By Austin Harvey in All That’s Interesting: New archaeological evidence seemingly confirms the Greek historian Herodotus’ account of the brutal ways in which Scythians used their dead enemies’ bodies. In his famous Histories, ancient Greek historian Herodotus wrote about the Scythians, a nomadic group renowned for their prowess in combat. As Herodotus traveled along the Black Sea, he made observations of the Scythians, painting them as cruel and barbarous. He wrote that they blinded their slaves and, disturbingly, made leather out of human skins.
For centuries, historians assumed Herodotus’ account may have been hyperbolic. “A Scythian drinks the blood of the first man whom he has taken down,” Herodotus wrote. “He carries the heads of all whom he has slain in the battle to his king; for if he brings a head, he receives a share of the booty taken, but not otherwise… Many too take off the skin, nails and all, from their dead enemies’ right hands, and make coverings for their quivers; the human skin was, as it turned out, thick and shining, the brightest and whitest skin of all, one might say.”
New archaeological evidence suggests, however, that — in this instance at least — Herodotus was accurate. Read more
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