unfortified settlements around the lower reaches of the Dnipro river since the late 5th century BC, and
this process intensified throughout the 4th century BC, with the nomadic Scythians settling in multiple
villages in the left bank of the Dnister estuary and in small settlements on the lower banks of the Dnipro
and of the small steppe rivers which were favourable for agriculture; at the same time, the Scythians
sold furs, fish, and grain to the Greeks in exchange of wine, olive oil, and luxury goods,[157] while there
was high demand for the Scythians' exports done through the Greek colonies, such as trade goods,
grain, slaves, and fish,[157][158] due to which the relations between the Pontic and Aegean regions, and
most especially with Athens, were thriving; the importation of Greek products by the forest steppe
peoples had instead decreased since the 5th century BC, and the Scythians captured territories from
them in the area around what is presently Boryspil during this time.[43] Although the Greek cities of the
coast extended their territories considerably, this did not infringe on the Scythians, who still possessed
abundant pastures and whose settlements were still thriving, with archaeological evidence suggesting
that the population of Crimea, most of whom were Scythians, during this time increased by 600%.[60][19]
The rule of the Spartocid dynasty in the Bosporan Kingdom was also favourable for the Scythians under
the rules of Leukon I, Spartocus II and Paerisades I, with Leucon employing Scythians in his army, and the
Bosporan nobility had contacts with the Scythians, which might have included matrimonial relations
between Scythian and Bosporan royalty.[60][19] In the 4th century BC, the Bosporan kingdom became the
main supplier of grains to Greece partly because of the Peloponnesian War which was raging in the
latter region, which intensified the grains trade between the Scythians and the Greeks, with the
Scythians becoming the principal middlemen in the supply of grains to the Bosporan kingdom: while
most of the grains that the Scythians sold to the Greeks was produced by the agricultural populations in
the northern forest steppe, the Scythians themselves were also trying to produce more grains within
Scythia itself, which was a driving force behind the sedentarisation of many of the hitherto nomadic
Scythians; the process of Scythian sedentarisation thus was most intense in the regions adjacent to the
Bosporan cities in eastern Crimea.[43]
Scythian vessel from Voronezh, 4th century BC. Hermitage
Museum.
The Scythian royalty and aristocracy obtained enormous profits from this grains trade, and this period
saw Scythian culture not only thriving, with most known Scythian monuments dating from then, but also
rapidly undergoing significant Hellenisation. The city of the Kamianka site remained the political,
industrial and commercial capital of Scythian during the 4th and early 3rd centuries BC, during which