Dr. Owen Rees

There is no sort of hard and fast rule on this. Scythian is more Latin based in its pronunciation. Scythian with a hard K is more in keeping with the Greek wording and pronunciation. We'll stick with Scythian. It's what most people who have come across the name will see. And it's also how many English readers will naturally read the word. But I should probably apologize in advance, Tristan.

There is no sort of hard and fast rule on this. Scythian is more Latin based in its pronunciation. Scythian with a hard K is more in keeping with the Greek wording and pronunciation. We'll stick with Scythian. It's what most people who have come across the name will see. And it's also how many English readers will naturally read the word. But I should probably apologize in advance, Tristan.

There is no sort of hard and fast rule on this. Scythian is more Latin based in its pronunciation. Scythian with a hard K is more in keeping with the Greek wording and pronunciation. We'll stick with Scythian. It's what most people who have come across the name will see. And it's also how many English readers will naturally read the word. But I should probably apologize in advance, Tristan.

I'm an ancient Greek historian. Scythian might come out a couple of times.

I'm an ancient Greek historian. Scythian might come out a couple of times.

I'm an ancient Greek historian. Scythian might come out a couple of times.

Yes, precisely that. If you look at the earliest Greek descriptions of the Scythians, that's going to happen every time. The earliest description from the Greeks, from the Greek writer Herodotus, father of history, he very much builds the story of the Scythians. The further north you move, the more and more fantastical this culture becomes.

Yes, precisely that. If you look at the earliest Greek descriptions of the Scythians, that's going to happen every time. The earliest description from the Greeks, from the Greek writer Herodotus, father of history, he very much builds the story of the Scythians. The further north you move, the more and more fantastical this culture becomes.

Yes, precisely that. If you look at the earliest Greek descriptions of the Scythians, that's going to happen every time. The earliest description from the Greeks, from the Greek writer Herodotus, father of history, he very much builds the story of the Scythians. The further north you move, the more and more fantastical this culture becomes.

So he starts quite close to a city you and I have talked about before on this podcast, Olbia. a Greek town just by Crimea. He describes Scythian groups around there, and they're sort of, for want of a better word, normal to him. They're sort of agricultural, a little bit of nomadism, nothing too spectacular.

So he starts quite close to a city you and I have talked about before on this podcast, Olbia. a Greek town just by Crimea. He describes Scythian groups around there, and they're sort of, for want of a better word, normal to him. They're sort of agricultural, a little bit of nomadism, nothing too spectacular.

So he starts quite close to a city you and I have talked about before on this podcast, Olbia. a Greek town just by Crimea. He describes Scythian groups around there, and they're sort of, for want of a better word, normal to him. They're sort of agricultural, a little bit of nomadism, nothing too spectacular.

Then as he moves further and further north in his description, they suddenly become like werewolves and immortal beings. Werewolves and immortal beings? Oh, we will get to that, Tristan, don't you worry. But it's the idea that the further you move away from the Greek world, the way I think of it is you move from reality into almost myth.

Then as he moves further and further north in his description, they suddenly become like werewolves and immortal beings. Werewolves and immortal beings? Oh, we will get to that, Tristan, don't you worry. But it's the idea that the further you move away from the Greek world, the way I think of it is you move from reality into almost myth.

Then as he moves further and further north in his description, they suddenly become like werewolves and immortal beings. Werewolves and immortal beings? Oh, we will get to that, Tristan, don't you worry. But it's the idea that the further you move away from the Greek world, the way I think of it is you move from reality into almost myth.

And we see this in the Greek and the Roman writing, Greek in particular. So the further north, the further east we go, the more fantastical and the more mythological the Scythians become as a people.

And we see this in the Greek and the Roman writing, Greek in particular. So the further north, the further east we go, the more fantastical and the more mythological the Scythians become as a people.

And we see this in the Greek and the Roman writing, Greek in particular. So the further north, the further east we go, the more fantastical and the more mythological the Scythians become as a people.

So if we stick to the Greek perspective, we can talk about the Scythians as a group. Archaeologically, we cannot. We'll talk about that in a minute. But the Greeks very much saw the Scythians as a group, but made up of little, for want of a better word, tribal groups. So what they're describing are the nomadic or semi-nomadic groups north of the Black Sea and moving east.

So if we stick to the Greek perspective, we can talk about the Scythians as a group. Archaeologically, we cannot. We'll talk about that in a minute. But the Greeks very much saw the Scythians as a group, but made up of little, for want of a better word, tribal groups. So what they're describing are the nomadic or semi-nomadic groups north of the Black Sea and moving east.