scythian defiance
Preserved but no longer current.
When Darius approached Scythia, an ambassador was sent to his tent with a bird, a frog, a mouse, and five arrows, then left without uttering a word. Darius, wondering what was meant, was told by Gobrias it meant this: Either fly away like a bird, hide your head in a hole like a mouse, or swim across the river, or in five days you will be laid prostrate by the Scythian arrows.
Era: ca. 1898 (Victorian)
Sources & notes
Reproduced from Brewer’s Dictionary of Phrase and Fable (1898 edition, public domain; archive.org, retrieved 2026-07-31; OCR text, minor errors possible). Reflects the scholarship and attitudes of its era.
Common questions
What does “scythian defiance” mean?
When Darius approached Scythia, an ambassador was sent to his tent with a bird, a frog, a mouse, and five arrows, then left without uttering a word. Darius, wondering what was meant, was told by Gobrias it meant this: Either fly away like a bird, hide your head in a hole like a mouse, or swim across the river, or in five days you will be laid prostrate by the Scythian arrows.
Is “scythian defiance” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.