The Story of Cyana and her father Scyllias

The First Diver

The Story of Cyana and her father Scyllias or Skyllias dates back to 500 B.C.They were working as divers for the Persian king Xerxes to recover sunken treasure.Because Xerxes was on war with Greeks he made them prisoners and would not let them stop work and go back to their homeland.That's why during a violent storm at night, Cyana and Xerxes dove into the sea and cut the anchor ropes of the entire persian fleet that went banging against rocks and sunk.Then they swam back to the Greeks and were welcomed as heroes with a statue in front of the Delph Temple.

This story was told to Alexander the Great by one of his lieutnant named Neark.Hérodotus told his story around 484-45 B.C.