Crœsus was a Lydian by birth, son of Alyattes, and sovereign of the nations on this side the river Halys. This river flowing from the south between the Syrians[2] and Paphlagonians, empties itself northward into the Euxine Sea. This Crœsus was the first of the barbarians whom we know of that subjected some of the Greeks to the payment of tribute, and formed alliances with others. He subdued the Ionians and Æolians, and those of the Dorians who had settled in Asia, and formed an alliance with the Lacedæmonians; but before his reign all the Greeks were free.
CHAPTER II.
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."