The Scythians, Governed by Good Laws

Abstract

After the contact between Greeks and Scythians on the northern coast of the Black Sea, the Greeks formed an idea of the Scythians that did not entirely correspond to reality. It took a long time to adjust it. Herodotus, who was the first to attempt to systematize Greek knowledge about the Scythians, seems to be aware that the “freedom” of the Scythians was perhaps more of a myth than a real fact, but nevertheless, in his account, the idea of a free Scythia constantly emerges, contrasting with Achaemenid Persia where everyone was subject to the Great King.