Barry Cunlife - The Scythians

10.11 Gold diadem from kurgan 2 at Sachnovka in the Cherkaska region. The central scene shows a
seated goddess holding a mirror in one hand and a vessel in the other. Before her is a kneeling man, presumably
a suitor, holding a drinking horn and a staff. He wears a gorytos (see Gallery, no. 8).
10.12 Stele from the kurgan at Trekhbratniy. It shows a woman, perhaps a goddess, being carried in a
four-horse vehicle. She is approached by a rider. Close by is a pole or tree upon which a gorytos is hanging.
The imagery reflects a marriage ritual recorded by Herodotus in which the gorytos is a symbol of the
man’s claim to the woman.