An Attic red-figure vase-painting of a Scythian archer by Epiktetos, 520–500 BC
Agency overview
Formed
5th century BC
Dissolved
4th century BC
Employees
300–1,200[1][2]
Legal personality
Government agency
Jurisdictional structure
National agency
Classical Athens
Operations jurisdiction
Classical Athens
General nature
Local civilian police
Operational structure
Headquarters
Tents or wooden barracks in the Agora and later on the Areopagus[3]
Elected officer responsible
The Eleven[4]
Notables
Person
Speusinos, for allegedly establishing the force
The Scythian archers were a hypothesized police force of 5th- and early 4th-century BC Athens that is recorded in some Greek artworks and literature. The force is said to have consisted of 300 armed Scythians (a nomadic Iranic people living in the Eurasian Steppe) who were public slaves in Athens. They acted on behalf of a group of eleven elected Athenian magistrates "who were responsible for arrests and executions and for some aspects of public order" in the city. Despite being called "archers", the Scythian police probably did not use bows and arrows.
One of Aristophanes's comedies has a Scythian archer as a character, and he speaks broken Greek with an accent.
^Wickramasinghe, Chandima S. M. (2005). Slavery from known to unknown : a comparative study of slavery in ancient Greek poleis and ancient Sri Lanka. John and Erica Hedges. p. 16. ISBN 9781841717302.
^Vos, M. F. (1963). Scythian Archers in Archaic Attic Vase-painting. J. B. Wolters. p. 68.
^Braund, David (2005). Scythians and Greeks: Cultural Interactions in Scythia, Athens and the Early Roman Empire (sixth Century BC - First Century AD). University of Exeter Press. p. 120. ISBN 9780859897464.
^Hunter, Virginia J. (2019). Policing Athens: Social Control in the Attic Lawsuits, 420-320 B.C. Princeton University Press. pp. 146, 186. ISBN 9780691194608.
an accent. The Scythianarchers were called toxotai (τοξόται, literally "[the] archers"), Skythai (Σκύθαι, literally "[the] Scythians"), and Speusinioi...
archer from the bouncing of the running horses, thus allowing Scythian mounted archers to operate at very high performance levels. The main Scythian armament...
Athens 480-470 BCE. Gold sew-on clothing appliqué in the form of two ScythianArchers. 350-400 BCE. Probably from the Hill of Ashes, Crimea. British Museum...
The Scythian languages (/ˈsɪθiən/ or /ˈsɪðiən/ or /ˈskɪθiən/) are a group of Eastern Iranic languages of the classical and late antique period (the Middle...
The Scythian campaign of Darius I was a military expedition into parts of European Scythia by Darius I, the king of the Achaemenid Empire, in 513 BC. The...
history. Herodotus provides some details about a Scythian dominance period, the so-called Scythian interregnum in the Median dynasty. The dating of this...
limb bow for given arrow energy, and this form was often preferred by archers in environments where long weapons could be cumbersome, such as in brush...
Paralus and the Salaminia used for diplomatic and ceremonial duties. Scythianarchers, possible military police employed by Athens Neer, Richard T (2012)...
figurines depicting mounted Scythianarchers as well as in Scythian influences in Celtic art. During the 7th century BC the Scythians under their king Išpakaia...
to 400 BC. The name of the Scythians is believed to be of Indo-European origin and to have meant "archer". The Scythians gave their name to the region...
putting down resistance from the Derbices infantry, aided by other Scythianarchers and cavalry, plus Indians and their war-elephants. According to him...
fingers are used to hold the string; in this form it may be used by Scythianarchers depicted on Greek black-figure pottery, and by an Amazon depicted about...
Politics Military Wars Athenian military Scythianarchers Antigonid Macedonian army Army of Macedon Ballista Cretan archers Hellenistic armies Hippeis Hoplite...
Politics Military Wars Athenian military Scythianarchers Antigonid Macedonian army Army of Macedon Ballista Cretan archers Hellenistic armies Hippeis Hoplite...
coinage, while temple slaves acted as servants of the temple's deity and Scythian slaves were employed in Athens as a police force corralling citizens to...
discomfited with a soaking. The magistrate then arrives with some ScythianArchers (the Athenian version of police constables). He reflects on the hysterical...
Politics Military Wars Athenian military Scythianarchers Antigonid Macedonian army Army of Macedon Ballista Cretan archers Hellenistic armies Hippeis Hoplite...
Politics Military Wars Athenian military Scythianarchers Antigonid Macedonian army Army of Macedon Ballista Cretan archers Hellenistic armies Hippeis Hoplite...
whereupon the Rangers retreated but claimed victory. Horse archers may be either light, such as Scythian, Hun, Parthian, Cuman, or Pecheneg horsemen, or heavy...
Politics Military Wars Athenian military Scythianarchers Antigonid Macedonian army Army of Macedon Ballista Cretan archers Hellenistic armies Hippeis Hoplite...
http://www.atarn.org/chinese/Yanghai/Scythian_bow_ATARN.pdf Archived 18 May 2011 at the Wayback Machine. SCYTHIAN BOW FROM XINJANG. Adam Karpowicz and...
and flute player, Euripides distracts the Scythianarcher long enough to set Mnesilochus free. The Scythian attempts to apprehend them before they can...
Politics Military Wars Athenian military Scythianarchers Antigonid Macedonian army Army of Macedon Ballista Cretan archers Hellenistic armies Hippeis Hoplite...
Greek earthenware of antiquity also depict Amazons and so-called "Scythian" archers with Phrygian caps. Although these are military depictions, the headgear...
Politics Military Wars Athenian military Scythianarchers Antigonid Macedonian army Army of Macedon Ballista Cretan archers Hellenistic armies Hippeis Hoplite...
Politics Military Wars Athenian military Scythianarchers Antigonid Macedonian army Army of Macedon Ballista Cretan archers Hellenistic armies Hippeis Hoplite...
Politics Military Wars Athenian military Scythianarchers Antigonid Macedonian army Army of Macedon Ballista Cretan archers Hellenistic armies Hippeis Hoplite...
magistrates as police. In Athens, the ScythianArchers (the ῥαβδοῦχοι 'rod-bearers'), a group of about 300 Scythian slaves, was used to guard public meetings...
Politics Military Wars Athenian military Scythianarchers Antigonid Macedonian army Army of Macedon Ballista Cretan archers Hellenistic armies Hippeis Hoplite...