Herodotus’ investigation of the ‘most distant populations’ of the north at the edge of the oikoumenē in 4.5-36 is woven over the rival legacy of the Ionian traveler and mystic Aristeas of Prokonnesos into a very deep web of contestations and appropriations. After looking at the specificities of Herodotus’ engagement with Aristeas in 4.5-36, the paper proceeds to discuss the roles played by this staging of opposition in the text’s construction of ethnic authority.