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The History of Herodotus: Page 02
Volume One - Book I
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16. Now when Ardys had been king for nine-and-forty years, Sadyattes
his son succeeded to his kingdom, and reigned twelve years; and after
him Alyattes. This last made war against Kyaxares the descendant of
Deïokes and against the Medes,[15] and he drove the Kimmerians forth
out of Asia, and he took Smyrna which had been founded from Colophon,
and made an invasion against Clazomenai. From this he returned not as
he desired, but with great loss: during his reign however he performed
other deeds very worthy of mention as follows:--
17. He made war with
those of Miletos, having received this war as an inheritance from his
father: for he used to invade their land and besiege Miletos in the
following manner:--whenever there were ripe crops upon the land, then
he led an army into their confines, making his march to the sound of
pipes and harps and flutes both of male and female tone: and when he
came to the Milesian land, he neither pulled down the houses that were
in the fields, nor set fire to them nor tore off their doors, but let
them stand as they were; the trees however and the crops that were
upon the land he destroyed, and then departed by the way he came: for
the men of Miletos had command of the sea, so that it was of no use
for his army to blockade them: and he abstained from pulling down the
houses to the end that the Milesians might have places to dwell in
while they sowed and tilled the land, and by the means of their labour
he might have somewhat to destroy when he made his invasion.
18. Thus
he continued to war with them for eleven years; and in the course of
these years the Milesians suffered two great defeats, once when they
fought a battle in the district of Limenion in their own land, and
again in the plain of Maiander.
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Now for six of the eleven years Sadyattes the son of Ardys was still ruler of the Lydians, the same
who was wont to invade the land of Miletos at the times mentioned;[16]
for this Sadyattes was he who first began the war: but for the five
years which followed these first six the war was carried on by
Alyattes the son of Sadyattes, who received it as an inheritance from
his father (as I have already said) and applied himself to it
earnestly. And none of the Ionians helped those of Miletos bear the
burden of this war except only the men of Chios. These came to their
aid to pay back like with like, for the Milesians had formerly
assisted the Chians throughout their war with the people of Erythrai.
19. Then in the twelfth year of the war, when standing corn was being
burnt by the army of the Lydians, it happened as follows:--as soon as
the corn was kindled, it was driven by a violent wind and set fire to
the temple of Athene surnamed of Assessos; and the temple being set on
fire was burnt down to the ground. Of this no account was made then;
but afterwards when the army had returned to Sardis, Alyattes fell
sick, and as his sickness lasted long, he sent messengers to inquire
of the Oracle at Delphi, either being advised to do so by some one, or
because he himself thought it best to send and inquire of the god
concerning his sickness. But when these arrived at Delphi, the Pythian
prophetess said that she would give them no answer, until they should
have built up again the temple of Athene which they had burnt at
Assessos in the land of Miletos.
20. Thus much I know by the report of
the people of Delphi; but the Milesians add to this that Periander the
son of Kypselos, being a special guest-friend of Thrasybulos the then
despot of Miletos, heard of the oracle which had been given to
Alyattes, and sending a messenger told Thrasybulos, in order that he
might have knowledge of it beforehand and take such counsel as the
case required. This is the story told by the Milesians.
21. And Alyattes, when this answer was reported to him, sent a herald
forthwith to Miletos, desiring to make a truce with Thrasybulos and
the Milesians for so long a time as he should be building the temple.
He then was being sent as envoy to Miletos; and Thrasybulos in the
meantime being informed beforehand of the whole matter and knowing
what Alyattes was meaning to do, contrived this device:--he gathered
together in the market-place all the store of provisions which was
found in the city, both his own and that which belonged to private
persons; and he proclaimed to the Milesians that on a signal given by
him they should all begin to drink and make merry with one another.
22. This Thrasybulos did and thus proclaimed to the end that the
herald from Sardis, seeing a vast quantity of provisions carelessly
piled up, and the people feasting, might report this to Alyattes: and
so on fact it happened; for when the herald returned to Sardis after
seeing this and delivering to Thrasybulos the charge which was given
to him by the king of Lydia, the peace which was made, came about, as
I am informed, merely because of this. For Alyattes, who thought that
there was a great famine in Miletos and that the people had been worn
down to the extreme of misery, heard from the herald, when he returned
from Miletos, the opposite to that which he himself supposed. And
after this the peace was made between them on condition of being
guest-friends and allies to one another, and Alyattes built two
temples to Athene at Assessos in place of one, and himself recovered
from his sickness. With regard then to the war waged by Alyattes with
the Milesians and Thrasybulos things went thus.
23. As for Periander, the man who gave information about the oracle to
Thrasybulos, he was the son of Kypselos, and despot of Corinth. In his
life, say the Corinthians, (and with them agree the Lesbians), there
happened to him a very great marvel, namely that Arion of Methymna was
carried ashore at Tainaron upon a dolphin's back. This man was a
harper second to none of those who then lived, and the first, so far
as we know, who composed a dithyramb, naming it so and teaching it to
a chorus[17] at Corinth.
24. This Arion, they say, who for the most
part of his time stayed with Periander, conceived a desire to sail to
Italy[18] and Sicily; and after he had there acquired large sums of
money, he wished to return again to Corinth. He set forth therefore
from Taras,[19] and as he had faith in Corinthians more than in other
men, he hired a ship with a crew of Corinthians. These, the story
says, when out in open sea, formed a plot to cast Arion overboard and
so possess his wealth; and he having obtained knowledge of this made
entreaties to them, offering them his wealth and asking them to grant
him his life. With this however he did not prevail upon them, but the
men who were conveying him bade him either slay himself there, that he
might receive burial on the land, or leap straightway into the sea. So
Arion being driven to a strait entreated them that, since they were so
minded, they would allow him to take his stand in full minstrel's garb
upon the deck[20] of the ship and sing; and he promised to put himself
to death after he had sung. They then, well pleased to think that they
should hear the best of all minstrels upon earth, drew back from the
stern towards the middle of the ship; and he put on the full
minstrel's garb and took his lyre, and standing on the deck performed
the Orthian measure. Then as the measure ended, he threw himself into
the sea just as he was, in his full minstrel's garb; and they went on
sailing away to Corinth, but him, they say, a dolphin supported on its
back and brought him to shore at Tainaron: and when he had come to
land he proceeded to Corinth with his minstrel's garb. Thither having
arrived he related all that had been done; and Periander doubting of
his story kept Arion in guard and would let him go nowhere, while he
kept careful watch for those who had conveyed him. When these came, he
called them and inquired of them if they had any report to make of
Arion; and when they said that he was safe in Italy and that they had
left him at Taras faring well, Arion suddenly appeared before them in
the same guise as when he made his leap from the ship; and they being
struck with amazement were no longer able to deny when they were
questioned. This is the tale told by the Corinthians and Lesbians
alike, and there is at Tainaron a votive offering of Arion of no great
size,[21] namely a bronze figure of a man upon a dolphin's back.
25. Alyattes the Lydian, when he had thus waged war against the
Milesians, afterwards died, having reigned seven-and-fifty years. This
king, when he recovered from his sickness, dedicated a votive offering
at Delphi (being the second of his house who had so done), namely a
great mixing-bowl of silver with a stand for it of iron welded
together, which last is a sight worth seeing above all the offerings
at Delphi and the work of Glaucos the Chian, who of all men first
found out the art of welding iron.
26. After Alyattes was dead Crœsus the son of Alyattes received the
kingdom in succession, being five-and-thirty years of age. He (as I
said) fought against the Hellenes and of them he attacked the
Ephesians first. The Ephesians then, being besieged by him, dedicated
their city to Artemis and tied a rope from the temple to the wall of
the city: now the distance between the ancient city, which was then
being besieged, and the temple is seven furlongs.[22] These, I say,
where the first upon whom Crœsus laid hands, but afterwards he did the
same to the other Ionian and Aiolian cities one by one, alleging
against them various causes of complaint, and making serious charges
against those in whose cases he could find serious grounds, while
against others of them he charged merely trifling offences.
27. Then when the Hellenes in Asia had been conquered and forced to
pay tribute, he designed next to build for himself ships and to lay
hands upon those who dwelt in the islands; and when all was prepared
for his building of ships, they say that Bias of Priene (or, according
to another account, Pittacos of Mytilene) came to Sardis, and being
asked by Crœsus whether there was any new thing doing in Hellas,
brought to an end his building of ships by this saying: "O king," said
he, "the men of the islands are hiring a troop of ten thousand horse,
and with this they mean to march to Sardis and fight against thee."
And Crœsus, supposing that what he reported was true, said: "May the
gods put it into the minds of the dwellers of the islands to come with
horses against the sons of the Lydians!" And he answered and said: "O
king, I perceive that thou dost earnestly desire to catch the men of
the islands on the mainland riding upon horses; and it is not
unreasonable that thou shouldest wish for this: what else however
thinkest thou the men of the islands desire and have been praying for
ever since the time they heard that thou wert about to build ships
against them, than that they might catch the Lydians upon the sea, so
as to take vengeance upon thee for the Hellenes who dwell upon the
mainland, whom thou dost hold enslaved?" Crœsus, they say, was greatly
pleased with this conclusion,[23] and obeying his suggestion, for he
judged him to speak suitably, he stopped his building of ships; and
upon that he formed a friendship with the Ionians dwelling in the
islands.
28. As time went on, when nearly all those dwelling on this side the
river Halys had been subdued, (for except the Kilikians and Lykians
Crœsus subdued and kept under his rule all the nations, that is to say
Lydians, Phrygians, Mysians, Mariandynoi, Chalybians, Paphlagonians,
Thracians both Thynian and Bithynian, Carians, Ionians, Dorians,
Aiolians, and Pamphylians),[24] 29, when these, I say, had been
subdued, and while he was still adding to his Lydian dominions, there
came to Sardis, then at the height of its wealth, all the wise men[25]
of the Hellas who chanced to be alive at that time, brought thither
severally by various occasions; and of them one was Solon the
Athenian, who after he had made laws for the Athenians at their
bidding, left his native country for ten years and sailed away saying
that he desired to visit various lands, in order that he might not be
compelled to repeal any of the laws which he had proposed.[26] For of
themselves the Athenians were not competent to do this, having bound
themselves by solemn oaths to submit for ten years to the laws which
Solon should propose for them.
30. So Solon, having left his native country for this reason and for
the sake of seeing various lands, came to Amasis in Egypt, and also to
Crœsus at Sardis. Having there arrived he was entertained as a guest
by Crœsus in the king's palace; and afterwards, on the third or fourth
day, at the bidding of Crœsus his servants led Solon round to see his
treasuries; and they showed him all things, how great and magnificent
they were: and after he had looked upon them all and examined them as
he had occasion, Crœsus asked him as follows: "Athenian guest, much
report of thee has come to us, both in regard to thy wisdom and thy
wanderings, how that in thy search for wisdom thou hast traversed many
lands to see them; now therefore a desire has come upon me to ask thee
whether thou hast seen any whom thou deemest to be of all men the most
happy."[27] This he asked supposing that he himself was the happiest
of men; but Solon, using no flattery but the truth only, said: "Yes, O
king, Tellos the Athenian." And Crœsus, marvelling at that which he
said, asked him earnestly: "In what respect dost thou judge Tellos to
be the most happy?" And he said: "Tellos, in the first place, living
while his native State was prosperous, had sons fair and good and saw
from all of them children begotten and living to grow up; and secondly
he had what with us is accounted wealth, and after his life a most
glorious end: for when a battle was fought by the Athenians at Eleusis
against the neighbouring people, he brought up supports and routed the
foe and there died by a most fair death; and the Athenians buried him
publicly where he fell, and honoured him greatly."
31. So when Solon
had moved Crœsus to inquire further by the story of Tellos, recounting
how many points of happiness he had, the king asked again whom he had
seen proper to be placed next after this man, supposing that he
himself would certainly obtain at least the second place; but he
replied: "Cleobis and Biton: for these, who were of Argos by race,
possessed a sufficiency of wealth and, in addition to this, strength
of body such as I shall tell. Both equally had won prizes in the
games, and moreover the following tale is told of them:--There was a
feast of Hera among the Argives and it was by all means necessary that
their mother should be borne in a car to the temple. But since their
oxen were not brought up in time from the field, the young men, barred
from all else by lack of time, submitted themselves to the yoke and
drew the wain, their mother being borne by them upon it; and so they
brought it on for five-and-forty furlongs,[28] and came to the temple.
Then after they had done this and had been seen by the assembled
crowd, there came to their life a most excellent ending; and in this
the deity declared that it was better for man to die than to continue
to live. For the Argive men were standing round and extolling the
strength[29] of the young men, while the Argive women were extolling
the mother to whose lot it had fallen to have such sons; and the
mother being exceedingly rejoiced both by the deed itself and by the
report made of it, took her stand in front of the image of the goddess
and prayed that she would give to Cleobis and Biton her sons, who had
honoured her[30] greatly, that gift which is best for man to receive:
and after this prayer, when they had sacrificed and feasted, the young
men lay down to sleep within the temple itself, and never rose again,
but were held bound in this last end.[31] And the Argives made statues
in the likeness of them and dedicated them as offerings at Delphi,
thinking that they had proved themselves most excellent."
32. Thus
Solon assigned the second place in respect of happiness to these: and Crœsus was moved to anger and said: "Athenian guest, hast thou then so
cast aside our prosperous state as worth nothing, that thou dost
prefer to us even men of private station?" And he said: "Crœsus, thou
art inquiring about human fortunes of one who well knows that the
Deity is altogether envious and apt to disturb our lot. For in the
course of long time a man may see many things which he would not
desire to see, and suffer also many things which he would not desire
to suffer. The limit of life for a man I lay down at seventy years:
and these seventy years give twenty-five thousand and two hundred
days, not reckoning for any intercalated month. Then if every other
one of these years shall be made longer by one month, that the seasons
may be caused to come round at the due time of the year, the
intercalated months will be in number five-and-thirty besides the
seventy years; and of these months the days will be one thousand and
fifty. Of all these days, being in number twenty-six thousand two
hundred and fifty, which go to the seventy years, one day produces
nothing at all which resembles what another brings with it. Thus then,
O Crœsus, man is altogether a creature of accident. As for thee, I
perceive that thou art both great in wealth and king of many men, but
that of which thou didst ask me I cannot call thee yet, until I learn
that thou hast brought thy life to a fair ending: for the very rich
man is not at all to be accounted more happy than he who has but his
subsistence from day to day, unless also the fortune go with him of
ending his life well in possession of all things fair. For many very
wealthy men are not happy,[32] while many who have but a moderate
living are fortunate;[33] and in truth the very rich man who is not
happy has two advantages only as compared with the poor man who is
fortunate, whereas this latter has many as compared with the rich man
who is not happy. The rich man is able better to fulfil his desire,
and also to endure a great calamity if it fall upon him; whereas the
other has advantage over him in these things which follow:--he is not
indeed able equally with the rich man to endure a calamity or to
fulfil his desire, but these his good fortune keeps away from him,
while he is sound of limb,[34] free from disease, untouched by
suffering, the father of fair children and himself of comely form; and
if in addition to this he shall end his life well, he is worthy to be
called that which thou seekest, namely a happy man; but before he
comes to his end it is well to hold back and not to call him yet happy
but only fortunate. Now to possess all these things together is
impossible for one who is mere man, just as no single land suffices to
supply all tings for itself, but one thing it has and another it
lacks, and the land that has the greatest number of things is the
best: so also in the case of a man, no single person is complete in
himself, for one thing he has and another he lacks; but whosoever of
men continues to the end in possession of the greatest number of these
things and then has a gracious ending of his life, he is by me
accounted worthy, O king, to receive this name. But we must of every
thing examine the end and how it will turn out at the last, for to
many God shows but a glimpse of happiness and then plucks them up by
the roots and overturns them."
33. Thus saying he refused to gratify Crœsus, who sent him away from his presence holding him in no esteem,
and thinking him utterly senseless in that he passed over present good
things and bade men look to the end of every matter.
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