Scythian archers

The Scythian archers were a hypothesized police force of 5th- and early 4th-century BC Athens that is recorded in some Greek artworks and literature. The force is said to have consisted of 300 armed Scythians (a nomadic people living in the Eurasian Steppe) who were public slaves in Athens. They acted for a group of eleven elected Athenian magistrates "who were responsible for arrests and executions and for some aspects of public order" in the city.
One of Aristophanes's comedies has a Scythian archer as a character, and he speaks broken Greek with an accent. 
Name.
The Scythian archers were called "toxotai" (, literally "[the] archers"), "Skythai" (, literally "[the] Scythians"), and "Speusinioi" (), which was named after a certain Speusinos, the alleged founder of the force.
Theory.
The theory regarding the "police force" role of the Scythian archers in 5th- and early 4th-century BC Athens is mainly based on some possible evidence from Attic vase paintings and the works of the ancient Athenian playwright Aristophanes. The force is said to have consisted of 300 public slaves ("demosioi") who wore Scythian dress and were equipped with bows and arrows in "gorytos" (the Scythian people were skilled archers). As portrayed on Attic vase paintings, the Scythian archers were distinguished by high pointed headdresses and wide trousers. They were said to have been used to maintain order in the Assembly and the Council, though they had little authority themselves. They acted for The Eleven, a group of eleven elected magistrates in Athens, "who were responsible for arrests and executions and for some aspects of public order".
Analysis.
Scholars agree that a Scythian police force of some sort existed in Athens in the 5th century, although no one knows when it was first established or how long it lasted. The evidence for Scythian archers as early as the 6th century BCE is inconclusive. The Scythian archers that appear to be attending to the hoplites on the Attic vase paintings of the 6th century BC are not necessarily related to the Scythian "police force" of the 5th century BC. The police force, the number of which is said to have swelled to 1,200 at some point, may have been involved in wartime conflicts as well. Balbina Bäbler points to archeological evidence for Scythians in the 4th century, including the stele of Getes, buried Scythian arrowheads, and other Greek-style grave stelae. It is impossible to know whether these Scythians represent a continuation of the police force known earlier or whether Scythian women also lived in Athens.
Scholars are unsure why Athenians would employ "barbarians", although it's possible that foreign slaves far from home would compose a more faithful police force than locals would. It is also not clear why bows and arrows were appropriate weapons for the cramped city of Athens.
In the comedy works of Aristophanes, the dialects of various Greek people are imitated. In his "Thesmophoriazusae", the Scythian archer speaks broken Greek, consistently omitting the final "-s" (-ς) and "-n" (ν), using the lenis in place of the aspirate, and once using "x" (ξ) in place of "s" (σ). These have been noted by John William Donaldson to discuss the largely unknown Scythian languages.