Bacchic King Skyles

Historical king (mortal tier); the second of Herodotos' two cautionary tales (with Anacharsis) on Scythian rejection of foreign cult, here specifically the Greek god Dionysos. His existence is corroborated by a 5th-c. BCE gold finger-ring inscribed with his name.

Domains

• kingship

Relations

• sibling: King Octamasades
• enemy: King Octamasades
• descendant of: Sun-King Kolaxais

Sources

• Herodotos, Histories 4.78-80 (Godley)
• G. Hinge, 'Dionysos and Herakles in Scythia,' Black Sea Studies 8 (2008); Encyclopaedia Iranica, 'Scythians'