The Scythian or Consul (1)

Anacharsis was not the first to come from Scythia to Athens out of a longing for Greek culture. Before him there was Toxaris, a wise man, who loved beauty and was eager in pursuit of the best styles of living. At home he was not a member of the royal family or of the aristocracy [*] ; he belonged to the general run of the people—called “eight feet” in Scythia, meaning the owner of two oxen and a cart. This Toxaris never went back to Scythia, but died in Athens, where not long after his death he came to be considered a hero, and the Athenians sacrifice to him as “The Foreign Physician”—this was the name they gave him when they made him a hero. The reason for this designation, and the events which brought about his enrolment among the heroes, and his reputation as one of the sons of Asclepius are perhaps worth relating. Then you may see that to confer immortality on someone and send him to Zamolxis [*] is a custom not of the Scythians only—it is also possible for Athenians to deify Scythians in Greece.