SCYTHIANS. 



yet their kings not fo defpotic as not to be depofed, or even 

 put to death, for the violation of their laws. 



When any one of their monarch^ fell (ick, it was their 

 conllant cultom to fend immediately for three of their nioft 

 famous prophets, who commonly told h.m that fome Scy- 

 thian, whom they named, had perjured himfell by fvvearing 

 by the royal throne, which it feems was their mod iolemn 

 oath. The accufed peilon was thereupon fcized, and 

 brought before the king If he denied the faft, more 

 prophets were fent for; if they confirmed the evidence, 

 the man was immediately beheaded, and his goods were 

 divided among the three firft accufers. But if they ac- 

 quitted him, a new fupply of them was to be fent for ; 

 and if the majority of them abfolved him, then the firft ac- 

 cufers were tied hands and feet, and fet in a cart loaded 

 with faggiits, and drawn by oxen : after they had ftopt 

 the falfe prophet's mouth, as he was then ftyled, they 

 I fet fire to the wood, which confumed the cai-t and man, 

 [ and feldom failed burning the oxen to death. Our author 

 adds, that the male children of thofe whom the king con- 

 demned to death feldom efcaped the fame fate. 



Another inftance of their great refpeft to their monarchs 

 is the pompons folemnity of their funerals, wliich was per- 

 formed as follows : the embalmers received the body covered 

 with wax, they opened and cleanfed the belly, and having 

 filled it with bruifed cyprefs, incenfe, parfley, and anifeeds, 

 they fewed it up again, and placed the corpie in a chariot, 

 and conveyed it from one tribe to another through all the 

 provinces of the kingdom. Every province, where they 

 received the funeral proceflion, was obliged to imitate the 

 royal Scythians in their mournful ceremonies, which con- 

 fided in cutting off one part of the ear, (having the head, 

 and piercing the left hand with an arrow ; in this guile, 

 they accompanied the hearfe to the next provmce, till it 

 reached that of the Gerrians, which was the remotell in 

 the kingdom, fituate along that part of the Boryfthenes, 

 v.'here it begins to be navigable. Here the corpfe was de- 

 pofited in a large fquare hole made in the earth, upon a 

 bed encompafled round with fpears, which they covered 

 with timber ; and fpread a canopy over the whole monu- 

 ment. In the vacant places of it they depofited one of his 

 favourite concubines, his head cook, groom, a waiter, a 

 mefienger, fome horfes, all ftrangled, and a number of 

 necefTary utenfils, and among others fome golden cups. 

 Then they threw the earth upon it, fo as to raife a high 

 mound, or artificial mountain. As foon as the year was ex- 

 pired they chofe fifty young men of the king's officers, 

 who were always to be Scythians of quality. Thefe, with 

 an equal number of horfes, were itrangled, their bowels were 

 taken out, and their bellies fluffed with ftraw. The bodies 

 of the men were fet aftride upon the horfes, and faftened 

 to them by an iron ftake. The horfes, thus mounted, were 

 fet upon femicircular boards, fupported by four pieces of 

 timber, and placed at a convenient diftance from each other 

 round the monument, the horfes having a loofe rein fattened 

 to another poll fet up for that purpofe. 



The Scythians worOiipped a plurality of gods and god- 

 defies, but that which they reckoned their principal deity 

 was Vcfta, whom they called Tahiti. The two next in 

 veneration were .Tupiter, whom they called Papeus, and 

 Apia, or the Earth, which they eftcemed his wife. Jupiter, 

 it feems, they challenged for their proscnitor, and Vella 

 for their queen, as appears by the anfwer which one of 

 their kintjs fent to Darius, when he came to fubdue them 

 to his empire ; bcfidcs tlufc, they worfiiippcd Apollo, the 

 cclellial Vcntis, and Neptune, under the names of Oeto- 

 fyrus, Strippafa, and Thamimafades. But their favourite 



deity feems to have been the god of war, to whom alone 

 they dedicated temples, altars, and images. How his tcnj- 

 ples were built, Herodotus doth not tell us ; neither is it 

 eafy for us to guefs. It doth not even appear from any 

 ancient authors, or other monuments, that ever they built 

 any properly fo called. Groves indeed they were famous 

 for creating to this deity. In thefe they affefted to have 

 one or more oaks of a mighty fize, which were accounted 

 fo facred, that to lop fo much as a branch or fprig, or 

 even to wound the bark, was accounted facrilcge, and 

 punifhed with death. Thefe oaks they never failed to 

 fprinkle plentifully with the blood of their viiSims, info- 

 much, that the rind of fome of the oldell of them was 

 covered or even encrufted with it. We are therefore in- 

 clined to believe, that Herodotus, who learned thefe things 

 by report, might, for want of a good interpreter, mittake 

 them for temples, and fuppofe them to be built like thofe 

 of other nations. 



Befides the deities above named, we are told that fome 

 of them worfhipped fire as the principle of all things, and 

 gave it the name of Vulcan ; they ufed to fwcar by the 

 wind, and the fword, the one as the author of life, and 

 the other of death. They likewife looked upon Zamolxis 

 as a deity, to whom they committed the fouls of the dead, 

 and offered facrifices on their behalf. The royal Scy- 

 thians are affirmed by Herodotus to have acknowledged 

 all the deities above named, and to have offered facrifices 

 to Neptune in particular ; for all thefe various deities they 

 had not, indeed, temples, but altars and groves, and a fet 

 of priefls appropriated to each. 



How fpacious thofe groves muft have been, may be feen 

 in the lafl quoted antiquarian, or be gueffed at by the vail 

 extent of the altars, which Herodotus tells us they eredled 

 in them to Mars, their favourite deity, one of which at 

 leaft they were obliged to have in every diltrift. It was 

 made of fmall wood tied up into bundles, and covered three 

 ftadia uf land in length and breadth, though it was not 

 proportionable in its height. The top of it, which was 

 quadrangular, had three fides perpendicular ; and the fourth 

 had a gradual declivity, to render the top of it eafy ot 

 accefs. One hundred and fifty loads of faggots were to 

 be brought yearly to each altar, to fupply thofe which had 

 been decayed by the inclemency of the winter. On the 

 top of each of tliofe heaps was creeled an old iron fcimitar, 

 which flood there as the image, or rather emblem of the 

 deity. To him, befides all other cattle, in common with 

 their other gods, and in much greater number, they facri- 

 ficed horfes ; and what was moi-c fliocking, every hundredth 

 man they took prifoner from their enemies. The priell 

 having poured a libation of wine upon the captive's head, 

 cut his throat, and received his blood into a bowl, with 

 which afcending to the top of the altar, he waflicd the 

 deity's fword. As to the viftim, they only cut off his 

 right arm clofe to the l-houlder, and throwing it up into 

 the air, left it cxpofed m the place where it fell, and the 

 rcll of the body in that where it was killed. 



Of the viftims which they facnficed to Mars or to any 

 other deity, the horfe was elleenied the noblelt, and the 

 moll acceptable. As for fwine they detelled them, and 

 would not fufier any to remain among them. They alfo 

 offered to tlieir gods the firll fruits of the earth, the firll- 

 lings of their cattle, and a part of the fpoil they took in 

 war ; fending a confiderablc part of the latter to the Del- 

 phic Apollo, by a number of their honourable virgins, 

 under a fnfficient efcort. 



Their alliances and contrafts were ratified with the fol- 

 lowing ceremonies : they poured fome wine into an earthen 



vcfl'cl, 



