Introduction The fourth book of Herodotus ' History, the Scythian Logos, is dedicated to the Scythian tribes that lived in the Northern Black Sea region. According to most researchers, in the middle of the fifth century BC, Herodotus made a trip to Olbia. According to the most optimistic assumptions, he even visited Colchis (Rybakov, 1979, p. 89; Neihardt, 1982, p. 229). The work was written on the basis of the author's personal observations, information received from informants, and materials from written sources. "Scythian Logos", despite the compositional harmony, persuasiveness and clarity of the presentation, caused an ambiguous assessment of both contemporaries and representatives of subsequent eras. Herodotus was sometimes called the "father of history" or the "narrator of fairy tales" (Dovatur, Kallistov, and Shishova, 1982, p. 11). Many of the data presented in the work have given rise to questions and various interpretations. Ritual cleansing The Scythian Logos describes in detail the funeral rite of the Scythians. According to the narrative, at the final stage of the funeral, the Scythians " washed and anointed their heads... do the following with the body. They place three poles tilted one to the other and pull wool blankets around them. Moving the blankets as tightly as possible, they throw red-hot stones into a vat placed in the middle of the poles and blankets... by taking the grains... then they throw the seeds on the hot stones, and then they put them under the covers. The filled grain is smoked and emits so much steam that no Hellenic steam room can surpass it. The Scythians, enjoying the steam room, scream. This is what they have instead of washing..." (Hdt. IV. 73-75) (quoted from: [Dovatur, Kallistov, Shishova, 1982, pp. 127-129]). No doubt Herodotus mistook the cleansing ritual for an ordinary wash, but he described it with surprising accuracy and detail. The description is so clear and specific that it gives the impression that the author dire ... Read more