Barry Cunlife - The Scythians

gallery of objects
1. Two men converse face to face. One, wearing a
headband, sits on a low hillock. He holds a spear;
his gorytos slung on his left side is just visible
behind him. The man facing him kneels on the
ground holding a spear, his arm resting on his
shield.
2. A single figure partially kneeling to string his bow.
His own bow can just be seen in the gorytos that he is
wearing on his left side.
3. Two men kneeling facing each other. One man steadies
the head of his partner whilst examining his teeth
or mouth with a finger. Both men wear gorytoi on
their left-hand sides.
4. Two men sitting, one bandaging the leg of the other.
Both are equipped with gorytoi.
There has been much debate about the meaning of the
scene. At its simplest it could be illustrating aspects
of companionship. Another view is that the first two
scenes may depict preparation for battle, with the second
two showing aspects of its aftermath. A more
adventurous hypothesis is that the scene illuminates the
Scythian origin myth (above, pp. 266–7) with Scythes
successfully stringing the bow while his two brothers,
Agathyrsus and Gelonus, are treated for injuries suffered
in their unsuccessful attempts to perform the task. This
interpretation would require the first pair of figures to
be identified as Hercules (with head bowed) explaining
the tasks he wanted his sons to perform. This is not
entirely satisfactory since the myth requires him to give
his instructions to the mother of his children, which is
evidently not the case. Clearly there is much scope here
for inventive imagination.
Beside the interpretation of the scene there is a great
deal to be learned from the depictions of tonsorial styles,
dress, and weaponry (above, pp. 238–51). The depictions
of the hoods, thigh-length belted coats, trousers, and
soft leather ankle boots are well drawn, showing much
of the dress to have been elaborately decorated.
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