Anacharsis was a legendary Scythian prince who made a trip to Athens in 6th century B.C. and made a friend with the famous Greek political philosopher and statesman Solon there. Anacharsis is included in some ancient Greek lists as one of the Seven Wise Men. Half a millennium later, Cicero, a Roman writer and philosopher recalled Anacharsis saying the following: “Could the Scythian Anacharsis disregard money, and shall not our philosophers be able to do so? We are informed of an epistle of his in these words: “Anacharsis to Hanno, greeting. My clothing is the same as that with which the Scythians cover themselves; the hardness of my feet supplies the want of shoes; the ground is my bed, hunger my sauce, my food milk, cheese, and flesh. So you may come to me as to a man in want of nothing. But as to those presents you take so much pleasure in, you may dispose of them to your own citizens, or to the immortal Gods.” What a memory Anacharsis left after himself! What a legacy! Can we feel the basic principles of Christianity five hundred years before Christ in Anacharsis’ epistle? One can appreciate the principles of frugality mentioned by Cicero even more if one recalls that Anacharsis was a Scythian prince and could afford the most lavish way of life.
Another famous saying by Anacharsis also has the Christian vibes:
“A man’s felicity consists not in the outward and visible blessing of fortune, but in the inward and unseen perfections and riches of the mind.”
Why does the title of the article have a ‘Ukrainian’ word in it? There are two reasons for that:
First, Anacharsis was born and died in the area of what is now present-day Ukraine.
Second, a 10th-century Byzantine historian who met in person Kyiv ruler Sviatoslav the Brave, stated that Sviatoslav and Anacharsis were related. Sviatoslav was also known as a frugal king who slept on the ground and shared everything with his troops by the way.
Anacharsis’ way to Athens, and his meeting with Solon are in the “Royals Scythia, Greece, Kyiv Rus” book.
