This article refers to the historical King of Lydia. For the opera by Reinhard Keiser, see Croesus (opera). Reinhard Keiser ( January 9, 1674 – September 12, 1739) was a popular German opera composer based in Hamburg. Der hochmütige gestürzte und wieder erhabene Croesus ( The Proud Overthrown and Again Exalted Croesus) is a three-act Opera (described as a "Singe-Spiel"

Croesus Receiving Tribute from a Lydian Peasant, by Claude Vignon. Claude Vignon ( 19 May 1593 — 10 May 1670) was a leading French painter and engraver working in the Baroque manner

Croesus (pronounced /ˈkriːsəs/, CREE-sus) (595 BC – c. Events By Place Europe Theudebert II becomes king of Austrasia. 547? BC) was the king of Lydia from 560/561 BC until his defeat by the Persians in about 547 BC. Events By Place Europe Ida founds the kingdom of Bernicia at Bamburgh (traditional date Defining Lydia Aside from a legend related by Herodotus, who states that the name Lydia came from king Lydus at the time of the fall of Troy The Persian Empire was a series of Iranian empires that ruled over the Iranian plateau, the original Persian homeland and beyond in Western Asia ^[1] The fall of Croesus made a profound impact on the Hellenes, providing a fixed point in their calendar. "By the fifth century at least," J. A. S. Evans remarked, "Croesus had become a figure of myth, who stood outside the conventional restraints of chronology. "^[2] Croesus was renowned for his wealth — Herodotus and Pausanias noted his gifts preserved at Delphi^[3] — and in Greek and Persian cultures his name became a synonym for a wealthy man; in English, expressions such as "rich as Croesus" or "richer than Croesus" are used to indicate great wealth. Herodotus of Halicarnassus ( Greek: Hēródotos Halikarnāsseús) was a Greek Historian who lived in the 5th century BC ( 484 BC&ndash Pausanias ( Greek:) was a Greek traveller and Geographer of the 2nd century CE, who lived in the times of Hadrian, Antoninus Delphi ( Greek,) ( pronounce and dialectal forms) is an archaeological site and a modern town in Greece on the south-western ^[4]

Biography

Aside from a poetical account of Croesus on the pyre in Bacchylides, there are three classical accounts of Croesus. Bacchylides (5th century BC was an Ancient Greek lyric Poet. Later Greeks included him in the canonical list of Nine lyric poets which included Herodotus presents the Lydian accounts^[5] of the conversation with Solon (Histories 1. Herodotus of Halicarnassus ( Greek: Hēródotos Halikarnāsseús) was a Greek Historian who lived in the 5th century BC ( 484 BC&ndash Solon ( ancient Greek:, c 638 BC&ndash558 BC was an Athenian Statesman, Lawmaker and Lyric poet. 29-. 33), the tragedy of Croesus' son Atys (Histories 1. Atys was the son of Croesus, a king of Lydia. According to book one of the Histories by Herodotus, his father had visited the oracle 34-. 45) and the fall of Croesus (Histories 1. 85-. 89); Xenophon instances Croesus in his panegyric fictionalized biography of Cyrus: Cyropaedia, 7. Xenophon (Ancient Greek, Modern Greek "Ξενοφών" "Ξενοφώντας" ca Cyropaedia (from Greek Kúrou paideía (Κύρου παιδεία "The Education of Cyrus" is a "partly fictional biography" of Cyrus the 1; and Ctesias, whose account^[6] is also an encomium of Cyrus. Ctesias of Cnidus ( Greek) was a Greek Physician and Historian from Cnidus in Caria. Encomium is a Latin word deriving from the Classical Greek ἐγκώμιον ( encomion) meaning the praise of a person or thing

Born about 595 BC, Croesus received tribute from the Ionian Greeks but was friendlier to the Hellenes than his father had been, traditionally giving refuge at one point to the legendary Athenian statesman Adrastus. Geography Physical Ionia was of small extent not exceeding 90 geographical miles in length from north to south with a breadth varying from 40 to 55 miles but to this Athens (ˈæθənz Αθήνα Athina,) the Capital and largest city of Greece, dominates the Attica periphery as one of the world's It was said that Adrastus exiled himself to Lydia after accidentally killing his brother. King Croesus welcomed him but then Adrastus accidentally killed Croesus' son, Atys. Atys was the son of Croesus, a king of Lydia. According to book one of the Histories by Herodotus, his father had visited the oracle (Adrastus then committed suicide. ) Croesus' uneasy relations with the Greeks obscures the larger fact that he was their last bastion of the Ionian Greeks against the increasing Persian power in Anatolia. Geography Physical Ionia was of small extent not exceeding 90 geographical miles in length from north to south with a breadth varying from 40 to 55 miles but to this He began preparing a campaign against Cyrus the Great of Persia. Before setting out he turned to the Delphic oracle and the oracle of Amphiaraus to inquire whether he should pursue this campaign and whether he should also seek an alliance. Delphi ( Greek,) ( pronounce and dialectal forms) is an archaeological site and a modern town in Greece on the south-western An oracle is a person or agency considered to be a source of wise counsel or prophetic opinion an Infallible authority usually spiritual in nature In Greek mythology, Amphiaraus (or Amphiaraos, "doubly-cursed" or "twice Ares -like" was the son of Oecles and The oracles answered, with typical ambiguity, that if Croesus attacked the Persians, he would destroy a great empire – this would become one of the most famous oracular statements from Delphi.

Croesus was also advised to find out which Greek state was most powerful and to ally himself with it. ^[7]Croesus, now feeling secure, formed an alliance with Sparta in addition to those he had with Amasis II of Egypt and Nabonidus of Babylonia,^[8] and launched his campaign against the Persian Empire in 547 BC. The city of Sparta ( Doric Σπάρτα Attic Σπάρτη Amasis II (also Ahmose II) was a Pharaoh (570 BC - 526 BC of the Twenty-sixth dynasty of Egypt, the successor of Apries. This article is about the country of Egypt For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Egypt topics. Nabonidus ( Akkadian Nabû-nāʾid) was the last king of the Neo-Babylonian Empire, reigning from 556-539 BCE Babylonia was an Amorite state in lower Mesopotamia (modern southern Iraq) with Babylon as its capital ^[9] He was intercepted near the Halys River in central Anatolia and an inconclusive battle was fought. Anatolia (Anadolu Ανατολία Anatolía) or Asia minor, comprising most of modern Turkey, is the geographic region bounded by the Black As was usual in those days, the armies would disband for winter and Croesus did accordingly. Cyrus did not, however, and he attacked Croesus in Sardis, capturing him. Sardis, also Sardes ( Lydian: Sfard, Greek: Σάρδεις, Persian: Sparda) modern Sart in It became clear that the powerful empire Croesus was about to destroy was his own.

In Bacchylides' ode,^[10] composed for Hiero of Syracuse, who won the chariot race at Olympia in 468, Croesus with his wife and family mounted the funeral pyre, but before the flames could envelop the king, he was snatched up by Apollo and spirited away to the Hyperboreans. In Greek mythology, according to tradition the Hyperboreans were a mythical people who lived far to the north of Thrace. Herodotus' version includes Apollo in more "realistic" mode: Cyrus, repenting of the immolation of Croesus, could not put out the flames until Apollo intervened. ^[11]

Apollo's intervention

Croesus on the pyre, Attic red-figure amphora, 500–490 BC, Louvre (G 197)

Herodotus tells us that in the Lydian account, Croesus was placed upon a great pyre by Cyrus' orders, for Cyrus wanted to see if any of the heavenly powers would appear to save him from being burned alive. Attica (Αττική Attikí;) is a periphery (subdivision in Greece, containing Athens, the capital of Greece An amphora (plural amphorae or amphoras) is a type of Ceramic Vase with two handles and a long neck narrower than the body The Louvre Museum (Musée du Louvre located in Paris is the world's most visited art museum a historic monument and a national museum of France A pyre (from the Greek: πυρά pyrá, from πυρ pýr, fire is a structure usually made of Wood, for burning a body as part of a Execution by burning has a long history as a method of Punishment for Crimes such as Treason, Heresy and Witchcraft The pile was set ablaze, and as Cyrus watched he saw Croesus mutter a word, "Solon". Solon ( ancient Greek:, c 638 BC&ndash558 BC was an Athenian Statesman, Lawmaker and Lyric poet. He asked the interpreters to find out why he said this word with such resignation and agony. The interpreters returned the answer that Solon had warned Croesus of the fickleness of good fortune: see Interview with Solon below. This touched Cyrus, who realized that he and Croesus were much the same man, and he bade the servants to quench the blazing fire as quickly as they could. They tried to do this, but the flames were not to be mastered. According to the story, Croesus called out to Apollo and prayed to him. The sky had been clear and the day without a breath of wind, but soon dark clouds gathered and a storm with rain of such violence that the flames were speedily extinguished. Cyrus, convinced by this that Croesus was a good man, made Croesus an advisor who served Cyrus well and later Cyrus's son by Cassandane, Cambyses.

It is not known when exactly Croesus died, although it is traditionally dated 547 BC, after Cyrus' conquest. In the Nabonidus Chronicle it is said that Cyrus "marched against the country -- , killed its king,^[12] took his possessions, put there a garrison of his own. The Nabonidus Chronicle is an ancient Babylonian text part of a larger series of Babylonian Chronicles incribed in Cuneiform script on clay tablets Garrison (various spellings (from the French garnison, itself from the verb garnir, "to equip" is the collective term for a body of Troops " Unfortunately, all that remains of the name of the country are traces of the first cuneiform sign. It has long been assumed that this sign should have been LU, so that the country referred to would be Lydia, with Croesus as the king that was killed. However, J. Cargill has shown that this restoration was based upon wishful thinking rather than actual traces of the sign LU. ^[13] Instead, J. Oelsner and R. Rollinger have both read the sign as Ú, which might imply a reference to Urartu. Urartu ( Assyrian: Urarṭu Urartian: Biainili Ուրարտու was an Iron Age kingdom in Eastern Anatolia ( Transcaucasia) rising ^[14] With Herodotus' account also being unreliable chronologically in this case, as J. A. S. Evans has demonstrated,^[15] this means that we have no way of dating the fall of Sardis; theoretically, it may even have taken place after the fall of Babylon. Evans also asks what happened after the episode at the pyre and suggests that neither the Greeks nor the Babylonians knew what really happened to Croesus.

Reception history

The episode of Croesus' interview with Solon^[16] reported by Herodotus^[17] is in the nature of a philosophical disquisition on the subject "What man is happy?" It is legendary rather than historical. Croesus, secure in his own wealth and happiness, poses the question and is disappointed by Solon's response: that three have been happier than Croesus, Tellus, who died fighting for his country, and Kleobis and Biton, brothers who died peacefully in their sleep when their mother prayed for their perfect happiness, after they had demonstrated filial piety by drawing her to a festival in an oxcart themselves. Kleobis (Cleobis and Biton is the name of two human brothers in Greek mythology. Croesus' hubristic happiness was reversed by the tragic deaths of his accidentally-murdered son and, in Critias, his wife's suicide at the fall of Sardis. Hubris, sometimes spelled hybris ( Ancient Greek ὕβρις is a term used in modern English to indicate overweening Pride, self-confidence Thus the "happiness" of Croesus is presented as a moralistic exemplum of the fickleness of Tyche, a theme that gathered strength from the fourth century, revealing its late date. An exemplum (Latin for "example" pl exempla, exempli gratia = "for example" abbr In ancient Greek city cults, Tyche (Τύχη meaning "luck" in Greek, Roman equivalent Fortuna) was the presiding Tutelary

Croesus' wealth remained proverbial beyond classical antiquity, and is often alluded to in English-language phrases like "as rich as Croesus". An early example is found in John Gower's 1390 poem Confessio Amantis, which lists "the tresor of Cresus" alongside other examples of great riches. John Gower (c 1330 – October 1408 was an English Poet, a contemporary of William Langland and a personal friend of Geoffrey Chaucer. Confessio Amantis ("The Lover's Confession" is a 33000-line Middle English poem by John Gower, which uses the Confession made by an ageing lover ^[18]

See also

• Karun Treasure

Notes

External links

• Herodotus' account of Croesus (from the Perseus Project): see 1. 6-94; contains links Croesus was the son of Alyattes II and continued the conquest of Ionian cities of Asia Minor that his father had began to both English and Greek versions
• An in-depth account of Croesus' life, by Carlos Parada
• Livius, Croesus by Jona Lendering