From the Lands of the Scythians: Ancient Treasures From the Museums of the USSR, 3000 BC-100 BC

Metropolitan | 1975 | ISBN 0870991434 | English | 164 pages | PDF | 22 MB


This beautiful full-color museum catalogue chronicles the beautiful exhibit of Scythian and Sarmatian treasures that travelled to New York and to L.A. in 1975. The Scythians and Sarmatians were the original peoples who inspired the Greek legends of the centaurs and the Amazons -- the mounted Scythian warriors seeming to be one with their horses, and the female warriors of the Sarmatians stood out so much that the legend has discarded the men of the Sarmatian tribe. Both groups lived in the area bordered by the Dneipr and Ural Rivers to the east and west respectively, and by the Black Sea, Caucasus Mountains, and the Caspian Sea to the south. Minimal text information is presented: this is a picture-book, and a great one. Color photos are used to document the most valuable and well-preserved artifacts, and there is a short but complete description of every piece from the exhibition included. Also includes the famous text from the Greek historian Heroditus which describes the Scythians and neighboring peoples