Herodotus, Histories, ed. A.D. Godley, 4.2.1

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[1]
Now the Scythians blind all their slaves, because of the milk¹ they drink; and this is how they get it: taking tubes of bone very much like flutes, they insert these into the genitalia of the mares and blow into them, some blowing while others milk. According to them, their reason for doing this is that blowing makes the mare's veins swell and her udder drop.

Histories. Herodotus. ed. A.D. Godley. Cambridge. 1920-1925.

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Current edition Perseus

Histories (English) (Herodotus. Godley, Alfred Denis, translator. Cambridge, MA; London: Harvard University Press; William Heinemann, Ltd., 1920-1925 (printing). (Modernized by Perseus.))

Editions (1)

Ἱστορίαι Perseus (Herodotus. Godley, Alfred Denis, editor. Cambridge, MA; London: Harvard University Press; William Heinemann, Ltd., 1920-1925 (printing).) — 4.2.1 focus

[1] τοὺς δὲ δούλους οἱ Σκύθαι πάντας τυφλοῦσι τοῦ γάλακτος εἵνεκεν τοῦ πίνουσι ποιεῦντες ὧδε. ἐπεάν φυσητῆρας λάβωσι ὀστεΐνους αὐλοῖσι προσεμφερεστάτους, τούτους ἐσθέντες ἐς τῶν θηλέων ἵππων τά ἄρθρα φυσῶσι τοῖσι στόμασι, ἄλλοι δὲ ἄλλων φυσώντων ἀμέλγουσι. φασὶ δὲ τοῦδε εἵνεκα τοῦτο ποιέειν· τὰς φλέβας τε πίμπλασθαι φυσωμένας τῆς ἵππου καὶ τὸ οὖθαρ κατίεσθαι.

Notes on the current edition

Histories

1. Herodotus means that the slaves are blinded to prevent them stealing the best of the milk. Probably the story of blind slaves arises from some Scythian name for slaves, misunderstood by the Greeks.

Herodotus Histories 4.2.1

ed. A.D. Godley

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