Military Symbols of Scythia and Sarmatia: Totemic Beliefs and the Cult of the Wolf

Abstract

The article analyzes military totemic cults, the veneration of the wolf in the aristocratic classes of Scythian and Sarmatian ethnic groups. The work also discusses similar traditions of ancient European peoples who bordered on Scythia and Sarmatia, in particular, totem customs of Eastern Celts and Getae-Dacians. It is determined that in Indo-European ethnic groups, the cult of the beast-predator had formed the military outlook of the ruling aristocracy from ancient times. Central and Eastern Europe in the pre-Scythian period already observed the existence of militaristic totemism. In the 7th–3rd centuries BC, during the Scythian era, totemic military cults became widespread. This is evidenced by the proper names of the Scythian militant associations (Saki-Humovargs, Daoi-Wolves), references of ancient authors, archaeological findings of sacred military insignia (military flags), and the widespread use of the “beast-style” with an aggressive predator. In the 3rd c. BC – 2nd c. AD, Sarmatia witnessed even a greater dissemination of the military totemism. At that time, the cult of the wolf became particularly important. Ritual objects, depictions of wolf-like animals on the hilts and handguards of Sarmatian swords (acinaceses), and individual names of Sarmatian subethne (Urgi-wolves) are all striking examples of the totemic military cult of the wolf warrior as an ancestor of the Sarmatian peoples. The same totemic traditions of the neighboring European peoples – the Dacians and the Eastern Celts – should be considered separately. The Dacians had a pronounced military custom of worshipping the wolf, and the Celts had similar traditions, including the totemic wild boar cult. Nevertheless, influence of the Scythian, and later, Sarmatian military traditions, which could have had a significant impact on all neighboring ethnic groups, is noted as the dominant one.