It was not long before Crœsus experienced the truth of what Solon had told him.[1106] He had two sons, one of which, being dumb, was a perpetual subject of affliction to him; the other, named Atys, was distinguished by every good quality, and his great consolation and delight. The father one night had a dream, which made a great impression upon his mind, that this beloved son of his was to perish by iron. This became a new source of anxiety and trouble, and care is taken to remove out of the young prince's way every thing made of iron, as partisans, lances, javelins, &c. No mention is made of armies, wars, or sieges, before him. But one day there was to be an extraordinary hunting-match, for the killing of a wild boar, which had committed great ravage in the neighbourhood. All the young lords of the court were to be at this hunting. Atys very earnestly importuned his father that he would give him leave to be present, at least as a spectator. The king could not refuse him that request, but intrusted him to the care of a discreet young prince, who had taken refuge in his court, and was named Adrastus. And this very Adrastus, as he was aiming his javelin at the boar, unfortunately killed Atys. It is impossible to express either the affliction of the father, when he heard of this fatal accident, or of the unhappy prince, the innocent author of the murder, who expiated his fault with his blood, stabbing himself in the breast with his own sword, upon the funeral pile of the unfortunate Atys.
Two years were spent on this occasion in deep mourning,[1107] [pg 373] the afflicted father's thoughts being wholly taken up with the loss he had sustained. But the growing reputation, and great qualities of Cyrus, who began to make himself known, roused him out of his lethargy. He thought it behoved him to put a stop to the power of the Persians, which was enlarging itself every day. As he was very religious in his way, he would never enter upon any enterprise without consulting the gods. But, that he might not act blindly, and in order to be able to form a certain judgment on the answers he should receive, he was willing to assure himself beforehand of the truth of the oracles. For which purpose, he sent messengers to all the most celebrated oracles both of Greece and Africa, with orders to inquire, every one at his respective oracle, what Crœsus was doing on such a day, and such an hour, before agreed on. His orders were punctually observed; and of all the oracles none gave a true answer but that of Delphi. The answer was given in Greek hexameter verses, and was in substance as follows: “I know the number of the grains of sand on the sea-shore, and the measure of the ocean's vast extent. I can hear the dumb, and him that has not yet learnt to speak. A strong smell of a tortoise boiled in brass, together with sheep's flesh, has reached my nostrils, brass beneath, brass above.” And indeed the king, thinking to invent something that could not possibly be guessed at, had employed himself on the day and hour set down, in boiling a tortoise and a lamb in a brass pot, which had a brass cover. St. Austin observes in several places, that God, to punish the blindness of the Pagans, sometimes permitted the devils to give answers conformable to the truth.
Crœsus, thus assured of the veracity of the god whom he designed to consult, offered three thousand victims to his honour, and ordered an infinite number of vessels, tripods, and golden tables, to be melted down, and converted into ingots of gold, to the number of a hundred and seventeen, to augment the treasures of the temple of Delphi. Each of these ingots weighed at least two talents; besides which, he made several other presents: amongst others Herodotus mentions a golden lion, weighing ten talents, and two vessels of an extraordinary size, one of gold, which weighed eight talents and a half and twelve minæ; the other of silver, which contained six hundred [pg 374] of the measures called amphoræ. All these presents, and many more, which for brevity's sake I omit, were to be seen in the time of Herodotus.
The messengers were ordered to consult the god upon two points: first, whether Crœsus should undertake a war against the Persians; secondly, if he did, whether he should require the succour of any auxiliary troops. The oracle answered, upon the first article, that if he carried his arms against the Persians, he would subvert a great empire; upon the second, that he would do well to make alliances with the most powerful states of Greece. He consulted the oracle again, to know how long the duration of his empire would be. The answer was, that it should subsist till a mule came to possess the throne of Media; which he considered as an assurance of the perpetual duration of his kingdom.
Pursuant to the direction of the oracle, Crœsus entered into alliance with the Athenians, who at that time had Pisistratus at their head, and with the Lacedæmonians, who were indisputably the two most powerful states of Greece.
A certain Lydian, much esteemed for his prudence, gave Crœsus, on this occasion, very judicious advice.[1108] “O prince, (says he to him,) why do you think of turning your arms against such a people as the Persians, who, being born in a wild, rugged country, are inured from their infancy to every kind of hardship and fatigue, who, being coarsely clad, and coarsely fed, can content themselves with bread and water; who are absolute strangers to all the delicacies and conveniencies of life; who, in a word, have nothing to lose if you conquer them, and every thing to gain if they conquer you; and whom it would be difficult to drive out of our country, if they should once come to taste the sweets and advantages of it? So far therefore from thinking of beginning a war against them, it is my opinion we ought to thank the gods that they have never put it into the heads of the Persians to come and attack the Lydians.” But Crœsus had taken his resolution and would not be diverted from it.
What remains of the history of Crœsus will be found in that of Cyrus, which I am now going to begin.
Maps.
