ty waggon-loads of brushwood, for it is constantly settling down by
reason of the weather. 63 Upon this pile of which I speak each people
has an ancient iron sword 64 set up, and this is the sacred symbol 65 of
Ares. To this sword they bring yearly offerings of cattle and of horses;
and they have the following sacrifice in addition, beyond what they make
to the other gods, that is to say, of all the enemies whom they take
captive in war they sacrifice one man in every hundred, not in the same
manner as they sacrifice cattle, but in a different manner: for they
first pour wine over their heads, and after that they cut the throats of
the men, so that the blood runs into a bowl; and then they carry this up
to the top of the pile of brushwood and pour the blood over the sword.
This, I say, they carry up; and meanwhile below by the side of the
temple they are doing thus:--they cut off all the right arms of the
slaughtered men with the hands and throw them up into the air, and then
when they have finished offering the other victims, they go away; and
the arm lies wheresoever it has chanced to fall, and the corpse apart
from it.

63. Such are the sacrifices which are established among them; but of
swine these make no use, nor indeed are they wont to keep them at all in
their land.

64. That which relates to war is thus ordered with them:--When a Scythian
has slain his first man, he drinks some of his blood: and of all those
whom he slays in the battle he bears the heads to the king; for if he
has brought a head he shares in the spoil which they have taken, but
otherwise not. And he takes off the skin of the head by cutting it round
about the ears and then taking hold of the scalp and shaking it off;
afterwards he scrapes off the flesh with the rib of an ox, and works the
skin about with his hands; and when he has thus tempered it, he keeps it
as a napkin to wipe the hands upon, and hangs it from the bridle of the
horse on which he himself rides, and takes pride in it; for whosoever
has the greatest number of skins to wipe the hands upon, he is judged to
be the bravest man. Many also make cloaks to wear of the skins stripped
off, sewing them together like shepherds' cloaks of skins; 66 and many
take the skin together with the finger-nails off the right hands of
their enemies when they are dead, and make them into covers for their
quivers: now human skin it seems is both thick and glossy in appearance,
more brilliantly white th