Grove of Api

Api was a Scythian earth-mother goddess, and must have been an important figure in the pantheon, given what Herodotus says about her. As the earth goddess, Api's realm must have seemed endless to the nomads who roamed the steppes. As always, Herodotus could not resist recasting her in purely Greek terms for his readers, explaining her as being a version of Gaia, the primordial goddess of the whole earth. If this was an accurate analogy, then she would have been the mother of many other deities, and possibly even the birth-mother of Earth itself. Herodotus is silent about any particular rituals associated with Api, but it is fair to assume that animal sacrifices had their place with her as with the other nomad gods. Given that carefully modelled stags have been found in grave goods, there is a chance that these animals were held sacred and may well have been offered to Api.