Who were the Scythians?

Scythian is a term used to denote a diverse but culturally related group of nomads who occupied a large swathe of grassland, or steppes, that stretched from north of the Black Sea all the way to China. Sometimes also known as Saka or Scyths, the name “Scythian” was coined by the ancient Greeks.

“Scythian culture flourished on the steppes from about 800 B.C. to about A.D. 300,” Adrienne Mayor, a folklorist and historian at Stanford University and the author of “The Amazons: Lives and Legends of Warrior Women across the Ancient World”, told Live Science. 

The Scythians were known to many ancient civilizations, she said, including the ancient Greeks, Persians, Romans and Chinese, and they perfected the art of archery on horseback — even without the use of stirrups or saddles. They had a reputation for ferocity in battle and were masters of hit-and-run
battle tactics. 

There is much debate about the origins of the Scythians. According to the fifth-century B.C. Greek historian Herodotus, the Scythians originally inhabited Asia but were pushed west by a hostile tribe. They eventually reached the Black Sea region and the eastern outskirts of Europe, where they, in turn, pushed out the existing inhabitants. By contrast, the Greek writer Diodorus Siculus, writing in the first century B.C., claimed that the Scythians moved north into the steppe region from the south, possibly from the modern area of Armenia or even farther south along the western border with India. In a different and far more fanciful origin story, Herodotus tells how the Scythians were the descendants of the mighty hero Heracles and a creature who was half woman and half snake. In this story, Heracles encountered the creature while traveling in the lands east of Greece. After stealing Heracles’ horses, the creature demanded that if he wanted them back, he would have to stay and mate with her. The union produced three sons, one of whom was named Scythes, who became the ancestor of the Scythian nobility. The open grassland of the steppes — an environment of vast plains and low, rolling hills — was beneficial to pastoralism, and for millennia human populations in this landscape tended large herds of livestock. The Scythians were no exception. They tended herds of cattle and horses, according to Herodotus, and most people roamed the steppes rather than settling down in permanent habitations. According to World History Encyclopedia, the Scythians moved about the landscape in wagons driven by oxen. Some of these wagons were large and elaborate, with multiple rooms. When multiple wagons traveled together, the conglomeration resembled a city or large settlement. 

The Scythians were organized into tribes that were not united politically but shared a common language, culture, style of dress and art style. During certain periods, such as times of war or the celebration of ritual undertakings, different tribes came together to form larger political units or confederations. It is unclear whether Scythian society had sharp social divisions, such as hereditary elites, but in many respects they appear to have been relatively egalitarian, Mayor said — especially with regard to gender roles.

The historical and archaeological record indicates that Scythian women enjoyed considerable autonomy and privilege that would not be rivaled until modern times, according to World History Encyclopedia. For example, many Scythian women served alongside men as mounted horse archers (more on this below) and could hold leadership roles in Scythian society. Moreover, numerous Scythian burials show that women were often interred with as much elaborate offerings as men. In 2019, for instance, a burial containing four women was found that contained offerings typically reserved for men, including weapons and gold, the Smithsonian Magazine reported.

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