arshba.ru

In the lower reaches of the Don, the city of Tanais arose as a Bosporan trading post.


Materials:

History of Adygea. Gubzhokov 2009

The Sarmatians — (10th century BC: Aorsi — Don region, Alans — Eastern Caucasus, Roxolani — north of the Azov region, Siraces — Kuban region, Iazyges — west of the Azov region). An alliance of nomadic pastoral tribes (Alans, Roxolani, Iazyges and others). In the 6th–4th centuries BC, they lived in the territory from the Tobol River to the Volga River. In the 3rd century BC, they displaced the Scythians from the Northern Black Sea region. They waged wars with the states of Transcaucasia and Rome. In the 4th century AD, they were defeated by the Huns.


More about the Sarmatians.

Maps 500–0 BC

In ancient times, the steppes of Central Asia were inhabited by nomadic tribes of the Massagetae (Sakas in ancient Iranian sources), of Scythian origin. Around the 3rd century BC, several of these tribes united into a tribal union under the common name — Dahae. Among these tribes, the Parni tribe rose to prominence, from which the future leaders and founders of Parthia, Arsaces and Tiridates, originated. More details.

The results of a study using the BATWING method, Balanovsky et al. 2011 ^[1], show that the divergence of the Abkhaz-Ossetian and Circassian-Shapsug populations began 2300 years ago.

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^[1] Parallel Evolution of Genes and Languages in the Caucasus Region. Balanovsky 2011. Supplementary Data. Supplementary Figure 4

A kingdom on the territory of the historical region of Kartli, mentioned by ancient and Byzantine authors. At the turn of the 3rd–2nd centuries BC, a state was formed on the territory of Iberia. Part of the farmers united in communities was free, others were subject to the royal family and nobility. The labor of slaves (mainly prisoners of war) was used in construction and other heavy work, as well as in the palace economy. The dominant position among the settlements of the Iberians was occupied by Mtskheta, which later became the capital of Iberia. There, as well as in Urbnisi, Uplistsikhe and other cities, crafts and trade flourished. In the first centuries AD, Greek and Aramaic script were used in Iberia. At the same time, a significant strengthening of Iberia took place, especially during the reign of Pharsman II (2nd century AD). More details.

In the region of Rengai (Syr Darya basin), the Scythian nomadic people of the Abii appear, who are identified with the Apasiaci. More details.

Mentions in Georgian and Armenian sources of the appearance of Turanians (Bunturks) in Georgia. In Zoroastrianism, Turanians are the name of nomadic peoples who inhabited the Eurasian steppe. In the "Avesta" they are called "tūra" ("tūr") or "Turians with swift horses." They are contrasted with the settled Iranian farmers. More details.

The Iberians appear — tribes in Transcaucasia, inhabitants of Iberia, a mountainous region in the Central Caucasus in the valleys of the Kyros (modern Kura) and Aragos (modern Aragvi) rivers. Ancient geographers placed the Iberians between the Colchians and the Caucasian Albanians. More details.

The Massagetae appear — a group of tribes living on the shores of the Caspian Sea, in the northern part of the Ural-Caspian steppes on the Araxes River. Possibly the ancestors of the Alans. More details.

TIMONAX (3rd century BC) "ON THE SCYTHIANS"

Fr. 2. When sailing inside the Pontus, some gardens are shown, called Jason's, at which he [is said] made a landing, and in Aea gymnasiums and discs, and Medea's tower, where her wedding once took place, and near the city a sanctuary of Jason built, and besides, many sanctuaries.

Nymphodorus (3rd century BC) "BARBARIAN LAWS"

Fr. 17. It was not allowed to burn or bury the male bodies of the Colchians; the bodies of men were wrapped in fresh hides and hung on trees, while women were committed to the earth.


Materials:

NEWS OF ANCIENT GREEK AND LATIN WRITERS ABOUT SCYTHIA AND THE CAUCASUS. Latyshev V.V. 1947

Pseudo-Aristotle "Marvelous Tales" (3rd century BC)

48. They tell of a quite peculiar origin of Chalybian and Amisian iron; it is formed, according to accounts, from sand brought down by rivers; this sand, according to some accounts, is simply washed and melted in fire, while according to others, the sediment formed from the washing is washed several times more and then melted, adding the so-called fireproof stone, of which there is much in that country; this kind of iron is much better than others, and if it were not melted in one furnace, it would seem to differ in nothing from silver. Only this iron, according to accounts, does not rust; but it is obtained in small quantities.
62. They say that Mossynoecian copper is distinguished by bright luster and extraordinary whiteness; tin is not added to it, but a special sort of local earth which is melted together with the copper; they say that the inventor of such an alloy did not reveal his secret to anyone; therefore the ancient copper products of this country are of excellent quality, while the later ones no longer have them.


Materials:

Pseudo-Aristotle "Marvelous Tales"

Pharnavaz I (Parnaoz) (Georgian: ფარნავაზი) — the semi-legendary first king of the ancient Georgian state known in antiquity as Iberia. Information about him has been preserved in ancient Georgian chronicles — "The Conversion of Georgia" and "The Life of the Kings of Kartli" of the 7th century, included in the collection of chronicles "Kartlis Tskhovreba" ("Life of Kartli"). According to these sources, he was the successor of Azon, the founder of the Pharnavazid dynasty.

Regarding the historicity of Pharnavaz, S. Rapp notes: "(the person) of Pharnavaz may indeed be an invention, but it is more plausible that simply over time the memory of the historical Pharnavaz acquired legendary features."

Relying on medieval chronicles, most scholars date the times of Pharnavaz's reign to the late 4th–3rd century BC. According to Vakhushti Bagrationi, Pharnavaz ruled in 302–237 BC, according to Cyril Toumanoff — 299–234 BC, and according to Pavle Ingorokva, his reign was 284–219 BC.

From the chronicle "The Conversion of Georgia" we learn that Pharnavaz "erected a large idol on the ledge [of a mountain?], and gave it the name Armaz, and surrounded [the idol] with a wall on the river side, and [the place] is called Armaz."

In the work "The Life of the Kings of Kartli," included in the collection of ancient Georgian chronicles "Kartlis Tskhovreba," it is reported that Pharnavaz created the Georgian script:

And this Parnaoz was the first king in Kartli from the tribe of Kartlos.
He spread the Georgian language and no longer spoke in Kartli
in any other language, except Georgian. And he created Georgian writing,
and Parnaoz died, and they buried him before the idol of Armazi.

Simmias of Rhodes (late 4th — early 3rd centuries BC) "Apollo"

Fr. 1. I arrived among the rich people of the distant Hyperboreans, where King Perseus once feasted; there live the Massagetae, riding on swift horses, armed with swift bows; I also came to the wondrous stream of ever-flowing Campasus, which carries its waters into the divine, immortal sea. From there I arrived at the islands overgrown with green olive trees, overshadowed by high reeds. I also saw the strange tribe of men Hemicyons [half-dogs], who on their beautiful shoulders have a dog's head, furnished with strong jaws; they bark like dogs and do not understand the glorious speech of other mortals.

[b]SCHOLIA TO APOLLONIUS OF RHODES' "ARGONAUTICA"[/b]

[b]TO BOOK I.[/b]

1024. "Macriae"] so called Macrones, who were settlers from Euboea, why they are called Macrones, since Euboea was also called Macria... The Macrones were neighbors of the Doliones. Others call Macriae the people of the Bechiri, constantly at war with the Cyzicenes. They were experienced in military affairs, as Philostephanus and Nymphodorus tell, who wrote about their way of life. Dionysius of Chalcis says that they were called Macrones because they were settlers from Euboea. Others say that they are called Macrones because they have quite many long-headed (macrocephali), like the Persians — eagle-nosed. Herodotus mentions this in the second book.

1321. ... Polyphemus ended his life in battle with the Chalybes. This is a Scythian people.

1323. Chalybes — a people in Scythia, where iron is mined. Callimachus says: "perish the race of the Chalybes."

[b]TO BOOK II.[/b]

373. ... Chalybes — a Scythian people beyond the Thermodon; they, having discovered iron mines, are engaged in their development. They are called Chalabae from Chalibus, son of Ares. Callimachus also mentions them: "perish the race of the Chalybes, who discovered this evil creation, rising from the earth."

378. ... Tibareni]. Also a Scythian people, neighboring the Chalybes. Mossynoeci — a people, also named after their way of life: "mossynae" are called wooden houses in which they lived; it is precisely this that the poet hinted at, saying that they inhabit a "wooded" country. It is from mossyn (that is the name for a wooden house) that they are called Mossynoeci.
392. "In front, the islands"]. Behind the island and the opposite mainland live the Philyri, and above and in front of the Philyri — the Macrones — a Scythian people, settlers from Euboea. Euboea was also called Macris because of its shape.
"In front of the islands"]. In front of the island of Aretias and the opposite land live the Philyri, named so from Philyra, daughter of Oceanus, wife of Cronus and mother of Chiron, who lived here for some time.
Or so: beyond the island, the opposite land is occupied by the Philyri.
* Bechiri] a Scythian people.

395. Then the Sapires, i.e., beyond the Bechiri. Sapires — a Scythian people, so named because the stone "sapirin" is found in abundance among them.
* Sapires — a Scythian people.
* 396. Bizeri — a Scythian people.

399. Kiteids], i.e., Colchians; for Kiteia is a city of Colchis. There is also in Europe, in Scythia, another city of the same name, Kiteia: Amaranth — a city in Pontus, and according to this poet — mountains in Colchis, from which the Phasis River flows. So there is also another city of Kiteia in Europe at the entrance to the Euxine Pontus, which takes its beginning from there; this city is so called in the nominative case, from which the poet calls Medea Kitaiad, Amaranth — a city in Pontus, and according to some — mountains in Colchis, from which the Phasis flows. Not knowing this, Hegesistratus of Ephesus called the meadows along the Phasis Amaranthine because they are covered with flowering, unfading vegetation. And that the Colchians have Amaranthine mountains, Ctesias speaks of this in the II book. The Phasis, according to Eratosthenes, flows from the mountains of Armenia and flows into the sea in Colchis:

404. And the shady grove]. Hellanicus says that the fleece lay in the temple of Zeus. About the so-called Ares' plain in Colchis and the local sacred precinct of Ares, many mention. The poet says that the golden fleece was hung in the grove of Ares on a beech tree under the guard of a dragon of monstrous size:

417. "Aea the Colchian"]. Aea is a city of Colchis. It lies at the edge of the inhabited land.
1005. The Chalybes, mining iron from the mines, sell it and thus obtain the means of life, since their land is infertile.

1010. "Tibarenian land"]. The Tibareni are a people in Scythia. They are reputed to be the most just people and never engage in battle with anyone without first announcing the day, place and hour of the battle. In the land of the Tibareni, women after childbirth nurse their husbands, as Nymphodorus testifies in "Customs."

1015. Beyond them, the Holy Mountain]. He means a mountain bearing this name and descending to the Euxine Pontus. Otherwise: this mountain descends into the Euxine Pontus. Ctesias also mentions it in the I book of "Circumnavigations" and Suida in the II book, near the so-called Macrones. More precisely, Agathon in the "Periplus of Pontus" says that it is 100 stadia from Trapezus. Irenaeus says that Mnesimachus in the I book of the work "On the Scythians" testifies to this, but this is erroneous, for Mnesimachus speaks of Scythia located in Europe, while Apollonius and the aforementioned authors speak of Asia. The third Holy Mountain is in Thrace.

1025. "Common love"]. The poet says this not in the sense that they have intercourse with each other's wives, but that each openly communicates with his own wife.

1029. "By hunger him that day"]. Ephorus and Nymphodorus testify to this — that they lock up and torment their king with hunger if he unjustly decides a case.

1231. "Philyrian island"]. The poet means the island of the Philyri; Apollonius says that they are named so from Philyra, daughter of Oceanus, who lived in these places...

1246. "Distant bay"], for the Colchians live in the farthest corner of Pontus.

[b]TO BOOK III[/b]

202. "And on their peaks"]. For it was not permitted to burn or bury the bodies of Colchian men; they wrapped the bodies of men in fresh hides and hung them on trees, but the bodies of women they committed to the earth, as Nymphodorus says, whom Apollonius followed. They honor Uranus and Gea most of all.

714. The oath of the Colchians]. The oath of the Colchians — Uranus and Gea.

1074. "Or of the Aeian island"]. For the island on the Phasis is Aeian, on which the fleece lay. This is the capital of the Colchians.

1094. "Of the Aeian island": Aea is the capital of the Colchians. The poet mentions the island on the Phasis, on which (island) the fleece is located, as Pherecydes says.

1220. "Amaranthian"]. The Amaranthians are a barbarian people above the Colchians on the mainland, from where the sources of the Phasis descend. Or the Colchian mountain called Amaranthian, from which the Phasis flows.

[b]TO BOOK IV[/b]

277. "Aea even now remains"]. Argus says that Aea from the time of Sesonchosis remains inviolate, and calls its inhabitants descendants of the Egyptians settled there by Sesonchosis... And Scymnus in "Asia" says that the Colchians are settlers from Egypt; and Herodotus in the II book mentions the circumcision of the genitals and the weaving of linen and says that they [i.e., the Colchians] use Egyptian laws; Philostephanus says that on the Phasis River there are islets and that the city of Aea lies on an island of this river.

321. "And not living around Laurium"]. The Laurian plain is in Scythia. Timonax in the first book of the work "On the Scythians" counts fifty-five peoples in Scythia. At the plain of the Sindians, the Ister River divides and by one branch flows into the Adriatic Sea, and by the other into the Euxine Pontus. Hipponax also mentions the "Sindian cleft." Hellanicus in the work "On Peoples" says: "When you sail past the Bosporus, there will be the Sindians, and above them — the Maeotian Scythians."

[size=150]Apollonius of Rhodes Argonautica. M, 2001.[/size]

Book II
The Argo rushed into the sea like a hawk,
Which flies into the sky, carried by the breath of the wind,
Its wings are calm, it gives itself entirely to flight.
Past they sailed the streams of the river rushing into the sea
The most peaceful river Parthenius, where Leto's daughter
After the hunt, whenever she rises into the sky,
Her body is cooled by the longed-for water, rejoicing.
At night then, incessantly striving further and further,
They passed Sesamus, and behind it the steep Erythini,
935 And Crobial and Cromna, and beyond that wooded Cytorus.
After that they rounded at the rising of the sun
Cape Carambis, rowing tirelessly all day and all night,
Without closing an eye along the long shore of the dark sea.
In the morning on the shore of the Assyrian land the heroes landed,
Where Sinope, daughter of Leon, settled, having granted her
To keep her virginity, Zeus himself, deceiving himself.
Zeus desired to unite in love with her and gave a promise
To keep what she in her soul wished for herself.
And she asked him to leave her virginity.
So she, having charmed Apollo, who desired with her
To share her bed, deceived and the river whose name
Halys, and mortal men did not have her in their embraces.
There lived the sons of Deimachus, a hero from Tricca,
Deimontus with Autolycus and Phlogius, the youngest of the brothers,
Since the time when they departed from Heracles in wanderings.
As soon as they saw the band of famous heroes,
Coming out to meet them with readiness, they told about themselves.
There the heroes did not wish to stay and again
Boarded the ship, urged on by the wind Argestus.
Quickly, carried forward by the breath of the wind,
They left the Halys River, passed neighboring Iris.
Past they sailed the meadows of the Assyrian land.
In the daytime they rounded the cape of the Amazons and the hidden harbor.
There once Heracles lay in wait for Melanippe, Ares'
Daughter, and, as ransom, Hippolyta herself gave him
Her belt for her sister, and then he returned the maiden unharmed.
The hero returned her. They land in the bay near the cape
Near the mouth of the Thermodon River, for on the sea
The waves had risen. The Thermodon River is unlike others —
No other river divides into so many streams;
If anyone wanted to count them, he would count up to one hundred and four.
They have one source, which on land
Falls from steep mountains — the mountains are called Amazonian,
This spring spreads wide across the high foothills,
That is why its paths are so whimsical.
It constantly winds in different directions, trying
To find a way for itself, where to flow lower.
From afar one stream flows, and next to it another.
Many paths disappear without a trace, losing themselves somewhere.
The main stream is visible, falling down with the small ones,
Into the Euxine Pontus, flowing under the extreme precipitous cape.
If the heroes had stayed there, they would have had
A battle with a crowd of Amazons, and the fight would not have been bloodless.
For the Amazons are not at all kind and do not value laws.
They all live in the flourishing Doiantian valley,
And their daring insolence with the deeds of Ares occupies them.
They even trace their lineage from Ares and the nymph,
The name of the nymph is Harmonia. These war-loving maidens
The nymph bore to the god of war, having united in love
In the distant thickets of the dense Acmonian grove on a bed.
If again the breath of Argestus had not come upon the sea,
Obedient to the will of Zeus, the friends would not have had to leave
That winding shore, where the Themiscyran Amazons
Were preparing for battle. They do not live in a common city,
But in the wide fields, divided into three tribes.
Those where Hippolyta reigned lived separately,
The Lycastians separately, and the Chadisians separately
Glorious in the spear's battle. On the new night the Argonauts
Brought their ship to the shores of the people of the Chalybes.
These men care for neither plowing in the field with oxen,
Nor tending the fruits that gladden the soul, nor flocks of sheep
Do they pasture in the dewy valleys.
But, cutting through the bowels of the earth that bears iron,
They receive payment in exchange for life. For them the morning does not rise
With dawn without toil. In hopeless soot black,
In acrid smoke, in work, their life always passes.
After the Chalybes then, rounding the cape of the father Zeus,
Past the land of the Tibareni they sailed successfully.
There, when lawful wives give birth to children,
Their husbands, lying in bed, begin to groan,
Having hidden their heads under a veil, while their wives carefully carry
Food to them, baths, as if they were women in childbirth.
Then the heroes passed the Holy Mountain and the land.
In this land, in the mountains, lives the people of the Mossynoeci.
Their law is different, quite different laws.
All that we, not hiding, do openly before all,
Even in the squares, they do in their homes.
What we do in our dwellings, they willfully
And without reproach do outside, in the crowded streets.
Their intercourse is not at home, but as if in a pigsty,
And they are not ashamed of the people who are near,
In common love, in plain sight, each unites with his wife.
Their king sat in a high wooden tower.
That tower was called Mossyn. He judged a considerable people.
Poor man! If he erred in his judgments,
The Mossynoeci starve him all day under lock and key.
Having passed this country, the heroes were already
Close to the island of Aretias, rowing tirelessly
All day, and the island almost stretched opposite.
At dusk the fair wind died down, and they saw
A bird of Ares, an inhabitant of the island, suddenly above them.
In the air over their heads it soared high,
And, spreading its wings over the ship running below,
It dropped a sharp feather down. It pierces
The left muscle of Oileus the godlike. He dropped,
Wounded, the oar from his hands. The heroes were amazed,
Seeing the winged arrow. It was pulled out by the one sitting next to him,
Friend Erybotes, and bound the wound with a bandage, from his own
Sheath tearing off the bandage, hanging down with its ends.
After the first bird another appeared under the sky.
Clytius, son of Eurytus, managed to anticipate it earlier,
Before it could throw its arrow, he seized
His bow, drew the string and immediately shot the bird,
And near the ship it plunged into the waves.
Amphidamas, son of Aleus, announces to the oarsmen:
"The island of Aretias is before us — you know it yourselves,
Seeing the birds of Ares. We lack full quivers
Here at landing. But something must be devised
To help ourselves, if a stop is appointed for us here.
That is in the prophecy of Phineus, which we all heard.
Even Heracles could not, when he arrived in Arcadia,
Overcome the birds living in the Stymphalian lake.
They did not yield to arrows, I saw it myself.
Taking a bronze rattle in his hand and waving it,
He rattled from a high cliff. In fear and with a cry
The birds flew up into the sky and flew away from there.
Now we too need to devise something like that.
I myself, having thought as I could, would propose such a solution:
Put on your helmets with crests sticking up quickly,
Divide in two, some begin to row,
Alternately, others lay out on the ship
Smooth spears with shields, and then all together
Raise a shout. Let them be frightened by the unfamiliar
Noise of such, of the waving crests, of the raised spears.
As soon as we approach the shore of the island, immediately
Beat hard on the shields and raise a terrible cry."
So he spoke. And everyone liked this plan.
Raising their bronze helmets, they placed them on their foreheads.
They shone terribly, the crimson crests swayed.
Alternately some pushed the ship forward,
With spears and shields they covered it from others.
Just as a man covers a fence with tiles,
To be a beauty to the house and a protection from showers,
And one tile fits tightly with another, —
So, having laid shields, they covered their ship.
A war cry, such as is heard in a marching formation,
If phalanxes rush against each other into battle,
Exactly such a cry from the ship resounded through the air.
They saw no birds. Only as they approached,
875 Here and there they rose and fled far away, saving themselves.
So, when the son of Cronus sends rain and hail
From clouds onto houses, then the people in the city hear
Such a noise over the roofs, but sit serenely in their houses,
For the season of bad weather will not catch them unawares,
Having long before securely fortified their house.
1080 Thus the birds sent their feathers in abundance to the heroes,
Fleeing away to the ends of the earth beyond the sea and into the mountains.
What did the prophetic Phineus intend when he commanded
Here to moor the whole band of great heroes?
Or what benefit awaited those who arrived here?
To the city of Orchomenus the children of Phrixus were heading.
They were sailing on a Colchian boat from the kingdom of Aeetes,
To receive there for their father great wealth.
This Phrixus, dying, bequeathed to his children.
1095 They were that day not far from the island.
Suddenly Zeus made the force of Boreas blow,
The moist path of Arcturus with rain, as always, marking.
By day Boreas slightly stirred the leaves on the mountains,
Easily running along the highest branches of the trees,
At night, however, it came terribly upon the sea, stirring up the waves
With a noisy gust. Impenetrable darkness covered the whole sky.
Stars nowhere because of the clouds could not be seen.
Impenetrable darkness in the sky and in the sea was established all around.
All wet and trembling before terrible death,
1100 The sons of Phrixus were carried about, given over to the waves.
The gust of wind tore the sails, and the ship was broken
In two by the strong assaults of the waves, incessantly roaring.
Then by the suggestion of the gods all four of these youths
Seized a large log. There were not a few logs
1105 Carried from the ship, firmly fastened with nails.
They, almost perishing, by waves and gusts of wind
Were carried to the island, unknown to them, full of fear.
Immediately also the furious rain suddenly broke through and flooded
The sea and the island together with the land lying opposite —
1110 In that land lived the daring people of the Mossynoeci.
The sons of Phrixus with their strong log onto the shore
Of the island the surging waves threw out at night.
The rain sent by Zeus ceased at early dawn.
Soon they met the heroes, and Argus said to them:
1115 "Whoever you may be, men, in the name of all-seeing
Zeus, we beg for mercy and ask for help according to our strength —
For terrible winds, falling upon the sea, scattered
Our wretched ship here and there over the water by the logs,
We were trying to sail across the sea on necessary business.
And therefore, if you believe us, we humbly implore,
Give us something to cover our bodies, show care
To unfortunate people, your peers, in grievous misfortune.
For the sake of Zeus honor foreign suppliants,
To strangers Zeus and to those who pray is protector. Both these and those
Are under the protection of Zeus, who looks down from above."
The son of Aeson began to question him, thinking
And deciding that the prophecy of Phineus was being fulfilled:
"All this, of course, we will gladly give you at once.
But tell me truly, in what country do you live
And what need urges you to sail across the sea?
Tell us your glorious name and the name of your race."
Argus, shaken by misfortune, said in reply to the son of Aeson:
"Phrixus the Aeolid came from Hellas to distant Aea,
I think you too have heard of this.
This Phrixus came to the city of the lord Aeetes,
Sitting astride a ram. The ram was golden
By the will of the god Hermes. Its fleece can be seen
On the branches overgrown with leaves, of a mighty oak,
For Phrixus sacrificed the ram to Zeus Cronides,
Of all the names of Zeus choosing Phyxius.
There lord Aeetes received him kindly,
Betrothing to him his daughter Chalciope and for friendship's sake
Taking no ransom. They are our parents.
Phrixus died an old man in the house of Aeetes,
We, his sons, caring for our father's bequests,
Now sail to Orchomenus, to take the treasures of Athamas.
If you wish to know what names we bear —
Cytisorus is this one, this one is Phrontis,
That one is called Melas, and call me Argus."
So he spoke. And the heroes were joyful at the meeting,
And marveled, surrounding them. As was fitting,
Jason the son of Aeson addressed him with such speech:
"You will indeed be related to us by our father,
Appealing with a request to those who will help you in friendship.
For Athamas and Cretheus were brothers by birth, —
I am the grandson of Cretheus, together with all my friends
From Hellas I go to that very city of Aeetes.
But we shall have time to tell each other this later.
Now first put on clothes. And I think, by the will
Only of the immortals in misfortune you met with me."
He spoke and brought them clothes to put on from the ship.
After that all together went to the temple of Ares,
To offer sheep as sacrifice. There they surrounded the altar quickly.
It was built of pebbles outside the temple without a roof,
Inside a black stone was laid,
Before which in ancient times the Amazons gave their vows.
Not for this did they come from the opposite shores,
To lay oxen and rams on the altar as sacrifice, —
But they cut horses, having selected them for slaughter.
The heroes performed the sacrifices and tasted the roasted meat.
Then the son of Aeson addressed them with these words:
"Truly Zeus himself watches over everything, nothing is hidden
From him among men, neither the righteous nor the unrighteous.
As he rescued your father from under deadly machinations
Of an evil stepmother and provided you with innumerable riches,
So now he saved you unharmed from the destructive storm.
You can sail with our ship, wherever you wish,
Both there and back, either to Aea, or to the rich city
Of great Orchomenus. The ship was built by Athena herself
Our ship, and she herself felled those trees
From the Pelion peak, and Argus helped her in the building.
Your boat, however, was scattered by the fierce wave,
Before you approached those rocks which in the sea
Each day go against each other in the narrow strait.
Become you then a support to those wishing to the land of Hellas
This golden fleece to carry away! Show us the way!
I sail to Aea to sacrifice for Phrixus because of the wrath
Of Zeus on the race of the Aeolids." So he spoke, persuading them.
The sons of Phrixus, listening to his words, were terrified,
Saying among themselves that Aeetes would not be friendly
With him who would wish to take away the golden fleece.
Argus, condemning such an approach, said to them thus:
"O friends, as strong as we are, so ready are we
To help you always when need arises.
Aeetes, however, is formidable and prone to destructive cruelty,
That is why I greatly fear for your voyage.
He calls himself the son of Helios. Around him, however, countless
Tribes of Colchians live. He himself with Ares could compare
Quite well in loud voice and great strength.
Moreover, it is not easy to carry away the fleece without Aeetes.
A serpent guards the fleece, coiling around it.
A sleepless serpent, immortal, born of Gea —
The Earth at the summit of the Caucasus, where the rock of Typhoeus.
There, they say, Typhoeus, struck by the thunderbolt of Cronides
Because he stretched out his mighty hands against Zeus,
Poured out hot blood from his head, rushing down
Into the Nysian hills and dales, where Typhoeus even now
Lies outstretched under the standing water of Serbonis."
So he spoke. In many their cheeks were covered with pallor,
Only hearing of such difficulty. Peleus, however, quickly
With a bold word interrupted him and answered him thus:
"Do not frighten us, friend, beyond measure with such a tale!
We do not need strength so much and we will not be lower,
Than Aeetes, when we have to fight with him in arms.
I think we are no less skilled in the art of war,
If we have come here, being born almost from immortals.
And therefore, if peacefully he does not give the golden fleece,
I hope his Colchian troops will not help him either."
Thus, interrupting each other, they continued their talk
After the meal, until they fell asleep, filled with food.
In the morning only they awoke, a fair wind blew.
They raised the sail, and under the breath of the wind
The sail trembled, and the island of Ares was left.
A new night was approaching when they passed Philyris
Island, where Cronus, son of Uranus (and he ruled then
On Olympus over the Titans, while Zeus in the Cretan cave
Of the Idaean Curetes lay yet in the cradle),
Shared a bed with Philyra, hiding from Rhea. But the goddess
Still managed to catch them. Cronus rushed away,
Immediately taking the form of a horse with a flowing mane;
And the daughter of Oceanus, Philyra, in the mountains of the Pelasgians
Hid herself, there giving birth to great Chiron, partly —
A god, partly — a horse, a son resembling his father.
The land of the Macrones and the boundless land of the Bechiri
Further they passed, and also the arrogant Sapires,
Next to them the Biziri. All the time further and further
They sped quickly with gusts of warm wind.
Now the winding of the Pontus appeared to the sailors in the distance,
And gradually began to grow the high crags
Of the Caucasus Mountains. There to the unbreakable rocks was fastened
With bronze bonds Prometheus, and he nourished with his
Liver a great bird. The eagle came incessantly.
In the evening suddenly the heroes saw the eagle in fear.
Over the ship it flew high to the clouds. But still
The sail began to flutter from the waving of its broad wings.
Such a bird is unlike the eagle of the upper sky,
It quickly flaps its wings, like oars.
Then a loud groan of Prometheus was heard by the heroes;
The eagle was devouring his liver, tearing out pieces. From the cry
All the Air was shaken. And soon the eagle was returning
The same way, and again they saw the bloody bird.
By night, trusting in Argus's knowledge, the heroes sailed
To the broad-flowing Phasis, to the final limits of Pontus.
Having lowered the sail, they quickly laid it down,
Having first inclined the mast, they lowered it into its socket.
Then on oars they brought the ship into the river's stream.
Before them with a murmur the stream parted. And on the left
Was seen the mighty Caucasus with Aeetes' Kitai.
After that they saw the valley of Ares and the grove
Of the sacred god, where the serpent guarded the fleece sleeplessly.
Into the river the son of Aeson from a golden cup began to pour
Pure wine libations, honey-like in taste,
To Gea, to the underworld gods and to the souls of departed heroes.
He begged their favor to appear to the heroes for help
And to receive the anchors of the ship with their gracious heart.
After him Ancaeus too uttered such a word:
"We have come to the Colchian land and the Phasian mouth.
Now the time has come to think of our matter;
Either peacefully we wish to come to terms with Aeetes,
Or some other path will have to be chosen!"
So he said. Jason, heeding the advice of Argus,
Ordered them to take the ship with anchors deeper.
He entered the overgrown swamp near the shore.
There in the darkness of night the heroes settled for the night.
Eos, whom they awaited with anxiety, soon appeared.

Book III
...They stepped down from the ship's side
And through the reeds of the swamp went further to the dry land.
A flat hill was visible there called
Circean. In rows abundantly willows grew and weeping willows,
To their tops with ropes were tied corpses.
Even now among the Colchians it is considered a crime
To give the bodies of the dead to fire. It is not permitted either,
Having dressed them, to heap a mound over them on the earth.
But, wrapped in raw ox hides,
The dead outside the city are customarily hung on trees.
An equal share with the air, however, the earth receives.
Women they bury in the ground. Such are their laws.
Hera, having planned help for these travelers in advance,
Enveloped the city in dense mist, to hide them,
To the house of Aeetes walking calmly, from the multitude of Colchians.
Only from the valley they approached the city and the dwelling
Of Aeetes close they saw, Hera dispersed the cloud.
They stood in the doorway, admiring the fence of the house
And the breadth of the gates and the columns standing in a row
Near the walls. Above the house with triglyphs of bronze from above
Was skillfully attached a cornice of bright stone.
After through the threshold they passed without hindrance.
Near the threshold lushly grew grapevines,
Rising upward with green foliage. And beneath them babbled
220 Four springs of eternal flow, dug by
Hephaestus. One flowed with milk, the second with grape moisture,
The third ran with fragrant oil, while the fourth
Poured with water, and it with the setting of the Pleiades grew warm,
And at their rising it ran out cold as a spring,
Like transparent crystal, born in an empty grotto.
So many wondrous creations in the house of Aeetes the Colchian
The skilled master Hephaestus, having contrived, manufactured.
He also created for him bronze-footed bulls. Their jaws
Were terrible, from them they breathed out flame.
230 Besides, he forged a plow of strong steel.
Helios received it as a gift for that, because Hephaestus,
In the Phlegrean battle wearied, he gave a place in his chariot.
There was an inner courtyard, and many led into it
Well-fitted, strong double doors. Further chambers
235 Were on the right and left. Around the yard a magnificent
Portico was built. On the sides of the house rose.
In that which was higher than the others and excelled in beauty,
The lord Aeetes himself dwelt with his wife.
Apsyrtus, the son of Aeetes, in another. He was born
240 By the Caucasian nymph Asterodeia, and afterwards he chose
As wife Aeetes the maiden Idyia, born the youngest
Of the daughters of Uranian Tiphys and Oceanus.
The sons of the Colchians called the handsome Apsyrtus Phaethon,
For among youths he excelled in his beauty.
245 In the other chambers lived the daughters of the lord Aeetes
With their handmaidens. The younger was called Medea, the other
Had the name Chalciope. Medea by chance
Was walking along the road to her sister, the heroes saw her.
At home Hera detained her. Rarely here
250 She was before, spending days outside the house
In the temple of Hecate, where she was a priestess of the goddess.
Suddenly noticing these people, Medea cried out,
Chalciope heard her cry. Immediately the maidservants,
Having thrown aside their spindles and yarn, ran out in a crowd to look.
255 Following went Chalciope and suddenly saw her sons.
Raising her hands to heaven with joy, she lost her speech.
The youths began to embrace their mother, to comfort her gently,
To speak kindly with her, and she sadly said to them:
"Never should you seek unknown paths again,
260 Leaving me without care. The gods have returned you!
Wretched me! What evil prompting instilled
By the direction of Phrixus your father in you a longing for Hellas?
To me he, dying, left only torment in my heart.
And why did you wish to go to the city of Orchomenus?
Whatever may be in it, but for the sake of Athamas's riches
How did you decide to leave your mother to bitter grief?"
So she spoke. Aeetes comes out last
Into the doors of the chambers together with his wife Idyia.
He heard his daughter's voice. The crowded courtyard
Was filled with noise. Some worked diligently
Near the carcass of a large bull, others split
Dry firewood and heated water in the baths.
All were busy, diligently serving the king.
Meanwhile Eros flew invisibly through the air.
A terrible gadfly attacks young heifers so.
The gadfly, whom shepherds call the cattle's goad.
Quickly Eros in the porch by the door-jamb, having thrown
His bow, took from his quiver an arrow full of groans.
After, jumping easily over the threshold and invisible,
Looking sharply, he whirled at the feet of Jason.
He fitted the feathers of the arrow neatly to the middle of the bowstring
And, drawing the string with both hands, straight
Hit the mark, hitting Medea. She was stunned.
Then Eros, leaving the high palace,
Laughing loudly, flew away. The arrow remained in the maiden,
Sinking deep into her heart with fire. Medea stood,
Throwing her glances toward Jason. Suddenly involuntarily
Away flew her tired rational thoughts. The maiden
Forgot everything, only her soul was tormented by sweet pain.
So it happens when a woman sitting at her spinning wheel
Throws dry brushwood into the still unextinguished hearth,
To prepare for herself the household light in the night,
She stands too close to the fire. Suddenly a huge flame
From an unnoticed brand with the brushwood destroys everything.
So, hidden under Medea's heart, love blazed up
To her undoing. Her tender cheeks either grew pale,
Or were covered with blush, against the will of reason.
And when the servants had prepared food for them,
And the strangers had time to wash in the warm baths,
They gladdened their souls with drink and food,
And the lord Aeetes began to question his grandsons.
Aeetes turned to the four of them with these words:
"Children of my daughter and Phrixus, whom above
All foreigners I once honored in our halls!
Why are you in Aea? Why have you returned back?
Or did misfortune in the distant journey hinder you?
You did not believe me, that the roads there are boundless.
I once experienced this, circling in the chariot
Of the Sun, when my father took my sister Circe
Into the depths of the evening land to the shores of the Tyrrhenian Sea.
Now my sister lives there. Therefore I know,
From the Colchian land that place is very far.
But what comfort is there in words? You better tell me,
What has now happened to you and who are these people,
Coming with you? Where did you land from the hollowed boat?"
So he asked. And before the brothers, Argus answered quickly,
A little fearing for Jason and all the Argonauts.
He spoke gently. And he was the eldest among the brothers:
"Immediately, Aeetes, our ship was broken by the violent winds.
We escaped on a ship's log, and the sea cast us out
To the shore of the island dedicated to the god Ares,
In the dark night. Some god undoubtedly saved us.
For on this deserted island, no birds of Ares dwell,
As before, not one did we find.
They were driven away by these people, having landed the day before
There with their ship and going out onto the deserted shore.
They were detained out of pity for us by the will of Zeus
Or some chance. They gave us plenty
Immediately of food and clothing, having heard the glorious name
Of Phrixus, as well as yours, Aeetes. And they sail to your city.
If you wish to know the reason, I will not conceal it.
A certain ruler wished to exile this man
And deprive him of his wealth. This violent ruler
Surpassed all the Aeolids in his immoderate power.
He sends him on an impossible journey here and says,
That the race of the Aeolids will not escape the terrible wrath
Of inexorable Zeus, the curses of the swearing god
And punishment for Phrixus, unless the fleece is returned.
Athena Pallas herself built the ship.
This ship is quite different from those the Colchians have.
We, however, fell upon a worse Colchian one.
It was split at once by greedy water and gusty wind.
But this one flies through the air and runs just as well when people
Themselves drive it, leaning on strong oars.
On the ship, having gathered with him the best of the Achaeans,
This man came to your land, having wandered much
Through cities and the abysses of the fierce sea, in hope,
That you will satisfy him and judge all as you wish.
Know, not by the strength of hands does he seek the desired,
He wishes to repay you worthily for this gift.
He heard from me about the hostile Sauromatians, —
He is ready to pacify them, so that they submit to you.
If, truly, you wish to know what their names are
And what is their lineage, even here I will conceal nothing.
He for whose sake all the others were gathered in Hellas,
Bears the name Jason, son of Aeson, grandson of Cretheus.
And if he traces his lineage to Cretheus,
Then by our father he may be considered our kinsman;
Both Cretheus and Athamas were sons of Aeolus;
Phrixus, our father, was the son of Athamas, grandson
Of Aeolus. This is — Augias, son of high Helios —
The Sun; You know about him, I am sure. And here
Is Telamon, he is the son of glorious Aeacus, and the grandson of great
Zeus. So too are all the others, who came together with
Jason, either sons of immortals, or grandsons of those immortals."
Argus said this. Aeetes, angered by the speech,
Could not restrain his rage. His heart beat violently.
He began to speak, vexed more than all else
At the sons of Chalciope, who had brought the Argonauts with them.
His eyes flashed terribly from under his brows with anger:
"Will you not leave, you villains, immediately back
Out of my sight from the country with your schemes together,
Before anyone sees the unlucky fleece of Phrixus!
Not for the fleece, but for the scepter here, without reaching Hellas,
You returned to me, you came for royal power.
If you had not tasted the hospitality of my table,
I would not delay to cut off your hands, to cut off
Your tongues and send you back with only your legs.
So that you would forget your audacity in the future
And not chatter false nonsense about the immortal gods."
So spoke the enraged one. Then strongly in the soul of Aeacides
His heart beat. Everything in him was already rushing now
To answer with a fatal word. Jason hastens to intervene,
First turning to the king with such gentle speech:
"Calm yourself, Aeetes! The task of the voyage is different!
We did not come to your city and your dwelling for this!
Who would risk crossing such a sea voluntarily
For the sake of another's treasures? But I was urged by a deity
And the will of an unjust king. You, however,
Show us, the suppliants, mercy! And I throughout Hellas
Will proclaim your God-given glory.
And we are all ready to repay you for the service with the deed of Ares.
If indeed you strive to subdue the Sauromatians
Or any other people under the royal scepter."
Thus Jason spoke a flattering speech with a gentle voice.
The heart of Aeetes again boiled with a twofold thought:
Either immediately to attack them and kill them on the spot,
Or first to test their strength. It seemed
Better such a thought. And he answered Jason:
"Foreign man, why do you speak so fully of everything?
If indeed you are of the race of the gods, this means
You, as people, are in all things like me, and besides, you have come
By the will of another. I will give the golden fleece back
For you to take away with you, if you wish it,
After I have tested you. For I am not envious
Of brave men, as that ruler in Hellas.
You yourselves told of him. But by the trial of strength and might
The feat will prove. I myself perform it with my hands,
However destructive such a deed may seem to me.
Two bronze-footed bulls graze in the grove of Ares,
Two bulls of mine, breathing flame from their mouths.
Them, having yoked, I drive across the fourfold
Hard field of Ares, cutting with the swift plow
That field to the end, not the seed of Demeter do I cast
Into the furrows, but the terrible serpent's strong teeth;
And from them grow men in military armor.
With them then I fight, I slay them all, as if
In the field I shear the ears of corn, I put the enemies to death.
In the morning I yoke the bulls, and in the evening hour
I finish the harvest. You, however, if you can do this,
On that same day you will carry the fleece to your master.
Before I cannot give it, do not hope. For it is not fitting
For a man born glorious to humble himself before a worse one."


Материалы:

The Great Steppe in Ancient and Byzantine Sources. Garkavets 2005

The reign in the Bosporan Kingdom of Paerisades II, son of Spartok III. He tried to develop relations with Egypt and Rhodes. Major changes took place in the ancient world. Macedonia and Ptolemaic Egypt became the main rivals exerting political influence and pressure on the Greek poleis. Drawing closer to Egypt, Paerisades tried to improve the economic situation of his country.


Materials:

History of Adygea. Gubzhokov 2009

The Sarmatians invade Scythia and actually take full possession of the northern Black Sea region, destroying and expelling the Scythians. Subsequently, part of the Scythians remained at the mouth of the Dnieper and on the Crimean peninsula. Another part crossed the Danube and settled there, the territory receiving the name of Lesser Scythia (Istria—Dobruja). More details.

Eudoxus of Rhodes (mid-3rd century BC) "DESCRIPTION OF THE EARTH"

Fr. 3) "From the land of the Chalybes is exported iron, which is praised for its suitability for hardening."

Fr. 4) "called also Chabarenai are those living around the Chalybes; they eat raw the breasts of other women whom they happen to capture, and treat the children to them."


Материалы:

NEWS OF ANCIENT GREEK AND LATIN WRITERS ABOUT SCYTHIA AND THE CAUCASUS. Latyshev V.V. 1947

The reign in Bosporus of Spartok IV, son of Paerisades II.


Materials:

History of Adygea. Gubzhokov 2009

The reign in Bosporus of Leukon II, son of Paerisades II.


Materials:

History of Adygea. Gubzhokov 2009

The reign in Bosporus of Hygiainon, great-grandson of Satyros II.


Materials:

History of Adygea. Gubzhokov 2009