Histories

So it came about that a younger generation grew up, born of these slaves and the women; and when the youths learned of their parentage, they came out to fight the Scythians returning from Media.

First they barred the way to their country by digging a wide trench from the Tauric mountains to the broadest part of the Maeetian lake;[*](The Sea of Azov . It is not clear where the ta/fros was. Some think that Herodotus may have had in his mind the so-called “Putrid Sea,” the narrow stretch of water between the Arabat isthmus and the +Krym [34,45] (autonomous republic), Ukraine, Europe Crimea. This at least corresponds with the “point of greatest breadth” of the Sea of +Azov [39.433,47.1] (inhabited place), Rostov, Rossiya, Russia, Asia Azov.) and then, when the Scythians tried to force a passage, they camped opposite them and engaged them in battle.

There were many fights, and the Scythians could gain no advantage; at last one of them said, “Men of Scythia (region (general)), AsiaScythia, look at what we are doing! We are fighting our own slaves; they kill us, and we grow fewer; we kill them, and shall have fewer slaves.

Now, then, my opinion is that we should drop our spears and bows, and meet them with horsewhips in our hands. As long as they see us armed, they imagine that they are our equals and the sons of our equals; let them see us with whips and no weapons, and they will perceive that they are our slaves; and taking this to heart they will not face our attack.”