Ariantas (Scythian: Ariyā̆nta; Ancient Greek: Αριαντας, romanized: Ariantas; Latin: Ariantas) was a king of the Scythians, who, in order to learn the population of his people, commanded every Scythian to bring him one arrow-head. With these arrow-heads he made an enormous brazen or copper vessel, which was set up in a place called "Exampaeus", between the rivers Borysthenes and Hypanis. This was important because the total number of Scythians had always been difficult to determine, because of their nomadic behaviors.
We know of Ariantas only from one single passage in Herodotus.
References
- Schmitt, Rüdiger (2003). "Die skythischen Personennamen bei Herodot" [Scythian Personal Names in Herodotus] (PDF). Annali dell'Università degli Studi di Napoli l'Orientale [Annals of the University of Naples "L'Orientale"] (in German). 63: 1–31.
- Hinge, George (2003). "Scythian and Spartan Analogies in Herodotos' Representation: Rites of Initiation and Kinship Groups". In Bilde, Pia Guldager; Højte, Jakob Munk; Stolba, Vladimir F.; Shcheglov, A. N. (eds.). The Cauldron of Ariantas: Studies Presented to A.N. Ščeglov on the Occasion of His 70th Birthday. Black Sea Studies. Vol. 1. Aarhus University Press. p. 55. ISBN 9788779340855. ISSN 1903-4873. Retrieved 2018-05-29.
- Dewald, Carolyn (1993). "Reading the World: The Interpretation of Objects in Herodotus' Histories". In Rosen, Ralph Mark; Farrell, Joseph (eds.). Nomodeiktes: Greek Studies in Honor of Martin Ostwald. University of Michigan Press. p. 55. ISBN 9780472102976. Retrieved 2018-05-29.
- Herodotus, Histories 4.81
This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Smith, William (1870). "Ariantas". In Smith, William (ed.). Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology. Vol. 1. p. 283.