamy-
rake immediately east o f O l b i a . A l t h o u g h the name of O l b i a
cannot be i d e n t i f i e d w i t h c e r t a i n t y on the l i s t , i t i s likely
t h a t the colony was i n c l u d e d . There i s an assessment of one
t a l e n t entered f o r a state 0 [ - - ,
, which could be r e s t o r e d
as O l b i a . S i n c e other P o n t i c c i t i e s that had g r a i n f o r export
to Greece — notably P a n t i k a p a i o n and other c o l o n i e s on the Cim
merian Bosporos — w e r e l i s t e d as p o t e n t i a l t r i b u t a r i e s t o
Athens, I t i s probable t h a t O l b i a , a l s o competing i n the g r a i n -
exporting market, was among the c i t i e s that appeared on the
list.
In:any case near the end o f the f i f t h century O l b i a no
longer o c c u p i e d a p o s i t i o n of i s o l a t i o n from the Greek world.
The possible t r i b u t a r y r e l a t i o n s h i p of the c o l o n i e s to Athens
and the l a r g e - s c a l e export of produce from the B l a c k Sea made
the Euxine a f o c a l p o i n t o f Greek maritime traffic.
While attempting to assess the e f f e c t o f O l b i a ' s remote
n o r t h e r n l o c a t i o n on the l i v e s of the c o l o n i s t s one must con-
s i d e r the connexion of O l b i a to the mother c i t y , M i l e t o s . A l -
though the r e l a t i o n s h i p o f colony to mother c i t y i n a n c i e n t

79.
Greece d i d not u s u a l l y i n v o l v e the p o l i t i c a l dependence t h a t
bound a n i n e t e e n t h - c e n t u r y B r i t i s h colony, f o r Instance, to the
mother country, commercial l i n k s were l i k e l y to e x i s t . In
the case of O l b i a there i s an i n d i c a t i o n i n the predominantly
E a s t Greek p o t t e r y found on the s i t e , as we have seen, t h a t
much of the colony's commercial i n t e r c o u r s e was with Miletos.
I t i s i n t e r e s t i n g to observe t h a t , a c c o r d i n g to H e r o d o t o s , 1
the i n h a b i t a n t s of O l b i a r e f e r r e d to themselves as M i l e s i a n s .
Yet, a l t h o u g h t h i s f a c t i s evidence of the c o l o n i s t s ' c o n t i n u i n g
i n t e r e s t i n the mother c i t y , i t does not imply the political

2
dependence of O l b i a upon M i l e t o s . As Graham p o i n t s out, there
are numerous i n s t a n c e s that i l l u s t r a t e the p r a c t i c e of designate
i n g c o l o n i s t s by the e t h n i c a d j e c t i v e of t h e i r p l a c e s of origin;
he cites as examples the name of rTo94yo/3<*s SVpioc , a citizen
not of Samos but of K r o t o n i n Magna G r a e c i a , and Thucydides'
reference to c o l o n i s t s from Zankle as o< Â.McSrjs-
The p r e c i s e n a t u r e of the c o l o n i s t s ' connexion w i t h M i l -
etos i s o u t l i n e d i n a f o u r t h - c e n t u r y i n s c r i p t i o n ^ - from M i l e t o s .
The importance of t h i s d e c r e e , which was I n s c r i b e d on stone
1. T20.
2. Graham, Colony and Mother C i t y i n A n c i e n t Greece, p.100.
3. VI, 5, 1.
k. T27.
80.
about 330 B.C., i s i n c r e a s e d f o r the p r e s e n t study by the f a c t
that i t appears to be a restatement o f terms t h a t were e s t a b -
l i s h e d at a much e a r l i e r d a t e . The evidence f o r t h i s w i l l be
c o n s i d e r e d a f t e r we have examined the c o n t e n t s of the decree.
The document, although I t i s worded i n such a way as to
d e a l p r i m a r i l y w i t h the r i g h t s o f a M i l e s i a n i n the colony o f
O l b i a , i s a t r e a t y between equal s t a t e s ; i t s terms apply e q u a l l y
to M i l e s i a n s at O l b i a and O l b i a n s at M i l e t o s . A c i t i z e n of
the mother c i t y i s exempt from t a x a t i o n in- the colony. He may
h o l d O l b i a n c i t i z e n s h i p and be e l i g i b l e f o r m a g i s t r a c i e s i n
O l b i a on the c o n d i t i o n t h a t he be entered i n the r o l l s f o r tax-
ation. I f a M i l e s i a n at O l b i a becomes i n v o l v e d i n a l e g a l act-
i o n , h i s case, T i k e t h a t o f a c i t i z e n , w i l l be heard b e f o r e the
SqponKov SiKAcnvfp(ov of the colony. The same p r i v i l e g e s and
o b l i g a t i o n s b e l o n g a u t o m a t i c a l l y to an O l b i a n who r e t u r n s to r e -
s i d e at M i l e t o s . I n every case the terms o f t h i s agreement ap-
p l y o n l y to c i t i z e n s of e i t h e r c i t y who do not h o l d citizenship
or p u b l i c o f f i c e l n any t h i r d s t a t e . The decree therefore i n -
v o l v e s two s t a t e s t h a t , b e i n g equal and independent, neverthe-
l e s s recognize a s p e c i a l t i e of k i n s h i p . I t can be i n f e r r e d
t h a t movement o f i n d i v i d u a l s from one c i t y to the o t h e r was
a frequent occurrence.
81.
The first i n d i c a t i o n that the decree i s a restatement of
an o l d r e l a t i o n s h i p r a t h e r than the establishment of a new one
Is the b a l d , u n e l a b o r a t e d preamble to the document — a single
clause n o t i n g t h a t the p r o v i s i o n s of the t r e a t y are customary
for the O l b i o p o l i t a i and the M i l e s i a n s . Further evidence oc-
curs i n the body of the t r e a t y where, I n s e r t e d among the terms
r e l a t i n g to exemption from t a x a t i o n , the phrase M9ÔA K*1 npmpw n<rdv
occurs. That the o b l i g a t i o n of t a x a t i o n f o r a c i t i z e n or^mag-
i s t r a t e i s described as an e x c e p t i o n to the former terms i s
another i n d i c a t i o n t h a t t h i s decree i s an adjustment to an older
agreement.
Graham suggests* that the o c c a s i o n of the re-establishment
of r e l a t i o n s w i t h O l b i a was the f r e e i n g of M i l e t o s from Persian
c o n t r o l by Alexander i n 332; p o s s i b l y the o r i g i n a l agreement
had been i n abeyance s i n c e an e a r l i e r period'when M i l e t o s was
f r e e of e x t e r n a l c o n t r o l s . The l a t e s t date at which the first
t r e a t y w i t h O l b i a might have been l i k e l y i s the m i d - f i f t h cent-
u r y , when M i l e t o s was an autonomous member of the D e l i a n Confed-
eracy. The e a r l i e s t date might be the e a r l y s i x t h century,
before the f i r s t i n v a s i o n of I o n i a by the P e r s i a n s . At whatever
1. 0£. c i t . , p.102.
82.
date an agreement of t h i s s o r t f i r s t e x i s t e d , the e x i s t e n c e of
such t r a d i t i o n a l c o n d i t i o n s of mutual p r i v i l e g e i s evidence of
a c l o s e r e l a t i o n s h i p between O l b i a and M i l e t o s from earliest
times.
We have seen now t h a t a f t e r the f i r s t decades of the
colony's e x i s t e n c e , when O l b i a was more or l e s s alone on the
n o r t h c o a s t , i n t e r c o l o n i a l t r a v e l w i t h i n the B l a c k Sea became
frequent. Trade w i t h the c i t i e s of Greece and the exchange of
raw m a t e r i a l s from the Euxine f o r l u x u r y p r o d u c t s from the
south were a normal p r o c e d u r e . And w i t h M i l e t o s e s p e c i a l l y
O l b i a maintained f a i r l y close contact. Thus, i f i s o l a t i o n was
a f a c t o r i n the shaping of the O i b i a n way of l i f e , the effects
of t h a t i s o l a t i o n were, to an i n c r e a s i n g degree as time passed,
m i t i g a t e d by communication w i t h the w o r l d beyond the c o l o n y ' s
own immediate s u r r o u n d i n g s .
83.
VI
THE. 0 LB IAN WAY OF L I F E
In i t s remote p o s i t i o n above the : B l a c k Sea, O l b i a was,
as we have seen, the most n o r t h e r l y centre at which a s i z e a b l e
Greek c i t y ever developed. I n e s t a b l i s h i n g t h e i r way o f l i f e
the c o l o n i s t s f a c e d n o t only the problems of an a l i e n c l i m a t e
and landscape, but the c u l t u r a l i n f l u e n c e o f a n e i g h b o u r i n g
r a c e t h a t was s t r i k i n g l y d i f f e r e n t from the Greeks I n many ways.
While there i s ample evidence t h a t these c o l o n i s t s s t r o v e from
the very b e g i n n i n g to make the new s o c i e t y at O l b i a a copy o f
the Greek s o c i e t y of t h e i r m o t h e r - c i t y , there are a l s o i n d i c -
a t i o n s t h a t aspects o f t h e i r s t y l e o f l i f e were p e c u l i a r , i f
not t o O l b i a alone, at l e a s t to t h e s e t t l e m e n t s o f the n o r t h
Euxine.
The m a t e r i a l t r a p p i n g s o f normal Greek urban l i f e have
been found i n abundance on the s i t e o f O l b i a . Even i f l i f e -
s i z e d s c u l p t u r e and monumental b u i l d i n g s are absent, there are
numerous smaller works o f a r t and manufactured items from
M i l e t o s and other p a r t s o f Greece. I n a d d i t i o n to the imported
wares, there appears to have been l o c a l manufacture of p o t t e r y
in t r a d i t i o n a l Ionian fashions at O l b i a . Pottery — both

81*.
rough and d e c o r a t i v e ware — t h a t can be i d e n t i f i e d by i t s
chemical c o n s t i t u e n t s as l o c a l l y made^ r e t a i n s the s t y l e s of
the a r c h a i c p e r i o d i n I o n i a , even when i t i s found i n the l e v e l s
of l a t e r d a t e . In t h i s we have an i n d i c a t i o n of a t y p i c a l col-
o n i a l phenomenon, the adherence to-the mother c u l t u r e w i t h some
n e g l e c t of c u r r e n t fashion.
In c e r t a i n other r e s p e c t s the c o l o n i s t s appear to have mat-
ched, i n t h e i r own c i t y , developments that were"simultaneously
o c c u r r i n g i n the Greek c i t i e s around the shores of the Aegean.
One such f e a t u r e of O l b i a s growth was

1
the l a y i n g out of s t r e e t s
on a r e g u l a r , r i g h t - a n g l e d g r i d . The e a r l i e s t i n d i c a t i o n of
t h i s type of s t r e e t - p l a n n i n g , which appears on the upper p a r t
of the s i t e n o r t h of the agora, d a t e s from a p e r i o d immediate-
ly a f t e r the d e v a s t a t i o n of the c i t y by S c y t h i a n s , following
the r e t r e a t of D a r e i o s . The R u s s i a n a r c h a e o l o g i s t Parmakovsky
dated the establishment of the g r i d p l a n at O l b i a at approx-
imately 500 B.C., apparently earlier than the f i r s t use of the
g r i d - p l a n at M i l e t o s . I t might be supposed, i n f a c t , that the
advent of s t r e e t - p l a n n i n g i n M i l e t o s was an i n n o v a t i o n first
1. See Minns, " T h i r t y Y e a r s of Work at O l b i a , " J.H.S.,

LXV (191*5), pp. 109-112.
2. Mongait, Archaeology i n the U.S.S.R., p.190.

85.
observed a t and copied from the c o l o n i e s on the B l a c k Sea.
The l a y o u t of s t r e e t s i n O l b i a r e f l e c t s not o n l y planning,
but also considerable prosperity. The b a s i c p a t t e r n o f the
city, as i t appears to have been f o r m a l i z e d at the end o f the
f i f t h century, i s a main thoroughfare t e n metres wide, intend-
ed f o r two-way v e h i c u l a r and p e d e s t r i a n traffic, and secondary
s t r e e t s about three metres wide, i n t e r s e c t i n g the c e n t r a l thoro-
f a r e at r i g h t a n g l e s . The b u i l d i n g s that l i n e d the c e n t r a l
street included some l a r g e p r i v a t e d w e l l i n g s , auxiliary struct-
u r e s such as storehouses, and workshops connected w i t h m e t a l -
working i n d u s t r i e s , about which more w i l l be s a i d below. Rec-
ent e x c a v a t i o n s by R u s s i a n a r c h a e o l o g i s t s 2
have uncovered the
t r a c e s o f a l a r g e stoa t h a t formed the n o r t h e r n end of the O l -
b i a n agora at an e a r l y date.
Evidence o f the c o n t i n u i n g uneasiness of the c o l o n i s t s i n
the Scythian-dominated r e g i o n of the Hypanis i s seen i n the
massive d e f e n s i v e walls t h a t surround the s i t e . A large fort-
i f i e d gate on the northern edge o f the s i t e , d e s c r i b e d by Minns-^
as p o l y g o n a l masonry of the a r c h a i c p e r i o d , and l o o k o u t towers
1. There i s , however, evidence o f g r i d s t r e e t - p l a n n i n g a l s o

at Smyrna i n E a s t Greece before the b e g i n n i n g of the
f i f t h century.
2. L e v i , O l ' v i i a : Temenos i Agora, p.5.
3. Minns, S c y t h i a n s and Greeks,p. 1+52.

86.
at b o t h ends of the western s i d e have been excavated, indicat-
ing the s i z e and n a t u r e of the s i x t h - c e n t u r y d e f e n s i v e wall
at Olbia. 1
Although the c i t y had shrunk i n s i z e by H e l l e n i s t i c
times, D i o Chrysostom i n the f i r s t century o f our e r a was aware 2
of the e x i s t e n c e of the a n c i e n t c i r c u i t w a l l and of d e f e n s i v e
towers t h a t , i n h i s own day, were no l o n g e r i n use.
, An important aspect of colonial l i f e at O l b i a , i n s p i t e
of the o c c a s i o n a l u n c e r t a i n t y of r e l a t i o n s w i t h the Scyths t h a t
made g r e a t d e f e n s i v e works n e c e s s a r y , was the commercial de-
pendence of the O l b i o p o l i t a i upon t h e i r S c y t h i a n neighbours.
A s i g n i f i c a n t r e s u l t of t h i s commercial i n t e r c o u r s e was the e s t -
ablishment near O l b i a o f a number o f s m a l l mixed communities
on the Borysthenes e s t u a r y i n which (as t h e graves o f the i n -
h a b i t a n t s demonstrate) Greek and S c y t h i a n peoples and customs
intermingled. I n the h i n t e r l a n d immediately n o r t h o f O l b i a ,
as Herodotos t e l l s u s , the i n h a b i t a n t s were the K a l l i p p i d a i ,
or " S c y t h i a n Greeks."
In many of these small communities, as w e l l as I n O l b i a
1. The p l a n of O l b i a (see Chapter I I I ) shows the f u l l c i r c u i t

of t h i s c i t y - w a l l . I t s e a s t e r n s i d e , t r a c e s of which now
l i e beneath the Bug R i v e r , i n d i c a t e s t h a t the s i t e has
been reduced by e r o s i o n s i n c e a n c i e n t times.
2. T2.
3. T19.
87.
itself, the b a s i s o f the r e l a t i o n s h i p was the S c y t h i a n w i l l i n g -
ness to pay f o r the products o f Greek workmanship. The v i g o u r
of O i b i a n i n d u s t r y came t o depend n o t o n l y on s a l e t o the S c y t h -
i a n s o f wares imported from Greece, but a l s o on items manu-
f a c t u r e d a t O l b i a i n a new G r a e c o - S c y t h i c s t y l e e s p e c i a l l y f o r
the S c y t h i a n market. The p r o d u c t s of t h i s new i n d u s t r y b e g i n
to appear as e a r l y as the l a t t e r h a l f of the s i x t h century B.C.
Among the items found b o t h at O l b i a 1

and i n S c y t h i a n tombs,
manufactured by Greek craftsmen f o r S c y t h i a n buyers, are s i x t h -
century g o l d e a r r i n g s , e a r l y f i f t h - c e n t u r y c r u c i f o r m metal
plaques of the k i n d o r i g i n a l l y developed by the S c y t h i a n s them-
s e l v e s , an unusual bone b u c k l e , hand-mirrors w i t h s t y l i z e d anim-
a l d e c o r a t i o n i n the S c y t h i a n f a s h i o n ( b u t ' - w i t h handles,
a f e a t u r e t h a t S c y t h i a n craftsmen never added to t h e i r m i r r o r s ) ,
and a c a s t bronze q u i v e r - d e c o r a t i o n w i t h S c y t h i a n e m b e l l i s h -
ment. The O i b i a n o r i g i n of many o f these manufactured goods
found i n S c y t h i a n tombs i s beyond doubt. M i r r o r s o f the type
mentioned above were d i s c o v e r e d i n the remains of an e x t e n s i v e
1. L i s t s of these f i n d s appear i n Minns, " T h i r t y Years o f Work

at O l b i a , " J.H.S., LXV(19i|5) , pp.109-112, and R i c e ,
The S c y t h i a n s , p. 11*0. I l l u s t r a t i o n s o f products by
Greek craftsmen a t O l b i a manufactured i n the S c y t h i c
s t y l e are p r o v i d e d i n the Appendix to t h i s study.
88.
m e t a l workshop unearthed at O l b i a i n 1.91+8• An even more s i g n i -
ficant find at O l b i a was a mould d i s c o v e r e d by Parmakovsky,
used f o r c a s t i n g bronze f i t t i n g s l i k e the one found on the Scyttv
ian quiver.
T h i s was the i n d u s t r y that made i n t e r c o u r s e between Greeks
and S c y t h i a n s l u c r a t i v e f o r the s e t t l e r s i n the v i l l a g e s on
Olbia*s fringes. Of the commerce i n these towns, as evidenced
by the a r t i f a c t s that have come to l i g h t , Boardman s a y s : 1
These a p p a r e n t l y mixed communities, and the r e -
markable monuments of Greek work f o r the S c y t h i a n s , are
more eloquent testimony to the r e l a t i o n s between the
two peoples — the c o l o n i s t s and the n a t i v e s — than the
f i n d s of o b j e c t s imported from other p a r t s of the Greek
world. They show t h a t the w e a l t h of the S c y t h i a n s and
of the B l a c k Sea t r a d e a t t r a c t e d some of the f i n e s t Ion-
i a n a r t i s t s to the n o r t h e r n c o l o n i e s , where they adapt-
ed t h e i r n a t u r a l s t y l e to the t a s t e s and s t y l e s of the
Scythians.
1. Boardman, The Greeks Overseas, p.275.

8 9 .
We have a l r e a d y seen t h a t from e a r l i e s t times the s e t t l e r s
at O l b i a attempted, through trade and d i p l o m a t i c connexions
w i t h the Greek world and through the import of p o t t e r y , worka
of a r t , l u x u r y foods and other commodities" " t h a t were1

absent
from t h e i r new s u r r o u n d i n g s , to m a i n t a i n i n t h e i r o u t p o s t a
Greek way of l i f e . But t h e i r i n t i m a c y w i t h the S c y t h i a n s — an
e s s e n t i a l p a r t of O l b i a n l i f e — w a s a f a c t o r n o t p r e s e n t i n the
life o f a normal Greek c i t y . I n the new s t y l e o f a r t t h a t evr
o l v e d as a r e s u l t of the combined Greek and S c y t h i a n i n d u s t r y
d e s c r i b e d i n the f o r e g o i n g paragraphs we have the most t a n g i b l e
evidence o f the S c y t h i a n i n f l u e n c e upon the Greeks at O l b i a .
R o s t o v t z e f f says' - about a r t c o l l e c t e d i n the Hermitage Museum

1
at K e r c h from e x c a v a t i o n s on the n o r t h e r n shores and h i n t e r l a n d s
of the B l a c k Sea:
The s c h o l a r above a l l c a r r i e d away q u i t e n o v e l
Impressions. He r e a l i z e d t h a t i n these rooms he was
in the presence Of a new w o r l d , i n which Greek a r t
appeared i n an a l t e r e d , sometimes almost unrecogniz-
able form, and i n which s i d e by s i d e vrith t h i s a r t ,
another a r t was r e v e a l e d , new and s t r a n g e .
1. I t can be argued from Xenophon's catalogue of the contents of

a wrecked s h i p i n the B l a c k Sea [T2l+') t h a t w r i t t e n books
from Greece and the i d e a s c o n t a i n e d i n them were i n de-
mand i n the Euxine c o l o n i e s .
2. I r a n i a n s and Greeks i n South R u s s i a , p.3.

90.
In a previous chapter we examined the c h a r a c t e r i s t i c e l -
ements df the S c y t h i c s t y l e ; now we may d i s c u s s some specific
p i e c e s of n o r t h Euxine Greek a r t t h a t i l l u s t r a t e the new style
to which R o s t o v t z e f f r e f e r s . S i n c e most o f the S c y t h i a n proto-
types are examples of metalwork, the products of O i b i a n crafts-
manship are a l s o c h i e f l y metal.. C e r t a i n images, ever pres-
ent i n the a r t of the nomads, appear commonly i n the a r t of
Olbia. The sphinx and the g r i f f i n , which adorned the house o f
S k y l e s , a landmark o f f i f t h - c e n t u r y O l b i a , r e c u r f r e q u e n t l y on
j e w e l l e r y i n a s t y l e t h a t suggests i m i t a t i o n of S c y t h i c models.
An example o f the sphinx m o t i f on a Greek g o l d diadem i s i l -
l u s t r a t e d i n F i g u r e 2 i n the Appendix. A general similarity
of a s p e c t , e s p e c i a l l y i n the s t y l i z e d curves >of the c r e a t u r e s '
wings, can be seen i n the r e p r e s e n t a t i o n on t h i s Greek diadem
and the animal on a p u r e l y S c y t h i a n plaque shown i n F i g u r e 3.
A small t e r r a c o t t a statue ( F i g u r e 1) from the n o r t h
Euxine coast — p r o b a b l y of Oibian manufacture— portrays a
human f i g u r e that l o o k s h a l f S c y t h i a n and h a l f Greek. A l -
though the costume d e p i c t e d i s almost p u r e l y S c y t h i a n , the s t a t -
ue i s c e r t a i n l y Greek; b o t h the t e r r a c o t t a medium and the
human-figure theme are u n c h a r a c t e r i s t i c o f the S c y t h i a n artist.

91.
If the s t a t u e i s a p o r t r a i t of a Greek c o l o n i s t , as suggested
by D i o Chrysostom s d e s c r i p t i o n * of an O l b i a n i n S c y t h i c c o s t -
1
ume, then the i n f l u e n c e of S c y t h i a n s t y l e i s seen not o n l y i n
the s t a t u e i t s e l f , but I n the g e n e r a l aspect of p e r s o n a l d r e s s
in the colony.
The f i n e s t i l l u s t r a t i o n s of the G r a e c o - S c y t h i c s t y l e are
two famous embossed g o l d plaques from S c y t h i a n tombs, the V e t t -
e r s f e l d f i s h and the K u l Oba stag. Although these b e a u t i f u l
p i e c e s were b o t h d i s c o v e r e d at s i t e s d i s t a n t from O l b i a , they
are the work of Greek craftsmen from the n o r t h e r n Euxine, and
are t y p i c a l of the metalwork that was b e i n g done at the b e g i n -
n i n g of the f i f t h century i n the f a c t o r i e s of O l b i a . The Kul
Oba s t a g should be compared w i t h a s i m i l a r animal of p u r e l y
S c y t h i c d e s i g n and workmanship. The g o l d s t a g from the Kuban
( F i g u r e 1+) i s t y p i c a l of the S c y t h i a n s t y l e i n the e l e g a n t simp- -
l i c i t y of i t s a b s t r a c t d e s i g n . The t o r t u o u s curves of the
exaggerated a n t l e r s and the sweeping l i n e s of the body t h a t
c h a r a c t e r i z e S c y t h i a n work are c l e a r l y seen — and n o t h i n g else.
In c o n t r a s t , the K u l Oba s t a g i s a departure from .the b a s i c
s t y l e i n t h a t i t s open spaces have been f i l l e d w i t h designs t h a t
are not complementary to the o v e r a l l theme of the d e s i g n , but
1. T22.
92.
extraneous to i t . In the p u r e l y S c y t h i a n d e s i g n , every line
i s p a r t of the animal's body; i n the Greek d e s i g n , l i o n s , rams
and the u b i q u i t o u s griffin cover the animal's body and hreak
i t s unity.
The Vettersfeld f i s h (Figure 5) i s an even more extreme
example of the simple l i n e of a S c y t h i c d e s i g n complicated by
the a d d i t i o n of i r r e l e v a n t symbols. I f t h i s plaque i s not the
work of a Greek i m i t a t i n g and e l a b o r a t i n g the S c y t h i c style,
it i s a S c y t h i a n craftsman's i m i t a t i o n of the new Graeco- Scyth-
ic s t y l e of the Greek c o l o n i e s on the B l a c k Sea. "The
Greeks," Minns d e c l a r e s , " s p o i l t the S c y t h i c s t y l e i n the West."
In O l b i a as e a r l y as the s i x t h century, therefore, the
i n f l u e n c e of the S c y t h i a n s , w i t h whom the Greek c o l o n i s t s had
e s t a b l i s h e d a p a t t e r n of i n t i m a t e c o n t a c t , c o u l d be seen i n
a s t y l e of a r t t h a t combined the m o t i f s of the S c y t h i a n crafts-
man w i t h elements t h a t were a l i e n to the p u r e l y S c y t h i a n work.
While much of t h i s work from O l b i a i s h i g h l y s o p h i s t i c a t e d i n
technique and b e a u t i f u l In e f f e c t , some of i t i s r a t h e r crude
and u n a t t r a c t i v e . One of a p a i r of l i o n s , r o u g h l y carved
1. Minns, S c y t h i a n s and Greeks, p . 7 5 . Minns suggests 1|75 B.C.

as the date of the K u l Oba stag and 5 2 5 B.C. f o r the
Vettersfeld fish.
93.
from stone and covered w i t h i n s c r i b e d symbols, i s shown i n
F i g u r e 6. These o b j e c t s , found at O l b i a , may be the work of
Greek craftsmen or may have been imported i n t o the colony from
Scythia.
But i n the p r a c t i c a l and a p p l i e d a r t s at O l b i a t h e r e were
f a s h i o n s d i c t a t e d not by S c y t h i a n models but by the demands
of life i n the c o l o n y . Of s p e c i a l i n t e r e s t i s the domestic
woodwork o f O l b i a , because from no other s i t e i n the Greek
w o r l d have so many a r t i c l e s of wooden c o n s t r u c t i o n been r e c o v -
ered i n t a c t . Domestic a p p l i a n c e s made of wood i n simple,
f u n c t i o n a l designs were a f e a t u r e of l i f e at Olbia. Typical
of the unornate O l b i a n s t y l e i s a chest (one o f many found on
the s i t e ) i l l u s t r a t e d i n F i g u r e 7 o f the Appendix. Minns 1
suggests t h a t I t was used f o r storage o f c l o t h i n g . The manu-
f a c t u r e of c o i n s , which seems t o have begun b e f o r e $00 B.C.
in the c o l o n y , i s another p r a c t i c a l o p e r a t i o n i n which the

2
O l b i a n technique i s somewhat unusual; the c o i n s of O l b i a were
not stamped, as l n most other Greek c i t i e s , b u t c a s t .
Coins found on the s i t e p r o v i d e the most e x p l i c i t clues
1. Minns, S c y t h i a n s and Greeks, p.322.
2. Coins minted a t O l b i a have been found on the Berezan s i t e ,

which appears to have been abandoned s h o r t l y a f t e r $00 B.C.
91*.
to the r e l i g i o u s observance of the O l b i o p o l i t a i . The most
f r e q u e n t l y r e p r e s e n t e d d e i t y on the c o i n s of O l b i a i s A p o l l o ,
who appears, as Miss H i r s t 1

observes, to have been the city-
d e i t y of the new colony j u s t as he was the c h i e f d e i t y of MiLe-
Hos. " I t seems r e a s o n a b l e to b e l i e v e , " says Miss H i r s t ,
"that the e a r l i e s t c o l o n i s t s brought w i t h them from M i l e t o s
t h i s c u l t , of s p e c i a l a p p r o p r i a t e n e s s f o r those who were going
to found a c i t y i n a new land."
Demeter i s another f r e q u e n t s u b j e c t of p o r t r a i t s on O i b i a n
coins. But more f r e q u e n t l y than any o t h e r d e i t y except A p o l l o ,
a s t r i c t l y local deity, the r i v e r god Borysthenes, appears on
c o i n s of the colony, r e p r e s e n t e d as a l o n g - h a i r e d , bearded
Scythian king. The r e v e r s e of a l l these c o i n s of Borysthenes
d e p i c t s the b a t t l e - a x e and sheathed bow of the S c y t h i a n war-
rior. (The c o i n s are i l l u s t r a t e d i n F i g u r e 8 of the Appendix.)
M i s s H i r s t observes t h a t t h i s c u l t , an obvious r e a c t i o n to the
overpowering i n f l u e n c e ,of the r i v e r on the s e t t l e r s ' lives,
was the o n l y element i n the r i t u a l of the O l b i o p o l i t a i t h a t was
added to the p u r e l y H e l l e n i c cults.
1. H i r s t , "The C u l t s of O l b i a , " J.H.S.,XXII(1902), p.255.

95.
The p o r t r a y a l on a l a r g e number of O l b i a n c o i n s of a f i s h —
the d o l p h i n or, more l i k e l y , the sturgeon — i s an indication
of the importance i n the l i v e s of the c o l o n i s t s of the fishing
i n d u s t r y , another aspect of the i n f l u e n c e of the R i v e r Borys-
thenes upon the colony.
Of the c o n s t i t u t i o n a l s t r u c t u r e of the colony i n the
earliest c e n t u r i e s of i t s e x i s t e n c e , n o t h i n g Can be said with
certainty. I n s c r i p t i o n s t h a t d e s c r i b e the f u n c t i o n i n g of
government at O l b i a do not pre-date the f o u r t h century, by
which time decrees b e g i n w i t h a f o r m u l a acknowledging a /3ou\rf
and I K K V ^ O - * ' * . as the l e g i s l a t i v e b o d i e s , as i n A t h e n i a n democracy.
By the f o u r t h c e n t u r y , e x e c u t i v e power was i n the hands of f i v e
archons, i n a d d i t i o n to whom, two other m a g i s t r a t e s h e l d o f -
fice — a financial a d v i s e r and the K i n g Archon, presumably the
r e p r e s e n t a t i v e , as we have seen above, of the S c y t h i a n k i n g
whose t e r r i t o r y the O l b i o p o l i t a i o c c u p i e d w i t h t h e i r colony.
The c o n s t i t u t i o n r e p r e s e n t e d i n these decrees b e l o n g s , of course,
to a p e r i o d beyond the one under study here, and after the est-
ablishment of f r e q u e n t c o n t a c t w i t h the A t h e n i a n empire i n the
second h a l f of the f i f t h century.
In the government of the colony d u r i n g the f i r s t cent-
ury, or more, of i t s e x i s t e n c e , the p o s i t i o n of the S c y t h i a n

96.
k i n g ' s r e p r e s e n t a t i v e may have been much stronger than h i s r o l e
as a f i g u r e h e a d i n the f o u r t h c e n t u r y . Guessing at the cir-
cumstances of t h i s p e r i o d , R o s t o v t z e f f 1
expresses the belief
t h a t , i n a context where o n l y d y n a s t i c k i n g s were r e c o g n i z e d
as true r u l e r s , the Greek c o l o n i s t s must have been v e r y slow,
even d u r i n g the f i f t h century, to move at a l l i n the direction
of democracy. I t may have been n e c e s s a r y to accept as t y r a n t s
in t h e i r colony the H e l l e n i z e d S c y t h i a n s who represented the
k i n g s , and who l a t e r became the l e s s powerful K i n g Archons.
Tyranny at O l b i a d i d not, one may surmise, pass q u i c k l y as a
temporary phase, but e x i s t e d as the s e t t l e d form of government
for centuries.
But, as we s h a l l see i n the next c h a p t e r , i t was during
these e a r l y c e n t u r i e s t h a t O l b i a enjoyed her g r e a t e s t p r o s p e r -
ity. The most c h a r a c t e r i s t i c aspect of l i f e i n O l b i a i n the
s i x t h and f i f t h c e n t u r i e s was i t s dependence upon t r a d e — not
o n l y the t r a d e w i t h S c y t h i a n neighbours mentioned above, but
a l s o the export of l o c a l products ( e s p e c i a l l y food) to the Greek
c i t i e s of the Aegean.
In summary, l i f e at O l b i a i n the f i r s t two centuries after
1. R o s t o v t z e f f , I r a n i a n s and Greeks i n South R u s s i a , p . 7 1 .

97.
its f o u n d a t i o n was, to the best of the c o l o n i s t s ' ability, a
Greek way of l i f e , like the e x i s t e n c e they had known at home.
Greek a r t , Greek i n d u s t r y , Greek r e l i g i o n and domestic life
were p r e s e r v e d w i t h the g r e a t e s t p o s s i b l e f i d e l i t y . But i n
spite of t h e i r d e t e r m i n a t i o n to l i v e the l i f e o f H e l l e n e s , the
Olbiopolitai d i d make concessions i n t h e i r d a i l y life to the
a r t , r e l i g i o n and p o l i t i c a l power o f t h e i r Scythian neighbours
on the Euxine coast.

93
VII
THE HISTORICAL FRAMEWORK
From l i t e r a r y sources alone the h i s t o r y of O l b i a d u r i n g
the c e n t u r i e s under c o n s i d e r a t i o n i n t h i s study i s extremely
s l i g h t ; i f they are to r e v e a l a n y t h i n g at a l l of the earliest
events i n the colony, they must r e c e i v e heavy support from
archaeology. Since much of the h i s t o r i c a l m a t e r i a l has been
r e f e r r e d t o i n the p r e c e d i n g c h a p t e r s , t h i s f i n a l chapter will
be, i n e f f e c t , a summary i n c h r o n o l o g i c a l order of the evidence
t h a t e x i s t s f o r the events of O l b i a ' s e a r l y history.
The f o u n d i n g of c i t i e s on the P r o p o n t i s and e s p e c i a l l y of
B y z a n t i o n , dated by the chronology of Eusebios ( w i t h archae-
ological c o r r o b o r a t i o n ) as mid-seventh century, may be taken
as an i n d i c a t i o n of the f i r s t surge of commercial traffic
through the Bosporos. I t i s i n the second h a l f of the seventh
century, a decade or two a f t e r the f o u n d i n g of B y z a n t i o n , t h a t
the f i r s t wave of Greek c o l o n i z a t i o n b e g i n s to occupy the.sites
of the e a r l i e s t major s e t t l e m e n t s on the B l a c k Sea — Sinope
on the south coast, I s t r o s on the west, and O l b i a on the n o r t h -
ern coast.
99.
After a brief initial stop on the island of Berezan, at-
tested by pottery and domestic remains r a t h e r than literary
evidence, the c o l o n i s t s f o u n d e d O l b i a on the w e s t bank o f the
Bug (Hypanis) R i v e r , f o u r m i l e s from the confluence of the
Hypanis and the Borysthenes. Eusebios places the foundation
o f O l b i a i n the first year of the thirty-fourth Olympiad,
6144/3 B.C. 'The earliest pottery recovered from the site a l -
lows v e r i f i c a t i o n of Eusebios' date only t o the extent of indic-
ating occupation of the site during the last decade o f the
seventh century. Equally inexact i s the r e f e r e n c e i n the geo-
graphical poem o f the pseudo-Skymnos 1

to O l b i a s date
1
of found-
ation as contemporaneous w i t h the Median Empire, which, as we
see i n H e r o d o t o s , Book I , p e r s i s t e d u n t i l s h o r t l y before the
invasion o f L y d i a by Cyrus i n the m i d d l e o f the sixth century.
The original c o l o n i s t s were M i l e s i a n s , as H e r o d o t o s i n -

p
forms us, the c o n n e x i o n b e t w e e n O l b i a and Miletos is clearly
stated i n the f o u r t h - c e n t u r y treaty^ regarding citizenship in
the two cities.
The symbolism of the ear o f wheat and the fish (either
1. Lines 806-9 (Muller, Geographic! Graeci Minores, I, p.196.)

2. T20.
3. Ta?.
100.
d o l p h i n or sturgeon) on the e a r l i e s t c o i n s minted at O l b i a i s
probably a good i n d i c a t i o n of the c h i e f i n d u s t r i e s of the col-
onists i n their f i r s t decades of l i f e on the Hypanis R i v e r .
But the c l o s e c o o p e r a t i o n w i t h t h e i r S c y t h i a n neighbours that
was to open new commercial avenues f o r the O l b i o p o l i t a i began
very e a r l y i n O l b i a s h i s t o r y .
1
The p h i l o s o p h e r A n a c h a r s i s ,
whom Herodotos d e s c r i b e s * as a thoroughly H e l l e n i z e d S c y t h i a n ,
was contemporary w i t h Solon, as L u c i a n t e l l s us i n the d i a -
logue Av<x\ctpcrts.
J
The next f a c t , c h r o n o l o g i c a l l y , t h a t can be a s c e r t a i n e d
i n the colony's h i s t o r y i s e s t a b l i s h e d e n t i r e l y by archaeolog-
i c a l evidence. During the s i x t h century O l b i a expanded to fill
a s i t e l a r g e r than t h a t o c c u p i e d by the c i t y at any subsequent
period. A t r e n c h t h a t formed the d e f e n s i v e c i r c u i t around the
colony e s t a b l i s h e d by the e a r l i e s t s e t t l e r s was filled and built
over, a p p a r e n t l y at the b e g i n n i n g of the s i x t h c e n t u r y . Proper
c i t y - w a l l s surrounding the e n t i r e p e n i n s u l a upon which O l b i a
was l o c a t e d were i n place l a t e r In the same c e n t u r y . The
g r e a t s i z e of O l b i a i n the s i x t h century and i t s s h r i n k i n g ex-
t e n t i n l a t e r c e n t u r i e s are suggested by the l o c a t i o n of the
1. T20.
101.
colonists' tombs. As i n d i c a t e d on the s i t e - p l a n i n Chapter
I I I , s i x t h - c e n t u r y tombs l a y beyond the f a r t h e s t northern
boundary of the s i t e , w h i l e f i f t h - . a r i d f o u r t h - c e n t u r y graves
are c l o s e r t o the c e n t r e , and H e l l e n i s t i c graves are c l o s e r
still. Once again we may r e c a l l D i o Chrysostom s o b s e r v a t i o n s

1 1
on the s h r i n k i n g of the c i t y as seen i n the broad extent o f
its a n c i e n t remains.
The p r o s p e r i t y o f O l b i a i n the s i x t h century i s a c e r t a i n
i n d i c a t i o n of s u c c e s s f u l r e l a t i o n s between the c o l o n i s t s and
t h e i r neighbours d u r i n g the p e r i o d . E x c a v a t i o n shows, hoxvever,
t h a t at some time near the end o f the c e n t u r y t h i s stability
came to an end and was r e p l a c e d by a b r i e f outbreak of v i o l e n t
conflict. The c i t y was d e v a s t a t e d and r e b u i l t shortly before
500 B.C., p o s s i b l y a t the time of the r i s i n g o f the Scyths
a g a i n s t the i n v a d i n g D a r e i o s and h i s a l l i e s i n t h i s campaign,

p
the I o n i a n Greeks. Herodotos t e l l s us that the S c y t h i a n s had
good reason to be vexed w i t h the Greeks because o f the I o n i a n
t r e a c h e r y i n p l a y i n g the S c y t h i a n s and P e r s i a n s a g a i n s t each
other.
The g r i d - p l a n of the colony as i t was r e b u i l t a f t e r the
1. T2.
2. IV, 136-11*0.
102.
d e s t r u c t i o n was d i s t u r b e d by no f u r t h e r d i s r u p t i o n i n the cent-
ury that f o l l o w e d . That the former c l o s e r e l a t i o n s between
Greeks and S c y t h i a n s at O l b i a resumed s h o r t l y a f t e r the r e c o n -
s t r u c t i o n o f the c i t y i s seen i n H e r o d o t o s 1
story of Skyles.
Although Herodotos i n t r o d u c e s the t a l e o f Skyles w i t h only a
vague c h r o n o l o g i c a l r e f e r e n c e 1
( S k y l e s ' s o j o u r n at Borysthenes
was "many y e a r s l a t e r " than the episode of A n a c h a r s i s ) , a
c l o s e r e a d i n g of t h e n a r r a t i v e permits one t o c o n s t r u c t a gene-
alogy connecting A n a c h a r s i s w i t h S k y l e s i n such a way as to
p l a c e the l a t t e r i n the f i r s t h a l f o f the f i f t h centirry. Ana-
c h a r s i s ! nephew I d a n t h y r s o s , who i s shown to have been the

2
adversary o f D a r e i o s d u r i n g the l a t t e r ' s i n v a s i o n o f S c y t h i a ,
must have f l o u r i s h e d about B.C. H i s son A r i a p i t h e s , whom
Herodotos i d e n t i f i e s ^ as the f a t h e r o f S k y l e s , f l o u r i s h e d
t h e r e f o r e about JL4.9O B.C., and Skyles h i m s e l f perhaps about I4.7O.
Thus, from the time o f A n a c h a r s i s t o t h a t o f Skyles — a p e r i o d
of a century or m o r e — the f o r t u n e s of O l b i a were c l o s e l y tied
to the c o l o n i s t s ' r e l a t i o n s w i t h k i n g s o f a s i n g l e S c y t h i a n
family.^ The p o s i t i o n of the O l b i o p o l i t a i i n t h i s p e r i o d ,
1. T 2 0 .
2. IV, 1 2 6 .
3. IV, 78. Saulios Anacharsis (ca555.7
1;.. T h i s f a m i l y ' s descent, as i t i s I
r e p r e s e n t e d by Herodotos, may Idanthyrsos (ca 5l£)
by o u t l i n e d as seen here: . I
Ariapithes ( c a I4.9O)
Skyles ( c a^.70-60)
10}..
from the e a r l y s i x t h to m i d - f i f t h century, i s t h a t of tribut-
ary s u b j e c t s of the n e i g h b o u r i n g S c y t h i a n k i n g s .
W i t h i n t h i s framework of G r e e k / S c y t h i a n r e l a t i o n s , affairs
a p p a r e n t l y went forward u n e v e n t f u l l y at O l b i a u n t i l the Athen-
i a n n a v a l e x p e d i t i o n around the c o a s t s of the B l a c k Sea under
the command of P e r i k l e s i n the second h a l f of the century — at
n e a r l y the end of the p e r i o d under study here. As we have
seen i n Chapter V, the consequences i n O l b i a of t h i s Athenian
m i s s i o n i n t o the B l a c k Sea are unknown. I t i s c e r t a i n , however,
t h a t , sometime a f t e r - t h i s e x p e d i t i o n , c o l o n i e s adjacent to O l -
b i a on the n o r t h e r n coast appeared i n a Euxine p a n e l of a s s e s -
sed members of the A t h e n i a n empire (an A t h e n i a n m i s s i o n , appar-
e n t l y f o r the purpose of c o l l e c t i n g t r i b u t e , sailed into the
B l a c k Sea i n I4.2I+ B . C . ) . 1
O l b i a may have been i n c l u d e d on this
list.
The date of the e x p e d i t i o n t h a t brought t h i s Athenian i n -
f l u e n c e to bear upon the c o l o n i e s of the B l a c k Sea i s a matter
of u n c e r t a i n t y . A l t h o u g h the r e p o r t of the m i s s i o n , i n P l u t -
arch, P e r i c l e s , 20, c o n t a i n s no d e f i n i t e chronological indicat-
i o n s , the content and c o n t e x t of the passage p r o v i d e c l u e s to
1. Thucydides, IV, 1-2.

101*.
the d a t e . Because t h i s e x p e d i t i o n i s d e s c r i b e d as a show o f
Athenian s t r e n g t h on the Euxine coast o f A s i a Minor, Meritt,
Wade Gery and McGregor* view i t as a b r e a c h of the terms of
the Peace o f K a l l i a s , u n l e s s i n f a c t i t o c c u r r e d b e f o r e those
terms were drawn u p — p r o b a b l y as e a r l y as l*$0.
Another view, h e l d by B e l o c h , 2
Rostovtzeff,3 Ehrenberg^-
and o t h e r s , p l a c e s the m i s s i o n a t a much l a t e r date, about 1 * 3 5 ,
a f t e r t h e p e r i o d o f scrupulous observance of the terms o f the
peace. F o r our purpose we may accept a date w i t h i n these lim-
its — t h a t i s , between 1*50 and 1*35.
At whatever date the m i s s i o n of P e r i K l e s to the B l a c k Sea
o c c u r r e d , i t s s i g n i f i c a n c e i s t h a t i t brought the n o r t h shore
of the Euxine i n t o a more p r e s s i n g contact w i t h the o u t s i d e
world than had been e x p e r i e n c e d b e f o r e . C e r t a i n l y by t h i s p e r -
i o d — the second h a l f o f the f i f t h century — O l b i a was no l o n g -
er e i t h e r an I s o l a t e d o u t p o s t , nor i n any sense a p i o n e e r com-
munity. A f t e r two c e n t u r i e s of growth and development, the
colony was an e s t a b l i s h e d centre of urban c i v i l i z a t i o n , and I t s
c h a r a c t e r as a c i t y had been permanently moulded.
1. M e r i t t , Wade Gerv and McGregor, The A t h e n i a n T r i b u t e L i s t s ,
I I I , p.116.
2. Beloch, A t t l s c h e P o l l t l k . p.325.
3. R o s t o v t z e f f . I r a n i a n s and Greeks i n South R u s s i a , p . 6 ? .
1*. Ehrenberg, From Solon to S o c r a t e s , p.1*1*1*.

10$.
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t
hoon (Loeb C l a s s i c a l L i b r a r y , Cambridge, 1961)
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( Z u r i c h , 1967)
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Godley (Loeb C l a s s i c a l L i b r a r y , Cambridge, 1963)
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t
(Loeb C l a s s i c a l L i b r a r y , Cambridge, 1962)
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[191675
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APPENDIX
I l l u s t r a t i o n s of
NORTH EUXINE ART

11U.
FIGURE 1
COSTUME OF THE NORTH EUXINE COAST.
C R E E K TERRA COTTA FOUND IN THE C R I M E A
(AFTER MfNNS)
I l l
ABOVE, THET GOLD STAG FROM THE KUBAN;
BELOW, THE KUL OBA STAG-, (AFTER
BOARDMAN, p|. 23)
FIGURE
113.
FIGURE 5
GOLD FISH FROM VETTERSFELD

(AFTER, BOARDMAN)
111*.
(AFTER MINNS/
H5.
FIGURE 8
BRONZE: COINS OF OLBIA
(AFTER HIRST)
FrGURE 9
BONE BUCKLE FROM OLBIA
( A F T E R MOHGAir)
116.

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O L B I A A S A FRONTIER SOCIETY

A THESIS SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILMENT OF THE

REQUIREMENTS OF THE DEGREE OF

We accept t h i s t h e s i s as conforming to the

THE UNIVERSITY OF BRITISH COLUMBIA

an advanced degree at the U n i v e r s i t y of British Columbia, I agree that

the L i b r a r y shall make it freely available for r e f e r e n c e and study.

I f u r t h e r agree that permission for e x t e n s i v e copying of this thesis

for scholarly purposes may be g r a n t e d b y . t h e Head o f my Department or

by h i s representatives. It is understood that copying or publication

of this thesis for financial gain shall not be a l l o w e d w i t h o u t my

In t h i s study the Greek colony o f O l b i a , on the

n o r t h c o a s t o f the B l a c k Sea, i s examined i n the l i g h t

of b o t h the l i t e r a r y and the a r c h a e o l o g i c a l evidence r e -

l a t i n g to the c i t y ' s f i r s t two c e n t u r i e s o f s e t t l e m e n t .

The effects upon the c o l o n i s t s of i s o l a t i o n from the g r e a t

c e n t r e s of Greek urban l i f e , o f the h o s t i l e p h y s i c a l en-

vironment i n t o which the Greek s e t t l e r s transplanted their

civilization, and of the b a r b a r i a n peoples who surrounded

the colony are s t u d i e d . I t can be seen from the evidence

gathered here t h a t the O l b i o p o l i t a i , while s t r u g g l i n g to

m a i n t a i n a Greek way of l i f e i n their city, yielded i n

some measure t o the a r t i s t i c , r e l i g i o u s and p o l i t i c a l i n -

P r o f e s s o r Malcolm F. McGregor, who o f f e r e d care-

f u l and d e t a i l e d c r i t i c i s m of the f i r s t draft,

and to P h i l l i p E. Harding, who provided the i n s p i r -

a t i o n f o r , and p a r t i c i p a t e d c l o s e l y i n the pre-

III L I F E IN A NEW ENVIRONMENT p. 39

IV THE SCYTHIANS p.56

V CONNEXION WITH THE OUTSIDE WORLD. . . p.70

VI THE OLBIAN WAY OF L I F E p.83

VII THE HISTORICAL FRAMEWORK p.98

O l b i a , a l s o c a l l e d Borysthenes-jj was founded on the

Hypanis (the Bug) R i v e r , n o r t h of the Black Sea, by c o l o n i s t s

from M i l e t o s d u r i n g the second h a l f of the seventh century

B.C. Eusebios f i x e s the date of i t s f o u n d a t i o n as the f i r s t

y e a r o f the t h i r t y - f o u r t h Olympiad, 6i][/3 B.C. A r c h a e o l o g i c a l

evidence confirms the presence of Greek c o l o n i s t s on the s i t e

d u r i n g a t l e a s t the f i n a l q u a r t e r of the seventh century.

One of the most f a s c i n a t i n g a s p e c t s of t h i s colony dur-

ing the f i r s t two c e n t u r i e s of i t s e x i s t e n c e i s i t s i s o l a t i o n ;

b o t h i n the Greek i m a g i n a t i o n and i n f a c t the shores of the

Northern Pontos were i n a world apart from and a l i e n t o the

f a m i l i a r environment of the Aegean. Not o n l y i t s g r e a t d i s -

tance from home ( O l b i a was n e a r l y a thousand m i l e s by sea from

M i l e t o s ) , but the harshness of i t s c l i m a t e and the s t r a n g e -

ness of the n a t i v e S c y t h i a n c u l t u r e , i n t o c l o s e c o n t a c t with

which the c o l o n i s t s a t O l b i a were f o r c e d , evoked i n the G r e e k

1 Herodotos i s the f i r s t w r i t e r who uses the name "Bory-

i n h a b i t a n t s of the n o r t h e r n c o a s t of the B l a c k Sea a feeling

of e x i l e . And, because of the d i f f i c u l t i e s of t r a n s p o r t and

communication that arose from n a v i g a t i o n a l hazards p e c u l i a r

to the B l a c k Sea, t h i s I s o l a t i o n was more than an i l l u s i o n ; i t

In s p i t e of the h a r d s h i p , r e a l and imagined, that might

have d e t e r r e d a p r o s p e c t i v e c o l o n i s t from exchanging the warm

c i v i l i z a t i o n of M i l e t o s f o r the c h i l l y w i l d e r n e s s of the Hy-

panis R i v e r i n Pontos, there were i n c e n t i v e s f o r the adventur-

ous. C h i e f among these was the abundance of a r a b l e l a n d on the

Hypanis, f o r , although M i l e t o s and the I o n i a n c o a s t were not,

i n the seventh century, so d e s p e r a t e l y short of l a n d as the

c i t i e s of the mainland of Greece, t h e i r f i e l d s were never q u i t e

enough, and, a f t e r the P e r s i a n conquest of Lyriia i n the mid-

s i x t h century, the M i l e s i a n s perhaps foresaw a p o s s i b l e s h r i n k -