The Oriental Studies

The finding from Perederieva Mohyla kurgan has been studied for thirty years. The object has an interesting form – its abriss resembles the helmet. It is defined by embossed decoration on the surface: the image of Scythians – four youths and two elder men. The composition of the “helmet” is the source for studying Scythian costumes as well as the semantics of plots located on frieze. The images are made in Bosporan style: the characteristic schemes of classical Greek art were used for interpreting the Scythian images. However details in depiction of characters’ clothes, weapons, etc. show that characters were not created according to stencils, but have individual cha-racteristics. Scholars suggested several versions of “reading” the plot on the “helmet”. The theory of German researcher K. Stähler is of particular interest: two scenes are interpreted by him as events related to Scythian king Ariapithes and his sons Scylas, Oricus and Octamasadas. Similar version: both scenes show peculiar relationships between three brothers – kings. There are other hypotheses about the interpretation. One of the first: the battle between Scythians, returning from Asia Minor (bearded warriors) and children of Scythian women and slaves. Similar assumption: Scythian warriors fighting with treacherous women and their children. One of the scenes is considered to be the reflection of Scythian war tradition: scalp removal. In all hypotheses scholars see the scenes on the “helmet” as the illustrations of narrations from “The Histories” by Herodotus. It is quite possible, however, that we cannot “read” the specific plot of the scenes on the item, as “pictures” were understandable only to the customer. It is also possible that it represents the heroic past, while images are the tribute to the ancestors memory. Generally, the plot emphasizes the great role of the hero in Scythian ideology. There are several assumptions, concerning “helmet’s” usage: cult object, the upper part of bunchuk. According to one of the hypothesis this item is the decor of ceremonial headwear – pylos, the mark of affiliation to high social ranks. It is possible that “the helmet” from Perederieva Mohyla kurgan was the reward of Scythian warrior, which granted him a rank of Pylophore.