The Myth of the Skytale

An examination of the word skytale by Greek and Latin authors from the 7th century B.C. to the 12th century A.D. leads to the conclusion that the notion that it was a cryptograph employed by the Spartans rests on no reliable ancient evidence. That idea came into existence only in the 3rd century B.C. There is not the slightest indication in the works of nine Greek authors who used the word prior to that time that the skytale was a cryptograph. In these early authors the skytale was either a plaintext message or a device for keeping records.