Odessa, 2006
Greek-Russian edition.

Pages: 64
ISBN: 966-8815-02-5

Following the steps of Herodotus in the book of his Histories called Melpomene, the Ukrainian artist recounts characteristic incidents from the history of the Scythians and their neighbouring tribes. The figures and subjects are rendered with considerable authority, authenticity and liveliness. He refers to the geography of the region, as well as to historical events that took place on the north coast of the Black Sea. He uses the technique of acid etching, which imitates 18th and 19th century engravings and involves three states of oxidation and tinting the engravings with water colours to achieve greater authenticity and emotional expressivity. 
The credibility and authenticity of Vladimir Bachtov’s enterprise stems from the fact that the artist had scientifically studied the archaeological and ethnographic evidence for the Scythians, Greeks and Persians, inter alia with the aid of A. Rusiaeva, V. Mourzina, and E. Chernienko, his colleagues at the Institute of Archaeology of the Ukraine National Academy of Sciences. He had also studied in depth the visual and decorative art of ancient peoples, in an effort to approach the style of Herodotus in his own artistic style. His illustrations, which are deliberately archaic and overtly decorative, recall the stylistic trend of the ancient East, especially Persia, and of later Scythian-Greek models.
24 pictures, 28×24.