Episode 108: Tattooed Headhunters of the Steppes

"Barbarism is the natural state of mankind… Civilization is unnatural. It is a whim of circumstance. And barbarism must always ultimately triumph." Robert E Howard

“Becoming a barbarian was often a bid to improve one’s lot.” James C Scott

“We are riders; our business is with the bow and the spear, and we know nothing of women’s work. But in your country no woman has anything to do with such things—your women stay at home in their wagons occupied with feminine tasks, and never go out to hunt or for any other purpose” A speech by an Amazon quoted by Herodotus

“Persian, such is my nature: I have never run away for fear of any man, nor am I fleeing now from you. I am wandering, as I always wander in time of peace. You ask why I did not fight you at once. May I remind you that we have neither cities nor cultivated land of our own; since we are not afraid of our territory being ruined and plundered, we had no reason to fight you outright… Not will we, until we see fit. Instead of earth and water, I will send you other gifts, of the kind you deserve; and you will weep bitter tears for having claimed to be my ruler.” Idanthyrsus

 Typically, I prefer when the episodes I create have a clearly identifiable main character. This particular one doesn’t have a lead character. But what it does have instead is people drinking from the skulls of their enemies, and tattoos, and sweat lodges, and cannabis consumption, and blood brotherhood rituals, and getting drunk on fermented mare milk. In case, that’s not enough, it also has Amazons and Wonder Woman’s golden lasso, centaurs and King Arthur, and a whole lot more. So, I hope you shall forgive the lack of a lead character. Today, we won’t focus on a particular individual but on a culture, specifically some of the steppe nomadic cultures from roughly about 2,500 years ago among people like the Scythians and the Sarmatians.