previous next


δούλους. The information in this chapter is better than the logic; Stein suggests with reason that it is a later addition.

The idea that the slaves were blind may be due to a mistaken etymology for some Scythian word for ‘slave’ (Stein; cf. 86. 4 n.), and perhaps to the fact that blindness is common in South Russia. Blind slaves obviously would be useless, nor does H. explain why they were blinded.

φυσητῆρας. Pallas (Nachr. Mong. Völk. i. 119) in the eighteenth century describes a similar operation among the Calmucks to induce ‘obstinate’ cows to give milk.

θηλέων ἵππων. The Greeks were early struck by the Northern use of mares' milk. Cf. Il. 13.5 Ἱππημολγῶν γλακτοφάγων, Ἀβίων τε δικαιοτάτων ἀνθρώπων. The Hippemolgi and the Abii were supposed to be nations, and credited with all the virtues of the ‘noble savage’; these vain imaginations are not found in H., but they lasted as late as Ammianus (fourth century A. D.): even Arrian says (Anab. iv. 1) they were αὐτόνομοι διὰ πενίαν καὶ δικαιότητα.

Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 United States License.

An XML version of this text is available for download, with the additional restriction that you offer Perseus any modifications you make. Perseus provides credit for all accepted changes, storing new additions in a versioning system.

hide Display Preferences
Greek Display:
Arabic Display:
View by Default:
Browse Bar: