her story, told by the Peloponnesians,
that Anacharsis was sent out by the king of the Scythians, and so made
himself a disciple of Hellas; and that when he returned back he said
to him that had sent him forth, that the Hellenes were all busied about
every kind of cleverness except the Lacedemonians; but these alone knew
how to exchange speech sensibly. This story however has been invented 78
without any ground by the Hellenes themselves; and however that may be,
the man was slain in the way that was related above.

78. This man then fared thus badly by reason of foreign customs and
communication with Hellenes; and very many years afterwards Skyles the
son of Ariapeithes suffered nearly the same fate as he. For Ariapeithes
the king of the Scythians with other sons had Skyles born to him: and
he was born of a woman who was of Istria, and certainly not a native of
Scythia; and this mother taught him the language and letters of Hellas.
Afterwards in course of time Ariapeithes was brought to his end by
treachery at the hands of Spargapeithes the king of the Agathyrsians,
and Skyles succeeded to the kingdom; and he took not only that but also
the wife of his father, whose name was Opoia: this Opoia was a native
Scythian and from her was born Oricos to Ariapeithes. Now when Skyles
was king of the Scythians, he was by no means satisfied with the
Scythian manner of life, but was much more inclined towards Hellenic
ways because of the training with which he had been brought up, and he
used to do somewhat as follows:--When he came with the Scythians in arms
to the city of the Borysthenites (now these Borysthenites say that they
are of Miletos),--when Skyles came to these, he would leave his band in
the suburbs of the city and go himself within the walls and close the
gates. After that he would lay aside his Scythian equipments and
take Hellenic garments, and wearing them he would go about in the
market-place with no guards or any other man accompanying him (and they
watched the gates meanwhile, that none of the Scythians might see him
wearing this dress): and while in other respects too he adopted Hellenic
manners of life, he used also to perform worship to the gods according
to the customs of the Hellenes. Then having stayed a month or more than
that, he would put on the Scythian dress and depart. This he did many
times, and he both built for himself a house in Borysthenes and also
took to it a woman of the place as his wife.