In the summer of 513 BC e., having built bridges across the Bosphorus and the Danube, the mighty Persian king Darius I the Great invaded the borders of Scythia with a huge army. Approaching Borysthenes and not seeing Scythians who would meet him humbly, Darius sent a messenger to their king Idanfirs with a demand to obey and become his tributaries.
At that time, the Scythians did not have writing, but in return they still gave Darius their letter, which consisted of several objects: a bird, a mouse, a frog and five arrows. At first, Darius did not understand anything, but thanks to his adviser Gobrius, the king was able to "read" the Scythian letter. It meant the following: "If you, Persians, do not fly to the sky like birds, do not hide in the ground like mice, or do not jump into lakes like frogs, then you will not return from here alive, having been struck by these arrows."
Darius did not heed the warning and ordered the army to go on the offensive. But the Scythians fulfilled their promise. They made the ground burn under the feet of the invaders. Not having sufficient forces to engage in an open battle with the Persians, the Scythians used retreat tactics, luring the enemy deep into the country. On their way, they filled up wells and springs, burned grass and trees. The Scythians sent all their property and families far to the north. At night, Scythian warriors made sorties and destroyed sleepy enemies.
Realizing the futility of conquering Scythia, King Darius was forced to flee from the rebellious country in disgrace, burning all the bridges behind him, and Scythian arrows flew into the backs of his soldiers. Herodotus writes that since then the Scythians have received the nickname of the invincible throughout the world.
Five Scythian tribes are known (hence the number of arrows in the letter), the largest of which were royal Scythians, Scythian nomads and Scythian ploughmen.
We, Ukrainians, are descendants of all those Scythians.
So, let's not talk, but act so that any enemy who invades our country knows for sure that even if he hides in the sky, in the ground or in the water, he will be overtaken by Ukrainian arrows and will be destroyed.
