EXAMPAEUS
EXAMPAEUS (
Ἐξαμπαῖος,
Hdt. 4.52,
81), a district of W. Scythia, between the Borysthenes and the Hypanis. Among the Greeks it was called the “Sacred Way” (
Ἱραὶ ὁδοί, some read
Ἐννέα Ὁδοί). The Greek is probably not a translation of the Scythian word, which may be connected with the Indo-European
pani peni== “water.” (Schafarik,
Slav. Alt. vol. i. pp. 284. 505.) Potocki (
Voyage dans les Steps D'Astrakhan et du Caucase, [p. 1.889]vol. i. pp. 158. 186) places this district between the
Boy and the
Dnieper, and identifies the spring of bitter water, of which Herodotus (
4.81) speaks with the
Sinaja-woda, which falls into the
Bog, at the village of
Bogopol. Ritter (
Vorhalle, p. 345) connects the bowl seen by Herodotus (
l.c.) with the worship of Buddha, in accordance with his theory of deriving the religion of Scythia from that of India.
The name of the king Ariantes he refers to Aria, the country of the worshippers of Buddha in Aria-Bactria, and considers the vessel to have been among the offerings to that deity.
[
E.B.J]
