Namenkundliches zur skythischen Abstammungssage

The Scythian descent legend in Herodotus IV 5-7 contains four Old Iranian personal names and five tribal names. With the interpretations adopted here, Targítaos comes to mean ‘the father of mankind’, and his three sons become the primeval kings (-xsay-) and the progenitors of historical Scythian tribes. Lipóxais means ‘the ruler of the peninsula’ of Crimean Scythians (Aukhatai), Arpóxais means ‘kinglet’ of the nomad Scythians who live across the river, and Kolaxais means ‘the ruler of all, i.e. the great king’ of the royal Scythians (Paralatai); the last case may be about a throne name, based on the royal horse sacrifice which underlies perhaps the legend of the Scythian pursuit of the Crimmerians.