Scylax of Caryanda facts for kids
Scylax of Caryanda was an ancient Greek explorer and writer. He lived a very long time ago, around the late 500s and early 400s BCE. Sadly, most of his own writings are lost today. We only know about him because other Greek and Roman writers mentioned him or quoted small parts of his work. There is a famous old sailing guide called the Periplus of Scylax, but it was actually written by someone else much later.
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Scylax's Great Journey
Scylax came from Caryanda, a small city on an island near Iasos in Asia Minor (modern-day Turkey). He was likely from the Carian people and probably spoke Greek, which he used for his writings. We don't know much about Scylax himself. What we do know comes from later Greek writers like Herodotus. Herodotus called him a sea-captain from Ionia.
Sailing for the King
Scylax is famous for a big journey he made for the Persian emperor Darius I. Darius ruled a huge empire from 522 to 486 BCE. He wanted to know where the Indus River met the sea. So, he sent Scylax and other trusted men to explore it.
They started their journey from a city called Caspatyrus. This city was in a region called Pactyica. They sailed down the Indus River towards the sea. After reaching the sea, they turned west. They sailed for about 30 months, which is two and a half years! Finally, they reached Suez in Egypt. This was the same place where an Egyptian king had sent Phoenicians to sail around Africa.
After Scylax completed his voyage, Darius conquered the lands around the Indus River. He also started using the sea in those areas for trade and travel.
Questions About the Journey
Some people have wondered about Scylax's story. For example, the city of Caspatyrus and the region of Pactyica are hard to find on modern maps. Also, the Indus River flows southwest, not east, as Herodotus described. Because of these puzzles, some doubted if Scylax's journey really happened.
However, new discoveries have helped explain these points. Digs at Suez seem to support Scylax's account. Also, Darius did gain control over the Sindh region, which is where the lower Indus River is.
Scholars have found answers to the questions. One idea is that 'Caspatyrus' might have been a misspelling of 'Paskapyrus', which is the Greek name for Peshawar. Scylax might have started by sailing east along the Kabul River. Then he would have turned south after it joined the Indus River near Attock. The idea that the Indus itself flowed east was probably a misunderstanding by Herodotus.
Why the Journey Mattered
Scylax's trip was not just for fun exploration. It was actually a scouting mission for Darius. Darius wanted to learn about these lands before conquering them. Historians say that kings often explored new places when they planned to expand their empires. One scholar called it a "spying" expedition.
Soon after Scylax's 30-month journey, Darius added the lands Scylax explored to his empire. This new province was called Hinduš. Greek writers later called it "India." We don't know the exact size of this province. But Herodotus said it was west of the Thar Desert. This means it mostly covered the Sindh region, which is the middle and lower part of the Indus River basin.
Darius also ordered the completion of a canal. This canal connected the Nile River with the Red Sea. An inscription from Darius says: "I commanded to dig this canal from the Nile...to the sea which goes from Persia." This canal helped ships travel from Egypt to Persia. After this, ships could travel between India, Persia, Egypt, and the Mediterranean Sea for some time.
Scylax's Writings
Scylax wrote a book about his travels. It might have been called Periplus, which means "Circumnavigation" or "Sailing Around." He might have even dedicated it to Emperor Darius. Sadly, this book is lost. We only have seven short parts of it quoted by later writers.
What His Book Was Like
The parts we have show that his book was more than just a simple logbook. It described people, landscapes, nature, and maybe even political events. One scholar thinks it might have been one of the first books written in Greek prose (regular writing, not poetry). Other important Greek writers knew about his work.
Some of the surviving quotes sound very strange. One talks about Troglodytes, who were cave-dwellers. Another mentions Monophthalmic, who were one-eyed people. Yet another describes Henotiktontes, people who only had one child. A writer named Tzetzes said that Scylax claimed all these stories were true. Scholars believe Scylax probably reported stories he heard from the local people. He likely believed them to be true.
His Legacy
Scylax's Periplus gave the Western world its first accounts of the people living in the East. It also served as a guide for later Greek writers. Most importantly, it gave India its name! The people of the Indus region were called Hiduš or Hindush in Persian. This name came from the word Sindhu, which was the name of the Indus River.
If Scylax wrote in the Ionic dialect of Greek, he would have changed Hiduš to Indos. Their land was then called Indike, meaning "Indian." Herodotus used these terms. He even used them for all people living east of Persia, which sometimes caused confusion.
Scylax was well-known in the ancient world. The writer Strabo called him an "ancient writer." Scylax also wrote a book about his friend, Heraclides of Mylasa.
In Popular Culture
Scylax of Caryanda appears as a character in the historical novel Creation by Gore Vidal. In the book, he is good friends with King Darius I of Persia. They even joke about expanding Persian rule into India.
See also
In Spanish: Escílax de Carianda para niños
