IMAGES OF ANACHARSIS AND SCYLES IN THE ANCIENT LITERATURE

Abstract

The article is dedicated to the images of Anacharsis and Scyles in ancient literature. It says in detail about the formation of the image of a noble barbarian in the ancient literature of the 4th century BC. It is analyzed written reports of ancient authors of the 5th cent. BC – 3rd cent. AD in the article. The author described in short, the political and economic situation in Greece and Rome of this period. The first mention of Anacharsis and Scyles we find in «The History» of Herodotus (5th century BC). Anacharsis became a popular literary character. Scyles was forgotten and was not mentioned after Herodotus. This is connected with the peculiarities of the historical process in the ancient Greece of the 4th cent. BC. The Peloponnesian War (431-404 BC) and the crisis of the post-war period made philosophers to think a place of a man in this world. The noble barbarian became the new ideal of ancient philosophy. It is shown that Anacharsis became the ideal image of a noble barbarian for the ancient world. He was a sample of wisdom and purity. Anacharsis became famous for the simplicity of his way of life and his acute observations on the institutions and customs of the Greeks. Scyles is a sample of excessive pleasures. In the following centuries Anacharsis is becoming increasingly popular. The image of a noble barbarian was used also roman authors. Conclusions are drawn that the popularity of Anacharsis and the wise barbarian is the reaction of ancient authors to crises in ancient times. As a conclusion it must be emphasized, that close study of the ancient sources confirmed an idea that had been expressed by Ch. Schubert about two stages of the formation of the image of Anacharsis.