Crœsus being informed of all these things, sent ambassadors to Sparta, with presents, and to request their alliance, having given them orders what to say; and when they were arrived they spoke as follows: "Crœsus, king of the Lydians and of other nations, has sent us with this message: 'O Lacedæmonians, since the deity has directed me by an oracle to unite myself to a Grecian friend, therefore (for I am informed that you are pre-eminent in Greece), I invite you in obedience to the oracle, being desirous of becoming your friend and ally, without treachery or guile.'" But the Lacedæmonians, who had before heard of the answer given by the oracle to Crœsus, were gratified at the coming of the Lydians, and exchanged pledges of friendship and alliance; and indeed certain favors had been formerly conferred on them by Crœsus; for when the Lacedæmonians sent to Sardis to purchase gold, wishing to use it in erecting the statue of Apollo that now stands at Thornax in Laconia, Crœsus gave it as a present to them. For this reason, and because he had selected them from all the Greeks, and desired their friendship, the Lacedæmonians accepted his offer of alliance; and in the first place they promised to be ready at his summons; and in the next, having made a great bronze bowl, capable of containing three hundred amphoræ, and covered it outside to the rim with various figures, they sent it to him, being desirous of making Crœsus a present in return. But this bowl never reached Sardis, for one of the two following reasons: the Lacedæmonians say, that when the bowl, on its way to Sardis, was off Samos, the Samains having heard of it, sailed out in long ships, and took it away by force. On the other hand the Samains affirm, that when the Lacedæmonians who were conveying the bowl found they were too late, and heard that Sardis was taken and Crœsus a prisoner, they sold the bowl in Samos, and that some private persons, who bought it dedicated it in the temple of Juno.
Crœsus, mistaking the oracle, prepared to invade Cappadocia, hoping to overthrow Cyrus and the power of the Persians. Whilst Crœsus was preparing for his expedition against the Persians, a Lydian named Sandanis, who before that time was esteemed a wise man, and on this occasion acquired a very great name in Lydia, gave him advice in these words: "O king, you are preparing to make war against a people who wear leather trousers, and the rest of their garments of leather; who inhabit a barren country, and feed not on such things as they choose, but such as they can get. Besides they do not habitually use wine, but drink water; nor have they figs to eat, nor any thing that is good. In the first place, then, if you should conquer, what will you take from them, since they have nothing? On the other hand, if you should be conquered, consider what good things you will lose. For when they have tasted of our good things, they will become fond of them, nor will they be driven from them. As for me, I thank the gods, that they have not put it into the thoughts of the Persians to make war on the Lydians." Sandanis did not, however, persuade Crœsus, for he proceeded to invade Cappadocia, as well from a desire of adding it to his own dominions, as a wish to punish Cyrus on account of Astyages. For Cyrus, son of Cambyses, had subjugated Astyages, son of Cyaxares, who was brother-in-law of Crœsus, and king of Medes.
Crœsus, alleging this against him, sent to ask the oracle, if he should make war on the Persians; and when an ambiguous answer came back, he, interpreting it to his own advantage, led his army against the territory of the Persians. When he arrived at the river Halys, Crœsus transported his forces, as I believe, by the bridges which are now there. But the common opinion of the Greeks is, that Thales the Milesian procured him a passage in the following way: Whilst Crœsus was in doubt how his army should pass over the river, for they say that these bridges were not at that time in existence, Thales, who was in the camp, caused the stream, which flowed along the left of the army, to flow on the right instead. He contrived it thus: having begun above the camp, he dug a deep trench, in the shape of a half-moon, so that the river, being turned into this from its old channel, might pass in the rear of the camp pitched where it then was, and afterward, having passed by the camp, might fall into its former course; so that as soon as the river was divided into two streams it became fordable in both. Some say, that the ancient channel of the river was entirely dried up; but this I cannot assent to; for how then could they have crossed it on their return?
However, Crœsus, having passed the river with his army, came to a place called Pteria, in Cappadocia. (Now Pteria is the strongest position of the whole of this country, and is situated over against Sinope, a city on the Euxine Sea.) Here he encamped and ravaged the lands of the Syrians; and took the city of the Pterians, and enslaved the inhabitants; he also took all the adjacent places, and expelled the inhabitants, who had given him no cause for blame. But Cyrus, assembling his own army, and taking with him all who inhabited the intermediate country, went to meet Crœsus. But before he began to advance, he sent heralds to the Ionians, to persuade them to revolt from Crœsus, which the Ionians refused to do. When Cyrus had come up and encamped opposite Crœsus, they made trial of each other's strength on the plains of Pteria; but when an obstinate battle took place, and many fell on both sides, they at last parted, on the approach of night, neither having been victorious.
Crœsus laying the blame on his own army on account of the smallness of its numbers, for his forces that engaged were far fewer than those of Cyrus,—marched back to Sardis, designing to summon the Egyptians according to treaty, and to require the presence of the Lacedæmonians at a fixed time: having collected these together, and assembled his own army, he purposed, when winter was over, to attack the Persians in the beginning of the spring. With this design, when he reached Sardis, he despatched ambassadors to his different allies, requiring them to meet at Sardis before the end of five months; but the army that was with him, and that had fought with the Persians, which was composed of mercenary troops, he entirely disbanded, not imagining that Cyrus, who had come off on such equal terms, would venture to advance upon Sardis. While Crœsus was forming these plans the whole suburbs were filled with serpents, and when they appeared, the horses, forsaking their pastures, came and devoured them. When Crœsus beheld this, he considered it to be, as it really was, a prodigy, and sent immediately to consult the interpreters at Telmessus; but the messengers having arrived there, and learnt from the Telmessians what the prodigy portended, were unable to report it to Crœsus, for before they sailed back to Sardis, Crœsus had been taken prisoner. The Telmessians had pronounced as follows: "that Crœsus must expect a foreign army to invade his country, which, on its arrival, would subdue the natives, because, they said, the serpent is a son of the earth, but the horse is an enemy and a stranger."
Cyrus, as soon as Crœsus had retreated after the battle at Pteria, having discovered that it was the intention of Crœsus to disband his army, saw that it would be to his advantage to march with all possible expedition on Sardis, before the forces of the Lydians could be a second time assembled. Whereupon Crœsus, thrown into great perplexity, seeing that matters had turned out contrary to his expectations, drew out the Lydians to battle. At that time no nation in Asia was more valiant and warlike than the Lydians. Their mode of fighting was from on horseback; they were armed with long lances, and managed their horses with admirable address.
The place where they met was the plain that lies before the city of Sardis, which is extensive and bare; the Hyllus and several other rivers flowing through it force a passage into the greatest, called the Hermus, which, flowing from the sacred mountain of mother Cybele, falls into the sea near the city of Phocæa. Here Cyrus, when he saw the Lydians drawn up in order of battle, alarmed at the cavalry, had recourse to the following stratagem, on the suggestion of Harpagus, a Mede. Collecting together all the camels that followed his army with provisions and baggage, and causing their burdens to be taken off, he mounted men upon them equipped in cavalry accoutrements, and ordered them to go in advance of the rest of his army against the Lydian horse; his infantry he bade follow the camels, and placed the whole of his cavalry behind the infantry. When all were drawn up in order, he charged them not to spare any of the Lydians, but to kill every one they met; but on no account to kill Crœsus, even if he should offer resistance when taken. He drew up the camels in the front of the cavalry for this reason: a horse is afraid of a camel, and cannot endure either to see its form or to scent its smell; this then would render the cavalry useless to Crœsus, by which the Lydian expected to signalize himself. Accordingly, when they joined battle, the horses no sooner smelt the camels and saw them, than they wheeled round, and the hopes of Crœsus were destroyed. Nevertheless, the Lydians were not discouraged, but leaped from their horses and engaged with the Persians on foot; but at last, when many had fallen on both sides, the Lydians were put to flight, and being shut up within the walls, were besieged by the Persians.
Sardis was taken in the following manner. On the fourteenth day after Crœsus had been besieged, Cyrus sent horsemen throughout his army, and proclaimed that he would liberally reward the man who should first mount the wall; upon this several attempts were made, and as often failed; till, after the rest had desisted, a Mardian, whose name was Hyrœades, endeavored to climb up on that part of the citadel where no guard was stationed, for on that side the citadel was precipitous and impracticable. Hyrœades had seen a Lydian the day before come down this precipice for a helmet that had rolled down, and carry it up again. He thereupon ascended the same way, followed by divers Persians; and when great numbers had gone up, Sardis was thus taken, and the whole town plundered.
The following incidents befel Crœsus himself. He had a son of whom I have before made mention, who was dumb. Now, in the time of his former prosperity, Crœsus had done every thing he could for him, and among other expedients had sent to consult the oracle of Delphi concerning him; but the Pythian gave him this answer:
"O foolish king of Lydia, do not seek