legendary king of the Scythians

Colaxes

In Scythian tradition, Colaxes was the youngest of the three sons of Targitaos and one of the earliest kings of Scythia. His story survives mainly through Herodotus, who places his reign about a thousand years before Darius's expedition against Scythia.

The myth

According to the Scythian tradition recorded by Herodotus, Targitaos was the son of Zeus and a daughter of the river Borysthenes. He had three sons: Lipoxais, Arpoxais and Colaxes. In his time, four golden objects fell from the sky: a plough, a yoke, an axe and a cup. The two eldest brothers tried to seize them, but the gold burned and pushed them back.

The youngest, Colaxes, managed to carry them home, and his elder brothers handed him the kingdom. In the story, other Scythian peoples descended from the elder sons, while the line of Colaxes became the royal Scythians.

Ancient sources: Herodotus, Histories, Book IV, which records the Scythian tradition about Targitaos and his sons.