HISTORY OF LYDIA.
The government, which formerly belonged to the Heraclidæ, passed to the
family of Crœsus, who were called Mermnadæ. Candaules, whom the Greeks
call Myrsilus, was tyrant of Sardis, and a descendant of Alcæus, son of
Hercules. For Agron, son of Ninus, grandson of Belus, great-grandson of
Alcæus, was the first of the Heraclidæ who became king of Sardis; and
Candaules, son of Myrsus, was the last. They who ruled over this country
before Agron, were descendants of Lydus, son of Atys, from whom this
whole people, anciently called Mæonians, derived the name of Lydians.
The Heraclidæ, descended from a female slave of Jardanus and Hercules,
having been intrusted with the government by these princes, retained the
supreme power in obedience to the declaration of an oracle: they reigned
for twenty-two generations, a space of five hundred and five years, the
son succeeding to the father to the time of Candaules, son of Myrsus.
Candaules was murdered by his favorite, Gyges, who thus obtained the
kingdom, and was confirmed in it by the oracle at Delphi. For when the
Lydians resented the murder of Candaules, and were up in arms, the
partisans of Gyges and the other Lydians came to the following
agreement, that if the oracle should pronounce him king of the Lydians,
he should reign; if not, he should restore the power to the Heraclidæ.
The oracle answered that Gyges should become king. But the Pythian added
this, "that the Heraclidæ should be avenged on the fifth descendant of
Gyges." Of this prediction neither the Lydians nor their kings took any
notice until it was actually accomplished.
Thus the Mermnadæ deprived the Heraclidæ of the supreme power. Gyges
sent many offerings to Delphi; indeed most of the silver offerings at
Delphi are his; and besides the silver, he gave a vast quantity of gold;
among the rest six bowls of gold, which now stand in the treasury of the
Corinthians, and are thirty talents in weight; though, to tell the
truth, this treasury does not belong to the people of Corinth, but
Cypselus son of Eetion. Gyges was the first of the barbarians of whom we
know who made offerings at Delphi, except Midas, son of Gordius, the
king of Phrygia, who dedicated the royal throne, on which he used to sit
and administer justice, a piece of workmanship deserving of admiration.
The throne stands in the same place as the bowls of Gyges.
Periander the son of Cypselus was king of Corinth, and the Corinthians
say (and the Lesbians confirm their account) that a wonderful prodigy
occurred in his life-time. Arion of Methymna, second to none of his time
in accompanying the harp, and the first who composed, named, and
represented the dithyrambus at Corinth, was carried to Tænarus on the
back of a dolphin. Arion, having continued a long time with Periander,
made a voyage to Italy and Sicily, acquired great wealth there, and
determined to return to Corinth. He set out from Tarentum, and hired a
ship of some Corinthians, because he put more confidence in them than in
any other nation; but these men, when they were in the open sea,
conspired together to throw him overboard and seize his money. Learning
of this he offered them his money, and entreated them to spare his life.
But he could not prevail on them; the sailors ordered him either to kill
himself, that he might be buried ashore, or to leap immediately into the
sea. Arion, reduced to this strait, entreated them, since such was their
determination, to permit him to stand on the stern of the vessel in his
full dress and sing, and he promised when he had sung to make way with
himself. The seamen, pleased that they should hear the best singer in
the world, retired from the stern to the middle of the vessel. Arion put
on all his robes, took his harp in his hands, stood on the rowing
benches and went through the Orthian strain; the strain ended, he leaped
into the sea as he was, in full dress; the sailors continuing their
voyage to Corinth: but a dolphin caught him upon his back, and carried
him to Tænarus; so that, having landed, he proceeded to Corinth in his
full dress, and upon his arrival there, related all that happened.
Periander gave no credit to his relation, put Arion under close
confinement, and watched anxiously for the arrival of the seamen. When
they appeared, he summoned them and inquired if they could give any
account of Arion. They answered that he was safe in Italy, and that they
had left him flourishing at Tarentum. At that instant Arion appeared
before them just as he was when he leaped into the sea; at which they
were so astonished that, being fully convicted, they could no longer
deny the fact. These things are reported by the Corinthians and
Lesbians; and there is a little bronze statue of Arion at Tænarus,
representing a man sitting on a dolphin.
Alyattes the Lydian and father of Crœsus, having waged a long war
against the Milesians, died after a reign of fifty-seven years. Once
upon recovery from an illness he dedicated at Delphi a large silver
bowl, with a saucer of iron inlaid; an object that deserves attention
above all the offerings at Delphi. It was made by Glaucus the Chian, who
first invented the art of inlaying iron.
At the death of Alyattes, Crœsus, then thirty-five years of age,
succeeded to the kingdom. He attacked the Ephesians before any other
Greek people. The Ephesians being besieged by him, consecrated their
city to Diana, by fastening a rope from the temple to the wall. The
distance between the old town, which was then besieged, and the temple,
is seven stadia. Crœsus afterward attacked the several cities of the
Ionians and Æolians in succession, alleging different pretences against
the various states. After he had reduced the Greeks in Asia to the
payment of tribute, he formed a design to build ships and attack the
Islanders. But when all things were ready for the building of ships,
Bias of Priene (or, as others say, Pittacus of Mitylene) arriving at
Sardis, put a stop to his ship-building by making this reply, when
Crœsus inquired if he had any news from Greece: "O king, the Islanders
are enlisting a large body of cavalry, with the intention of making war
upon you and Sardis." Crœsus, thinking he had spoken the truth, said:
"May the gods put such a thought into the Islanders, as to attack the
sons of the Lydians with horse." The other answering said: "Sire, you
appear to wish above all things to see the Islanders on horseback upon
the continent; and not without reason. But what can you imagine the
Islanders more earnestly desire, after having heard of your resolution
to build a fleet to attack them, than to catch the Lydians at sea, that
they may revenge on you the cause of those Greeks who dwell on the
continent, whom you hold in subjection?" Crœsus, much pleased with the
conclusion, and convinced, (for he appeared to speak to the purpose,)
put a stop to the ship-building, and made an alliance with the Ionians
that inhabit the islands.
In course of time, when nearly all the nations that dwell within the
river Halys, except the Cilicians and Lycians, were subdued, and Crœsus
had added them to the Lydians, all the wise men of that time, as each
had opportunity, came from Greece to Sardis, which had then attained to
the highest degree of prosperity; and amongst them Solon, an Athenian,
who made laws for the Athenians at their request, and absented himself
for ten years, sailing away under pretence of seeing the world, that he
might not be compelled to abrogate any of the laws he had established:
for the Athenians could not do it themselves, since they were bound by
solemn oaths to observe for ten years whatever laws Solon should enact
for them. On his arrival Solon was hospitably entertained by Crœsus, and
on the third or fourth day, by order of the king, the attendants
conducted him round the treasury, and showed him all their grand and
costly contents. After he had seen and examined every thing
sufficiently, Crœsus asked him this question: "My Athenian guest, the
great fame as well of your wisdom as of your travels has reached even to
us; I am therefore desirous of asking you who is the most happy man you
have seen?" He asked this question because he thought himself the most
happy of men. But Solon, speaking the truth freely, without any
flattery, answered, "Tellus, the Athenian." Crœsus, astonished at his
answer, eagerly asked him: "On what account do you deem Tellus the
happiest?" He replied: "Tellus, in the first place, lived in a
well-governed commonwealth; had sons who were virtuous and good; and he
saw children born to them all, and all surviving. In the next place,
when he had lived as happily as the condition of human affairs will
permit, he ended his life in a most glorious manner. For coming to the
assistance of the Athenians in a battle with their neighbors of Eleusis,
he put the enemy to flight and died nobly. The Athenians buried him at
the public charge in the place where he fell, and honored him greatly."
When Solon had roused the attention of Crœsus by relating many happy
circumstances concerning Tellus, Crœsus, expecting at least to obtain
the second place, asked, whom he had seen next to him. "Cleobis," said
he, "and Biton, natives of Argos, for they possessed a sufficient
fortune, and had withal such strength of body, that they were both alike
victorious in the public games; and moreover the following story is
related of them:—When the Argives were celebrating a festival of Juno,
it was necessary that their mother should be drawn to the temple in a
chariot; but the oxen did not come from the field in time, the young men
therefore put themselves beneath the yoke, and drew the car in which
their mother sat; and having conveyed it forty-five stades, they reached
the temple. After they had done this in sight of the assembled people, a
most happy termination was put to their lives; and in them the Deity
clearly showed that it is better for a man to die than to live. For the
men of Argos, who stood round, commended the strength of the youths, and
the women blessed her as the mother of such sons; but the mother
herself, transported with joy both on account of the action and its
renown, stood before the image and prayed that the goddess would grant
to Cleobis and Biton, her own sons, who had so highly honored her, the
greatest blessing man could receive. After this prayer, when they had
sacrificed and partaken of the feast, the youths fell asleep in the
temple itself, and never woke more, but met with such a termination of
life. Upon this the Argives, in commemoration of their filial affection,
caused their statues to be made and dedicated at Delphi."
Thus Solon adjudged the second place of felicity to these youths. Then
Crœsus was enraged, and said: "My Athenian friend, is my happiness then
so slighted by you as worth nothing, that you do not think me of so much
value as private men?" He answered: "Crœsus, do you inquire of me
concerning human affairs—of me, who know that the divinity is always
jealous, and delights in confusion. For in lapse of time men are
constrained to see many things they would not willingly see, and to
suffer many things they would not willingly suffer. Now I put the term
of man's life at seventy years; these seventy years then give
twenty-five thousand two hundred days, without including the intercalary
months of the leap years, and if we add that month to every other year,
in order that the seasons arriving at the proper time may agree, the
intercalary months will be thirty-five more in the seventy years, and
the days of these months will be one thousand and fifty. Yet in all this
number of twenty-six thousand two hundred and fifty days, that compose
these seventy years, one day produces nothing exactly the same as
another. Thus, then, O Crœsus, man is altogether the sport of fortune.
You appear to me to be master of immense treasures, and king of many
nations; but as relates to what you inquire of me, I cannot say, till I
hear that you have ended your life happily. For the richest of men is
not more happy than he that has a sufficiency for a day, unless good
fortune attend him to the grave, so that he ends his life in happiness.
Many men who abound in wealth are unhappy; and many who have only a
moderate competency are fortunate. He that abounds in wealth, and is yet
unhappy, surpasses the other only in two things; but the other surpasses
the wealthy and the miserable in many things. The former indeed is
better able to gratify desire and to bear the blow of adversity. But the
latter surpasses him in this; he is not indeed equally able to bear
misfortune or satisfy desire, but his good fortune wards off these
things from him; and he enjoys the full use of his limbs, he is free
from disease and misfortune, he is blessed with good children and a fine
form, and if, in addition to all these things, he shall end his life
well, he is the man you seek and may justly be called happy; but before
he die we ought to suspend our judgment, and not pronounce him happy,
but fortunate."
When Solon had spoken thus to Crœsus, Crœsus did not confer any favor on
him, but holding him in no account, dismissed him as a very ignorant
man, because he overlooked present prosperity, and bade men look to the
end of every thing.
After the departure of Solon, the indignation of the gods fell heavily
upon Crœsus, probably because he thought himself the most happy of all
men. A dream soon after visited him while sleeping, which pointed out to
him the truth of the misfortunes that were about to befall him in the
person of one of his sons. For Crœsus had two sons, of whom one was
grievously afflicted, for he was dumb; but the other, whose name was
Atys, far surpassed all the young men of his age. Now the dream
intimated to Crœsus that he would lose this Atys by a wound inflicted
with the point of an iron weapon. When he awoke, and had considered the
matter with himself, he relieved Atys from the command of the Lydian
troops, and never after sent him out on that business; and causing all
spears, lances, and such other weapons as men use in war, to be removed
from the men's apartments, he had them laid up in private chambers, that
none of them being suspended might fall upon his son. While Crœsus was
engaged with the nuptials of his son, a man oppressed by misfortune, and
whose hands were polluted, a Phrygian by birth, and of royal family,
arrived at Sardis. This man, having come to the palace of Crœsus, sought
permission to obtain purification according to the custom of the
country. Crœsus purified him, performing the usual ceremony, and then
inquired: "Stranger, who art thou, and from what part of Phrygia hast
thou come as a suppliant to my hearth? and what man or woman hast thou
slain?" The stranger answered: "I am the son of Gordius, and grandson of
Midas, and am called Adrastus. I unwittingly slew my own brother, and
being banished by my father and deprived of every thing, I have come
hither." Then said Crœsus: "You were born of parents who are our
friends, and you have come to friends, among whom, if you will stay, you
shall want nothing; and by bearing your misfortune as lightly as
possible you will be the greatest gainer." So Adrastus took up his abode
in the palace of Crœsus.
At this time a boar of enormous size appeared in Mysian Olympus, and
rushing down from that mountain, ravaged the fields of the Mysians. The
Mysians, though they often went out against him, could not hurt him, but
suffered much from him. At last deputies from the Mysians came to Crœsus
and said: "O king, a boar of enormous size has appeared in our country,
and ravages our fields: though we have often endeavored to take him, we
cannot. We therefore earnestly beg, that you will send with us your son
and some chosen youths with dogs, that we may drive him from the
country." But Crœsus, remembering the warning of his dream, answered:
"Make no further mention of my son; I shall not send him with you,
because he is lately married, but I will give you chosen Lydians, and
the whole hunting train, and will order them to assist you with their
best endeavors in driving the monster from your country." The Mysians
were content with this, but Atys, who had heard of their request, came
in, and earnestly protested: "Father, you used to permit me to signalize
myself in the two most noble and becoming exercises of war and hunting;
but now you keep me excluded from both, without having observed in me
either cowardice or want of spirit. How will men look on me when I go or
return from the forum? What kind of a man shall I appear to my
fellow-citizens? What to my newly married wife? Either let me then go to
this hunt, or convince me that it is better for me to do as you would
have me." "My son," said Crœsus, "I act thus, not because I have seen
any cowardice, or any thing else unbecoming in you; but a vision in a
dream warned me that you would be short-lived, and would die by the
point of an iron weapon. It was on account of this that I hastened your
marriage, and now refuse to send you on this expedition; taking care to
preserve you, if by any means I can, as long as I live; for you are my
only son; the other, who is deprived of his hearing, I consider as
lost." The youth answered: "You are not to blame, my father, if after
such a dream you take so much care of me; but you say the dream
signified that I should die by the point of an iron weapon. What hand,
or what pointed iron weapon has a boar, to occasion such fears in you?
Had it said I should lose my life by a tusk, you might do as you have,
but it said by the point of a weapon; then since we have not to contend
against men, let me go." "You have outdone me," replied Crœsus, "in
explaining the import of the dream, you shall go to the chase."
Then turning to the Phrygian Adrastus, he exclaimed: "Adrastus, I beg
you to be my son's guardian, when he goes to the chase, and take care
that no skulking villains show themselves in the way to do him harm.
Besides, you ought to go for your own sake, where you may signalize
yourself by your exploits; this was the glory of your ancestors, and you
are besides in full vigor." Adrastus answered: "On no other account, my
lord, would I take part in this enterprise; it is not fitting that one
in my unfortunate circumstances should join with his prosperous
compeers. But since you urge me, I ought to oblige you. Rest assured,
that your son, whom you bid me take care of, shall, as far as his
guardian is concerned, return to you uninjured."
Then all went away, well provided with chosen youths and dogs, and,
having arrived at Mount Olympus, they sought the wild beast, found him
and encircled him around. Among the rest, the stranger, Adrastus,
throwing his javelin at the boar, missed him, and struck the son of
Crœsus; thus fulfilling the warning of the dream. Upon this, some one
ran off to tell Crœsus what had happened, and having arrived at Sardis,
gave him an account of the action, and of his son's fate. Crœsus,
exceedingly distressed by the death of his son, lamented it the more
bitterly, because he fell by the hand of one, whom he himself had
purified from blood; and vehemently deploring his misfortune, he invoked
Jove the Expiator, attesting what he had suffered by this stranger. He
invoked also the same deity, by the name of the god of hospitality and
private friendship: as the god of hospitality, because by receiving a
stranger into his house, he had unawares fostered the murderer of his
son; as the god of private friendship, because, having sent him as a
guardian, he found him his greatest enemy. Soon the Lydians approached,
bearing the corpse, and behind it followed the murderer. He, having
advanced in front of the body, delivered himself up to Crœsus,
stretching out his hands and begging him to kill him upon it; for he
ought to live no longer. When Crœsus heard this, though his own
affliction was so great, he pitied Adrastus, and said to him: "You have
made me full satisfaction by condemning yourself to die. You are not the
author of this misfortune, except as far as you were the involuntary
agent; but that god, whoever he was, that long since foreshowed what was
about to happen." Crœsus buried his son as the dignity of his birth
required; but the son of Gordius, when all was silent around, judging
himself the most heavily afflicted of all men, killed himself on the
tomb.
Some time after, the overthrow of the kingdom of Astyages, son of
Cyaxares, by Cyrus, son of Cambyses, and the growing power of the
Persians, put an end to the grief of Crœsus; and it entered into his
thoughts whether he could by any means check the growing power of the
Persians before they became formidable. After he had formed this
purpose, he determined to make trial as well of the oracles in Greece as
of that in Lydia; and sent different persons to different places, some
to Delphi, some to Abæ of Phocis, and some to Dodona.
[Illustration: OFFERING AT THE TEMPLE OF DELPHI.]
He endeavored to propitiate the god at Delphi by magnificent sacrifices;
for he offered three thousand head of cattle of every kind fit for
sacrifice, and having heaped up a great pile, he burned on it beds of
gold and silver, vials of gold, and robes of purple and garments; hoping
by that means more completely to conciliate the god. When the sacrifice
was ended, having melted down a vast quantity of gold, he cast
half-bricks from it; of which the longest were six palms in length, the
shortest three, and in thickness one palm: their number was one hundred
and seventeen: four of these, of pure gold, weighed each two talents and
a half; the other half-bricks of pale gold, weighed two talents each. He
made also the figure of a lion of fine gold, weighing ten talents. This
lion, when the temple of Delphi was burned down, fell from the
half-bricks, for it had been placed on them; and it now lies in the
treasury of the Corinthians, weighing six talents and a half; for three
talents and a half were melted from it. Crœsus, having finished these
things sent them to Delphi, and with them these following: two large
bowls, one of gold, the other of silver; that of gold was placed on the
right hand as you enter the temple, and that of silver on the left; but
these also were removed when the temple was burnt down; and the golden
one weighing eight talents and a half and twelve minæ, is placed in the
treasury of Clazomenæ; the silver one, containing six hundred amphoræ,
lies in a corner of the vestibule, and is used by the Delphians for
mixing the wine on the Theophanian festival. The Delphians say it was
the workmanship of Theodorus the Samian; and I think so too, for it
appears to be no common work. He also sent four casks of silver, which
stand in the treasury of the Corinthians; and he dedicated two lustral
vases, one of gold, the other of silver: on the golden one is an
inscription, OF THE LACEDÆMONIANS, who say that it was their offering,
but wrongfully, for it was given by Crœsus: a certain Delphian made the
inscription, in order to please the Lacedæmonians; I know his name, but
forbear to mention it. The boy, indeed, through whose hand the water
flows, is their gift; but neither of the lustral vases. At the same time
Crœsus sent many other offerings without an inscription: amongst them
some round silver covers; and a statue of a woman in gold three cubits
high, which the Delphians say is the image of Crœsus's baking woman; and
to all these things he added the necklaces and girdles of his wife.
These were the offerings he sent to Delphi; and to Amphiaraus, having
ascertained his virtue and sufferings, he dedicated a shield all of
gold, and a lance of solid gold, the shaft as well as the points being
of gold. These are now at Thebes in the temple of Ismenian Apollo.
To the Lydians appointed to convey these presents to the temples, Crœsus
gave it in charge to inquire of the oracles, whether he should make war
on the Persians, and if he should invite any other nation as an ally.
Accordingly, when the Lydians arrived at the places to which they were
sent, and had dedicated the offerings, they consulted the oracles,
saying: "Crœsus, king of the Lydians and of other Nations, esteeming
these to be the only oracles among men, sends these presents in
acknowledgment of your discoveries; and now asks whether he should lead
an army against the Persians, and whether he should join any auxiliary
forces with his own?" Such were their questions; and the opinions of
both oracles concurred, foretelling: "That if Crœsus should make war on
the Persians, he would destroy a mighty empire;" and they advised him to
engage the most powerful of the Greeks in his alliance. When Crœsus
heard the answers that were brought back, he was beyond measure
delighted with the oracles; and fully expecting that he should destroy
the kingdom of Cyrus, he again sent to Delphi, and having ascertained
the number of the inhabitants, presented each of them with two staters
of gold. In return for this, the Delphians gave Crœsus and the Lydians
the right to consult the oracle before any others, and exemption from
tribute, and the first seats in the temple, and the privilege of being
made citizens of Delphi, to as many as should desire it in all future
time. Crœsus, having made these presents to the Delphians, sent a third
time to consult the oracle. For after he had ascertained the veracity of
the oracle, he had frequent recourse to it. His demand now was whether
he should long enjoy the kingdom? to which the Pythian gave this answer:
"When a mule shall become king of the Medes, then, tender-footed Lydian,
flee over pebbly Hermus, nor tarry, nor blush to be a coward." With this
answer, when reported to him, Crœsus was more than ever delighted,
thinking that a mule should never be king of the Medes instead of a man,
and consequently that neither he nor his posterity should ever be
deprived of the kingdom. In the next place he began to enquire carefully
who were the most powerful of the Greeks whom he might gain over as
allies; and on inquiry found that the Lacedæmonians and Athenians
excelled the rest, the former being of Dorian, the latter of Ionic
descent: for these were in ancient time the most distinguished, the
latter being a Pelasgian, the other an Hellenic nation.