Those who study Arimaspians know the true meaning of frustration. The writers who mention them – and there are few – seem to speak in riddles, and ones that were distorted and mistranslated. Let me shed some light, then, on what has become a maze of confusion.
Herodotus calls them “One-Eyed”, but this needn’t be read literally. What this meant was that they didn’t see the world “with two eyes”, that is, divided into endless dualities, like the rest of us – good and bad, light and dark, hot and cold – but as one. Thus, they understood the true nature of reality and could look beyond it, into the domain of gods.
Aristeas of Prokonnesos wrote that they possessed great riches, and later authors thought he meant gold. And yes, Arimaspians were affluent beyond compare, but by “riches” old writers meant wisdom, and this the Arimaspians possessed for sure, as their ruined tombs and temples amply demonstrate.
Pausanias says they fought with griffins, but he is just repeating myths and legends, distorted tales of true events. Arimaspians fought evil in all its forms – including the Dragon and those who sprang from its teeth – until they went too far and became evil themselves. Then, the gods scattered them to the winds and they were all but forgotten.