Person

Scyles

5th century BCE · 5th century BCE

Scyles was a Scythian king of the 5th century BCE whose story is told by Herodotus. The son of a Greek mother from Istria, he secretly adopted Greek dress and religion during his visits to the colony of Olbia on the Black Sea. When the Scythians saw him taking part in Bacchic rites there, they rebelled, and his brother Octamasadas had him beheaded.

Scyles
Image: Савелий В А · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons

Mentioned in 2 state histories

Olbia PonticaOlbia

See also

Cite this entry
APA
The Epoch Institute. (2026). Scyles. In The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/scyles
MLA
“Scyles.” The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/scyles. Accessed .
Chicago
The Epoch Institute. “Scyles.” The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/scyles.
Harvard
The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘Scyles’, The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/scyles (Accessed: ).

Last reviewed October 2026Random entry ↻