1 00:00:01,280 --> 00:00:04,279 Speaker 1: Welcome to Stuff You Missed in History Class, a production 2 00:00:04,360 --> 00:00:13,480 Speaker 1: of I Heart Radio. Hello, and welcome to the podcast. 3 00:00:13,520 --> 00:00:17,439 Speaker 1: I'm Holly Fry and I'm Tracy V. Wilson. So, crisis 4 00:00:17,560 --> 00:00:19,960 Speaker 1: is a name that is now most commonly referenced when 5 00:00:19,960 --> 00:00:23,239 Speaker 1: someone wants to shorthand that a person is ridiculously wealthy. 6 00:00:23,960 --> 00:00:26,960 Speaker 1: That is a thing that it happens sometimes in English language, 7 00:00:27,000 --> 00:00:29,480 Speaker 1: but other languages use it all the time, and I 8 00:00:29,520 --> 00:00:33,680 Speaker 1: think possibly a little bit more than English speakers. Um 9 00:00:33,720 --> 00:00:35,960 Speaker 1: And he is one of those historical figures who was 10 00:00:36,040 --> 00:00:40,159 Speaker 1: both real and has taken on a mythical status. Also mythical. 11 00:00:40,320 --> 00:00:43,000 Speaker 1: Aesop was a member of his court, and there's all 12 00:00:43,080 --> 00:00:47,120 Speaker 1: kinds of mythical swirlings around him. But the story of 13 00:00:47,159 --> 00:00:51,760 Speaker 1: the ridiculously Wealthy Creases, which was likely fictionalized in a 14 00:00:51,800 --> 00:00:54,760 Speaker 1: number of ways, and we'll talk about that, also becomes 15 00:00:54,760 --> 00:00:58,720 Speaker 1: this sort of cautionary tale about pride and hubris and 16 00:00:58,800 --> 00:01:01,960 Speaker 1: what really has value you in life. So Crisus was 17 00:01:02,040 --> 00:01:05,360 Speaker 1: born into the royal family of Lydia. Lydia was a 18 00:01:05,440 --> 00:01:10,040 Speaker 1: kingdom that occupied the western section of Anatolia, roughly speaking 19 00:01:10,080 --> 00:01:13,280 Speaker 1: in modern shorthand, we're talking about the left half of 20 00:01:13,319 --> 00:01:17,080 Speaker 1: the Asia Minor peninsula, so it's part of modern day Turkey. 21 00:01:17,120 --> 00:01:19,560 Speaker 1: To the west set the Greeks, and to the east 22 00:01:19,640 --> 00:01:22,959 Speaker 1: or the lands of Persia. The Lydia that Cresus was 23 00:01:23,040 --> 00:01:26,959 Speaker 1: born into was very prosperous. When Phrygia, which had been 24 00:01:26,959 --> 00:01:29,920 Speaker 1: the dominant power on the peninsula since around twelve hundred 25 00:01:29,959 --> 00:01:34,000 Speaker 1: b C, was attacked by Sumerians and fell from power 26 00:01:34,200 --> 00:01:38,080 Speaker 1: circus seven d b C. Lydia became the most powerful 27 00:01:38,160 --> 00:01:42,280 Speaker 1: kingdom in the region. It's kind of filled that power vacuum, 28 00:01:42,319 --> 00:01:44,679 Speaker 1: and at that point it was ruled by king Jigs 29 00:01:44,760 --> 00:01:48,760 Speaker 1: from the newly established Lydian capital of Sartis. This also 30 00:01:48,960 --> 00:01:53,880 Speaker 1: established the Mermnad dynasty after Gigs came artists in the 31 00:01:53,920 --> 00:01:57,920 Speaker 1: mid seventh century b c. E, followed by Sodieties and 32 00:01:57,960 --> 00:02:02,640 Speaker 1: then Alliedies. A lie these was Crisus father, and it's 33 00:02:02,720 --> 00:02:05,840 Speaker 1: under Alliedies that Lydia is said to have really hit 34 00:02:05,920 --> 00:02:09,920 Speaker 1: its apex in terms of power and prosperity. The exact 35 00:02:10,080 --> 00:02:13,239 Speaker 1: dates for the reigns of those kings are pretty fuzzy. 36 00:02:13,360 --> 00:02:16,640 Speaker 1: The main source that's used for them is from Herodotus, 37 00:02:16,639 --> 00:02:19,000 Speaker 1: but if you do the math based on the counts 38 00:02:19,000 --> 00:02:21,240 Speaker 1: of the years that he uses, that math does not 39 00:02:21,360 --> 00:02:25,480 Speaker 1: quite add up. Also, just in general, Herodotus sometimes would 40 00:02:25,520 --> 00:02:28,000 Speaker 1: like to say this is how I heard it. Yes, 41 00:02:29,160 --> 00:02:30,920 Speaker 1: it's one of those things where he is listed as 42 00:02:30,919 --> 00:02:35,920 Speaker 1: a great historian. But as we'll discuss later, there's definitely 43 00:02:36,120 --> 00:02:41,160 Speaker 1: some um some flexibility with the records, like what serves 44 00:02:41,240 --> 00:02:44,720 Speaker 1: his purpose. But what is less fuzzy is the fact 45 00:02:44,800 --> 00:02:47,160 Speaker 1: that during the years from seven d b c E 46 00:02:47,400 --> 00:02:51,600 Speaker 1: two Creases becoming king circuit five sixty b C. Linea 47 00:02:51,680 --> 00:02:56,520 Speaker 1: had established itself as a very prosperous commercial culture. It 48 00:02:56,639 --> 00:02:59,120 Speaker 1: is one of the earliest cultures known to have instituted 49 00:02:59,160 --> 00:03:02,919 Speaker 1: the concept of retail shops like permanent stores, and the 50 00:03:03,040 --> 00:03:05,959 Speaker 1: Lydians were minting coinage way ahead of the rest of 51 00:03:06,000 --> 00:03:09,200 Speaker 1: the Western world. There is evidence of Chinese coinage that 52 00:03:09,240 --> 00:03:12,960 Speaker 1: predates the Lydians, although the coins that were minted specifically 53 00:03:13,000 --> 00:03:16,200 Speaker 1: under crisis more closely resemble what we would think of 54 00:03:16,240 --> 00:03:20,600 Speaker 1: today as coinage. When Aliantis died in five sixty b C. 55 00:03:20,960 --> 00:03:24,000 Speaker 1: Creasus became king, and he was thirty five at the time, 56 00:03:24,560 --> 00:03:27,320 Speaker 1: and Cresus was, like a lot of people in his day, 57 00:03:27,680 --> 00:03:31,200 Speaker 1: very into using things like dreams and oracles to predict 58 00:03:31,280 --> 00:03:34,880 Speaker 1: the future. He had two sons. One of them is 59 00:03:34,920 --> 00:03:39,240 Speaker 1: described again by Herodotus is having a very minor disability, 60 00:03:39,280 --> 00:03:43,120 Speaker 1: and this is treated just horribly within the text. Cresus says, quote, 61 00:03:43,160 --> 00:03:46,000 Speaker 1: since he is ruined, he doesn't exist for me. Yeah, 62 00:03:46,040 --> 00:03:48,480 Speaker 1: there's a whole side story about his son that I 63 00:03:48,560 --> 00:03:52,240 Speaker 1: may be going to save for our casual Friday chat. Um. 64 00:03:52,280 --> 00:03:55,440 Speaker 1: It's a weird thing. But the other son that he had, Attis, 65 00:03:56,200 --> 00:03:59,640 Speaker 1: was much beloved and was the king's pride. And when 66 00:03:59,680 --> 00:04:02,040 Speaker 1: creasse Us had a dream that showed at Us being 67 00:04:02,120 --> 00:04:05,440 Speaker 1: killed by an iron spear, Creasus then did everything in 68 00:04:05,560 --> 00:04:08,720 Speaker 1: his power to shelter his son. He arranged for a 69 00:04:08,760 --> 00:04:11,960 Speaker 1: speedy marriage, to give him a home life, and he 70 00:04:12,000 --> 00:04:14,560 Speaker 1: stopped tasking him with going out into battle, and he 71 00:04:14,640 --> 00:04:18,040 Speaker 1: basically tried to keep him safe and at home all 72 00:04:18,080 --> 00:04:22,040 Speaker 1: the time. But ultimately Creasus did allow Attis to go 73 00:04:22,120 --> 00:04:24,560 Speaker 1: on a hunt, and this was at his son's request 74 00:04:24,600 --> 00:04:29,680 Speaker 1: and after much debate, because Addis was sort of feeling like, Hey, 75 00:04:30,200 --> 00:04:33,240 Speaker 1: I don't have anything to be proud of in our 76 00:04:33,279 --> 00:04:35,200 Speaker 1: culture at this point because you won't let me go 77 00:04:35,279 --> 00:04:38,799 Speaker 1: to war and I can't even go outside the stinks, 78 00:04:39,560 --> 00:04:41,880 Speaker 1: so he allowed him to go on this hunt, and 79 00:04:41,920 --> 00:04:44,560 Speaker 1: of course another hunter spear missed the wild board that 80 00:04:44,600 --> 00:04:49,200 Speaker 1: they were hunting and killed Attis, and Creases reportedly mourned 81 00:04:49,240 --> 00:04:53,360 Speaker 1: this son for two full years. Lydia is usually cited 82 00:04:53,400 --> 00:04:57,600 Speaker 1: as the first kingdom to mint metal coinage. Under crease Us, 83 00:04:57,640 --> 00:05:01,000 Speaker 1: the first silver and gold coins for Lydia were made. 84 00:05:01,520 --> 00:05:03,600 Speaker 1: Uh And this is kind of reminding us a little 85 00:05:03,600 --> 00:05:05,839 Speaker 1: bit of the many episodes where we have talked about 86 00:05:05,839 --> 00:05:08,760 Speaker 1: the gold standard being challenged by the silver standard of 87 00:05:08,800 --> 00:05:11,599 Speaker 1: the United States and how much strife came out of 88 00:05:11,600 --> 00:05:15,560 Speaker 1: all that those precious metals were part of tender going 89 00:05:15,640 --> 00:05:18,360 Speaker 1: all the way back to the sixth century BC. Yeah, 90 00:05:18,360 --> 00:05:22,120 Speaker 1: and the coin type known as a crasid, featuring a 91 00:05:22,160 --> 00:05:25,160 Speaker 1: face off between a lion and a bowl was developed 92 00:05:25,240 --> 00:05:28,560 Speaker 1: during this time, and the representation of the lion actually 93 00:05:28,600 --> 00:05:31,080 Speaker 1: served as a means to indicate the purity and the 94 00:05:31,200 --> 00:05:34,160 Speaker 1: value of the coin, So a smaller piece of the 95 00:05:34,200 --> 00:05:37,240 Speaker 1: lion's body would be stamped on a coin to indicate 96 00:05:37,279 --> 00:05:39,839 Speaker 1: that that coin was a smaller denomination than one with 97 00:05:39,880 --> 00:05:43,359 Speaker 1: a larger, more complete image of a lion, and the 98 00:05:43,440 --> 00:05:47,160 Speaker 1: Lydians really made great strides under Creases in the purification 99 00:05:47,360 --> 00:05:52,280 Speaker 1: of gold, enabling them to ensure accuracy in these different coins. 100 00:05:52,320 --> 00:05:55,920 Speaker 1: This is basically the beginning of the gold standard, and 101 00:05:56,120 --> 00:06:00,120 Speaker 1: the wealth was incredible. Another name that you've on was 102 00:06:00,200 --> 00:06:03,640 Speaker 1: certainly heard in connection with ridiculous levels of riches as 103 00:06:03,760 --> 00:06:07,479 Speaker 1: King Midas, and Creasus's very great wealth is said to 104 00:06:07,560 --> 00:06:11,560 Speaker 1: have come from Midas. In a way, the Mernad dynasty 105 00:06:11,600 --> 00:06:15,360 Speaker 1: allegedly got its extraordinary riches in part by collecting it 106 00:06:15,440 --> 00:06:18,680 Speaker 1: from the river Pactolus, where Midas is said to have 107 00:06:18,800 --> 00:06:23,760 Speaker 1: washed his hands. There were also some taxes plundering other kingdoms, 108 00:06:23,800 --> 00:06:27,920 Speaker 1: including enslaving people from those kingdoms. Yeah, they actually gained 109 00:06:27,960 --> 00:06:30,400 Speaker 1: their riches in a number of ways. But that Midas 110 00:06:30,400 --> 00:06:33,520 Speaker 1: story is one that persists, and what defines much of 111 00:06:33,520 --> 00:06:36,400 Speaker 1: what we know of the rule of crisis is war, 112 00:06:37,160 --> 00:06:40,280 Speaker 1: and it said that conflict was ultimately what brought Cresus 113 00:06:40,279 --> 00:06:43,720 Speaker 1: out of his mourning state over his son. Once he 114 00:06:43,800 --> 00:06:47,760 Speaker 1: was refocused on military leadership, Crisus was eager to expand 115 00:06:47,839 --> 00:06:50,799 Speaker 1: his power, and he could be ruthless in this quest. 116 00:06:51,440 --> 00:06:55,240 Speaker 1: Herodotus wrote this of him quote this Creasus was the 117 00:06:55,279 --> 00:06:58,400 Speaker 1: first foreigner whom we know who subjugated some Greeks and 118 00:06:58,440 --> 00:07:01,440 Speaker 1: took tribute from them, and one the friendship of others, 119 00:07:01,839 --> 00:07:05,320 Speaker 1: the former being the Ionians, the a Aliens and the 120 00:07:05,360 --> 00:07:09,800 Speaker 1: Dorians of Asia, and the latter the Lacedaemonians. Before the 121 00:07:09,840 --> 00:07:13,280 Speaker 1: reign of Creasus, all Greeks were free for the Sumerian 122 00:07:13,360 --> 00:07:17,280 Speaker 1: host which invaded Ionia before his time, did not subjugate 123 00:07:17,320 --> 00:07:20,600 Speaker 1: the cities that raided and robbed them. Yeah, so keep 124 00:07:20,640 --> 00:07:23,520 Speaker 1: in mind as we talked about crisis, and he's an 125 00:07:23,520 --> 00:07:26,840 Speaker 1: interesting figure, but he was very big on enslavement as 126 00:07:26,880 --> 00:07:29,360 Speaker 1: something knew that was not a tradition, that was something 127 00:07:30,080 --> 00:07:35,760 Speaker 1: he uh instituted in his warmaking. So we mentioned a 128 00:07:35,800 --> 00:07:39,360 Speaker 1: moment ago that Cresus believed in oracles, but he really 129 00:07:39,360 --> 00:07:42,520 Speaker 1: wanted to run a test to ensure that the oracle 130 00:07:42,600 --> 00:07:45,280 Speaker 1: that he would patronize was going to be the best one. 131 00:07:46,160 --> 00:07:50,000 Speaker 1: So Herodotus wrote that Cresus sent men out to various shrines, 132 00:07:50,560 --> 00:07:53,240 Speaker 1: but after they left the palace at Sartists, they had 133 00:07:53,280 --> 00:07:56,080 Speaker 1: to bide their time for a hundred days, so they 134 00:07:56,120 --> 00:07:59,520 Speaker 1: didn't know what Cresus was doing before going to these shrines, 135 00:07:59,760 --> 00:08:02,640 Speaker 1: And on the hundredth day, each oracle was supposed to 136 00:08:02,640 --> 00:08:05,920 Speaker 1: be asked to divine what Cresus was doing at that 137 00:08:06,040 --> 00:08:09,440 Speaker 1: very moment, and then all of these messengers would bring 138 00:08:09,480 --> 00:08:12,400 Speaker 1: back the divinations, and it would be obvious which oracle 139 00:08:12,600 --> 00:08:16,320 Speaker 1: or oracles were the real deal. The men who had 140 00:08:16,400 --> 00:08:19,120 Speaker 1: visited the Oracle of Delphi at the Temple of Apollo 141 00:08:19,320 --> 00:08:21,920 Speaker 1: came back with the following verse quote, I know the 142 00:08:22,000 --> 00:08:24,480 Speaker 1: number of the grains of sand and the extent of 143 00:08:24,480 --> 00:08:27,720 Speaker 1: the sea, and understand the mute and hear the voiceless. 144 00:08:28,240 --> 00:08:30,760 Speaker 1: The smell has come to my senses of a strong 145 00:08:30,880 --> 00:08:34,640 Speaker 1: shelled tortoise boiling in a cauldron, together with a lamb's flesh, 146 00:08:35,040 --> 00:08:38,560 Speaker 1: under which is bronze, and over which is bronze. We 147 00:08:38,640 --> 00:08:41,720 Speaker 1: don't know what any of the others divined, because this 148 00:08:41,760 --> 00:08:45,640 Speaker 1: one was apparently spot on. Creasus said that the oracle 149 00:08:45,720 --> 00:08:48,760 Speaker 1: of Mprs had also given a quote true answer, but 150 00:08:48,840 --> 00:08:51,720 Speaker 1: we don't know the wording of what that answer specifically was. 151 00:08:52,640 --> 00:08:55,360 Speaker 1: But in an effort to concoct a strange enough event 152 00:08:55,520 --> 00:08:57,520 Speaker 1: that it would be impossible to guess what he had 153 00:08:57,520 --> 00:09:00,880 Speaker 1: been doing, Creasus had cut up a tortoise and a 154 00:09:01,000 --> 00:09:04,360 Speaker 1: lamb and boiled them together. In a covered bronze cauldron. 155 00:09:05,080 --> 00:09:08,400 Speaker 1: So let's move along from that less than pleasant image 156 00:09:08,400 --> 00:09:11,160 Speaker 1: and take a quick break and have a word from 157 00:09:11,240 --> 00:09:13,040 Speaker 1: some of the sponsors that keep stuff he missed in 158 00:09:13,080 --> 00:09:24,679 Speaker 1: history class going, So, Crismas was devoted to the Oracle 159 00:09:24,800 --> 00:09:30,640 Speaker 1: of Delphi after it had successfully passed this test. He 160 00:09:30,760 --> 00:09:35,920 Speaker 1: sacrificed literally thousands of animals and burned almost every valuable 161 00:09:35,960 --> 00:09:39,000 Speaker 1: thing he could lay hands on. He also commanded the 162 00:09:39,040 --> 00:09:41,960 Speaker 1: citizens of Lydia to do the same, and he sent 163 00:09:42,160 --> 00:09:47,360 Speaker 1: so much gold to the temple. Uh, there is a 164 00:09:47,440 --> 00:09:52,480 Speaker 1: line in the translation that I read that stated quote. Moreover, 165 00:09:52,720 --> 00:09:57,319 Speaker 1: he dedicated his own wife's necklaces and girdles, which I 166 00:09:57,400 --> 00:10:02,400 Speaker 1: just found funny as things to sacrifice to Apollo. So 167 00:10:02,480 --> 00:10:05,560 Speaker 1: the goal of all of these offerings was to ensure 168 00:10:05,600 --> 00:10:08,280 Speaker 1: that Crisis got good advice from the oracle regarding his 169 00:10:08,440 --> 00:10:12,000 Speaker 1: military plans, and the people he tasked with bringing his 170 00:10:12,120 --> 00:10:15,280 Speaker 1: many gifts to the temple were instructed to get this advice. 171 00:10:15,920 --> 00:10:18,959 Speaker 1: Two points came back. One was that if Cresus were 172 00:10:19,000 --> 00:10:21,640 Speaker 1: to attack the Persians, crossing a river to do so, 173 00:10:21,760 --> 00:10:25,559 Speaker 1: he would destroy a great empire, and two that he 174 00:10:25,600 --> 00:10:28,640 Speaker 1: should make friends with the most powerful Greeks. So at 175 00:10:28,640 --> 00:10:31,120 Speaker 1: this point in time, the power of the Persians, led 176 00:10:31,120 --> 00:10:33,640 Speaker 1: by Cyrus the Second, also known as Cyrus the Great, 177 00:10:33,840 --> 00:10:37,480 Speaker 1: was expanding. We actually talked at some length about Cyrus 178 00:10:37,520 --> 00:10:42,320 Speaker 1: the Second in our episode on the Acumenated Empire. In Crisis, 179 00:10:42,440 --> 00:10:45,720 Speaker 1: of course, wanted to curtail the expansion of the Persian Empire, 180 00:10:46,320 --> 00:10:48,560 Speaker 1: and he started a campaign of his own to make 181 00:10:48,559 --> 00:10:51,760 Speaker 1: sure that Cyrus the Seconds forces did not get close 182 00:10:51,800 --> 00:10:55,199 Speaker 1: to Lydia. So Crisis asked the oracle to once again 183 00:10:55,240 --> 00:10:58,560 Speaker 1: tell him the future. They sent messengers to Delphi to 184 00:10:58,600 --> 00:11:00,800 Speaker 1: ask if his reign would be a long one, and 185 00:11:00,840 --> 00:11:03,960 Speaker 1: the reply was quote, when the Metace have a mule 186 00:11:04,080 --> 00:11:09,000 Speaker 1: as king, just then, tenderfooted Lydian by the stone, shrewn 187 00:11:09,200 --> 00:11:12,200 Speaker 1: hermus flee and do not stay, and do not be 188 00:11:12,240 --> 00:11:16,960 Speaker 1: ashamed to be a coward. Cress took this pretty literally, 189 00:11:17,120 --> 00:11:18,920 Speaker 1: and he thought, well, a mule is never going to 190 00:11:19,000 --> 00:11:21,679 Speaker 1: be a king, so this must be telling me that 191 00:11:21,800 --> 00:11:24,040 Speaker 1: my rule is going to be very, very long, and 192 00:11:24,080 --> 00:11:26,160 Speaker 1: I have a lot of a lot of power ahead 193 00:11:26,200 --> 00:11:30,760 Speaker 1: of me. So, bolstered and confident, he continued his military campaigning. 194 00:11:31,360 --> 00:11:34,880 Speaker 1: Over the course of his rule, Cresus had attacked Ephesus, 195 00:11:34,960 --> 00:11:39,839 Speaker 1: than Ionian cities, than the cities of Alia. According to Herodotus, 196 00:11:39,880 --> 00:11:42,520 Speaker 1: all of these attacks are based on some sort of reason, 197 00:11:42,840 --> 00:11:46,000 Speaker 1: and in his words quote, he found graver charges where 198 00:11:46,040 --> 00:11:51,719 Speaker 1: he could, but sometimes alleged very petty grounds of offense. Yeah, 199 00:11:51,760 --> 00:11:55,960 Speaker 1: the justified invasions were pretty lightly justified in some cases. 200 00:11:56,840 --> 00:12:00,480 Speaker 1: So next, Creasus set his sights on the Lens of 201 00:12:00,520 --> 00:12:02,680 Speaker 1: Greece as a target, and he knew that he was 202 00:12:02,679 --> 00:12:05,559 Speaker 1: going to need to assemble a navy fleet to conquer them, 203 00:12:05,600 --> 00:12:09,360 Speaker 1: so he started up a shipbuilding project. But while this 204 00:12:09,480 --> 00:12:11,800 Speaker 1: was all underway, he was approached by a man from 205 00:12:11,800 --> 00:12:15,480 Speaker 1: the Lesbo's capital of Middling, whose name was either preen 206 00:12:15,600 --> 00:12:17,920 Speaker 1: A or Pitacus, depending on the source that you read, 207 00:12:18,480 --> 00:12:21,320 Speaker 1: and this man told Cresus that the Islanders were actually 208 00:12:21,320 --> 00:12:25,199 Speaker 1: amassing their own ground forces to attack Creasus at Sartis. 209 00:12:25,800 --> 00:12:28,959 Speaker 1: Creasus replied, essentially that he wished they would do that, 210 00:12:29,080 --> 00:12:32,600 Speaker 1: because his troops would destroy the Islanders, who had no 211 00:12:32,679 --> 00:12:37,240 Speaker 1: experience in ground battle warfare. In response to this, the 212 00:12:37,280 --> 00:12:40,760 Speaker 1: emissary from Middle Len pointed out that in starting a 213 00:12:40,880 --> 00:12:44,880 Speaker 1: navy from scratch, cress would be similarly disadvantaged if he 214 00:12:44,960 --> 00:12:47,880 Speaker 1: tried to take on the islander forces. So this put 215 00:12:47,920 --> 00:12:51,400 Speaker 1: an end to creasus navy project, and he opted instead 216 00:12:51,440 --> 00:12:55,959 Speaker 1: deform an alliance with the Ionian islanders. This story cracks. 217 00:12:55,960 --> 00:12:59,040 Speaker 1: We have that oh yeah, come at me on land, 218 00:12:59,080 --> 00:13:01,360 Speaker 1: and they're like, that's what we say about you coming 219 00:13:01,360 --> 00:13:04,679 Speaker 1: at us on sea. Dude, you are not going to 220 00:13:04,760 --> 00:13:08,840 Speaker 1: manage this. During his time as king of Lydia, Crisis 221 00:13:08,920 --> 00:13:11,480 Speaker 1: eventually became the ruler of most of the nations and 222 00:13:11,520 --> 00:13:14,880 Speaker 1: people's on the peninsula west of the Hollis River that 223 00:13:14,960 --> 00:13:16,559 Speaker 1: was the name of what is now known as the 224 00:13:16,640 --> 00:13:21,959 Speaker 1: Kaziller Mock River. Persians conquered the Median Empire in five 225 00:13:22,920 --> 00:13:25,559 Speaker 1: and this was a sobering event for Crisis. It became 226 00:13:25,640 --> 00:13:29,880 Speaker 1: immediately apparent that his own power could also be challenged 227 00:13:29,920 --> 00:13:32,760 Speaker 1: by the Persian forces. This led him to try to 228 00:13:32,800 --> 00:13:36,320 Speaker 1: fortify his own strength through an alliance, and this goes 229 00:13:36,360 --> 00:13:38,520 Speaker 1: back to that advice that he got from the Oracle 230 00:13:38,559 --> 00:13:43,000 Speaker 1: of Delphi to befriend the most powerful Greek state. So 231 00:13:43,120 --> 00:13:46,000 Speaker 1: Crisis had already made an alliance with Amasis, the king 232 00:13:46,040 --> 00:13:50,000 Speaker 1: of Egypt, and he also got the Lacedaemonians and then 233 00:13:50,160 --> 00:13:52,640 Speaker 1: the Spartans, which he believed to be the most powerful 234 00:13:52,679 --> 00:13:56,640 Speaker 1: Greek state to agree to stand with him. But Crisis 235 00:13:56,800 --> 00:13:59,040 Speaker 1: was not really content with waiting to see what would 236 00:13:59,040 --> 00:14:02,439 Speaker 1: happen with the Persia and getting all of these alliances arranged, 237 00:14:02,520 --> 00:14:05,079 Speaker 1: and he was very impatient, so he just decided that 238 00:14:05,120 --> 00:14:08,240 Speaker 1: he would go right on ahead and invade Anatolia. He 239 00:14:08,400 --> 00:14:12,880 Speaker 1: decided to invade Anatolia, specifically Cappadocia in the eastern part 240 00:14:12,920 --> 00:14:15,400 Speaker 1: of the territory, and that meant he had to cross 241 00:14:15,440 --> 00:14:19,200 Speaker 1: the Hollis River and the battle that ensued at Teria 242 00:14:19,440 --> 00:14:22,080 Speaker 1: was not what anybody had hoped. It sort of ended 243 00:14:22,080 --> 00:14:26,320 Speaker 1: in a draw. After Teria, Creasus wanted to regroup, so 244 00:14:26,600 --> 00:14:28,560 Speaker 1: he had summoned all of those groups that he had 245 00:14:28,600 --> 00:14:31,800 Speaker 1: allied with to join him in the springtime, five months 246 00:14:31,840 --> 00:14:34,480 Speaker 1: after he sent these messages out to them, so that 247 00:14:34,560 --> 00:14:36,920 Speaker 1: they would have time to assemble their armies and travel 248 00:14:37,000 --> 00:14:39,120 Speaker 1: after the winter. And so then he took his own 249 00:14:39,120 --> 00:14:43,080 Speaker 1: troops and headed back to Sartis. But apparently he didn't 250 00:14:43,200 --> 00:14:46,520 Speaker 1: realize that Cyrus the second and his Persian troops had 251 00:14:46,520 --> 00:14:50,320 Speaker 1: followed him home. When Sartis was attacked by Persia, it 252 00:14:50,440 --> 00:14:54,840 Speaker 1: came just as a complete surprise decreases. The Lydians scrambled 253 00:14:54,880 --> 00:14:57,840 Speaker 1: to meet the Persians in battle, and according to Herodotus, 254 00:14:57,840 --> 00:15:02,240 Speaker 1: Cyrus was afraid of the Adians, but on the advice 255 00:15:02,560 --> 00:15:05,560 Speaker 1: of a Median who was with him, Cyrus put his 256 00:15:05,680 --> 00:15:09,240 Speaker 1: cavalry on the pack camels. The camels drove back the 257 00:15:09,320 --> 00:15:12,520 Speaker 1: Lydian horses because apparently the horses were afraid of the 258 00:15:12,560 --> 00:15:15,680 Speaker 1: camels and their smell, and they retreated even as their 259 00:15:15,760 --> 00:15:19,120 Speaker 1: riders tried to move them forward into battle. The Lydian 260 00:15:19,320 --> 00:15:22,320 Speaker 1: army was forced to fight on foot, and ultimately they 261 00:15:22,320 --> 00:15:25,360 Speaker 1: were defeated by the Persians. Cresus sent word to his 262 00:15:25,440 --> 00:15:28,520 Speaker 1: allies to come and help, but efforts that assistants were 263 00:15:28,640 --> 00:15:32,120 Speaker 1: not enough or came too late. Cresus was taken captive 264 00:15:32,360 --> 00:15:35,200 Speaker 1: and Stardus was taken by the Persians after two weeks 265 00:15:35,200 --> 00:15:39,440 Speaker 1: of this conflict. So when the oracle of Delphi had 266 00:15:39,480 --> 00:15:43,160 Speaker 1: told Cressus about crossing a river and destroying a kingdom, 267 00:15:43,320 --> 00:15:46,200 Speaker 1: oops that was his own kingdom that would be destroyed, 268 00:15:46,720 --> 00:15:49,760 Speaker 1: and that story of the mule leading the may Day's empire. 269 00:15:50,680 --> 00:15:53,520 Speaker 1: Cyrus the second was half may Days and half Persian, 270 00:15:53,880 --> 00:15:55,960 Speaker 1: the child of two different groups of people. So the 271 00:15:56,040 --> 00:15:59,920 Speaker 1: mule reference was kind of a casual like slurry representation 272 00:16:01,080 --> 00:16:05,000 Speaker 1: Creasus had in his literalism in interpreting all of these 273 00:16:05,600 --> 00:16:08,280 Speaker 1: words of the oracle, failed to catch any of the 274 00:16:08,360 --> 00:16:11,720 Speaker 1: actual meaning in the oracle's words. We will talk about 275 00:16:11,720 --> 00:16:14,640 Speaker 1: the varied accounts of the end of Cresus's life after 276 00:16:14,680 --> 00:16:24,760 Speaker 1: we pause and have a quick sponsor break. In five 277 00:16:25,200 --> 00:16:28,200 Speaker 1: six b C. With his defeat by Cyrus the Second 278 00:16:28,280 --> 00:16:31,600 Speaker 1: and the Persian army, the reign of Cresus ended. But 279 00:16:31,720 --> 00:16:34,760 Speaker 1: what happened after this invasion is something that again is 280 00:16:34,800 --> 00:16:37,440 Speaker 1: a little unclear, and that's because there are a number 281 00:16:37,520 --> 00:16:41,360 Speaker 1: of different versions of the story. The Kylides, a poet 282 00:16:41,400 --> 00:16:44,400 Speaker 1: from Greece, tells the story and the Odes of the 283 00:16:44,440 --> 00:16:47,960 Speaker 1: Eponicians that Creasus built his own funeral pyre and then 284 00:16:47,960 --> 00:16:51,080 Speaker 1: tried to burn himself to death on it, and this was, 285 00:16:51,200 --> 00:16:56,160 Speaker 1: according to his writing, unsuccessful because the gods intervened before 286 00:16:56,240 --> 00:16:59,480 Speaker 1: Crisus actually met his final end. Yes, in that history, 287 00:16:59,480 --> 00:17:02,720 Speaker 1: it's written quote when he had come to that unexpected day, 288 00:17:02,880 --> 00:17:05,919 Speaker 1: Creasus had no intention of waiting any longer for the 289 00:17:05,960 --> 00:17:09,320 Speaker 1: tears of slavery. He had a pire built before his 290 00:17:09,400 --> 00:17:12,439 Speaker 1: bronze walled courtyard, and he mounted the pire with his 291 00:17:12,520 --> 00:17:15,600 Speaker 1: dear wife and his daughters with beautiful hair. They were 292 00:17:15,600 --> 00:17:19,639 Speaker 1: weeping inconsolably. He raised his arms to the steep sky 293 00:17:19,720 --> 00:17:23,840 Speaker 1: and shouted, overweening deity, where is the gratitude of the gods, 294 00:17:24,080 --> 00:17:27,760 Speaker 1: Where is Lord Apollo. So just as Cresus had gotten 295 00:17:27,800 --> 00:17:31,040 Speaker 1: a trusted servant to really get the flames going, and 296 00:17:31,240 --> 00:17:34,080 Speaker 1: as his wife and daughters were looking on in tears, 297 00:17:34,680 --> 00:17:38,560 Speaker 1: the day sex Macana arrives quote. But when the flashing 298 00:17:38,680 --> 00:17:41,919 Speaker 1: force of terrible fire began to shoot through the wood, 299 00:17:42,160 --> 00:17:44,960 Speaker 1: Zeus set a dark rain cloud over it and began 300 00:17:45,000 --> 00:17:48,399 Speaker 1: to quench the golden flame. Nothing is unbelievable, which is 301 00:17:48,440 --> 00:17:52,160 Speaker 1: brought about by the god's ambition, and Apolo shows up, 302 00:17:52,280 --> 00:17:55,080 Speaker 1: scoops up Cresus and his family, and carries them north 303 00:17:55,400 --> 00:17:58,200 Speaker 1: to Hyperborea, the land of the Giants, where they could 304 00:17:58,240 --> 00:18:01,480 Speaker 1: live safely. So we know that this particular version of 305 00:18:01,480 --> 00:18:04,640 Speaker 1: the story became an important part of Greek lore. This 306 00:18:04,720 --> 00:18:07,160 Speaker 1: moment is represented on a piece of art in the Louver, 307 00:18:07,280 --> 00:18:11,080 Speaker 1: decorated by Mason, a painter who decorated vases in Athens 308 00:18:11,200 --> 00:18:14,440 Speaker 1: using what is known as red figure technique and Mason's 309 00:18:14,480 --> 00:18:17,159 Speaker 1: work on the vase that depicts this particular subject is 310 00:18:17,240 --> 00:18:20,359 Speaker 1: dated in the five hundred to four nine BC range, 311 00:18:20,400 --> 00:18:23,720 Speaker 1: so we're talking fifty to sixty years after Cresus's defeat 312 00:18:23,720 --> 00:18:27,399 Speaker 1: would have happened. This vase shows Creasus sitting on a 313 00:18:27,480 --> 00:18:31,240 Speaker 1: throne pouring out a libation onto the servant Utmos, while 314 00:18:31,359 --> 00:18:34,040 Speaker 1: Utamos is lighting the pyre that the throne has been 315 00:18:34,040 --> 00:18:38,200 Speaker 1: placed upon. There's an inscription on the vase that specifically 316 00:18:38,280 --> 00:18:40,880 Speaker 1: names the king and the image as Creasus, so it's 317 00:18:40,920 --> 00:18:43,480 Speaker 1: not a case of like, well, this could be Creasus. 318 00:18:44,200 --> 00:18:46,679 Speaker 1: The opposite side of the vase has a totally different 319 00:18:46,720 --> 00:18:52,000 Speaker 1: and unrelated scene showing Theseus abducting the Amazon and typee. 320 00:18:52,600 --> 00:18:54,359 Speaker 1: If you're ever in Paris and you want to see it. 321 00:18:54,359 --> 00:18:57,360 Speaker 1: It is part of the Greek, Etruscan and Roman Antiquities 322 00:18:57,400 --> 00:18:59,600 Speaker 1: collection and is on the first floor in the celly 323 00:18:59,640 --> 00:19:04,280 Speaker 1: wing Him sixty two. So after this happened and Cresus 324 00:19:04,320 --> 00:19:07,400 Speaker 1: was saved by the gods, the story goes that Creasis 325 00:19:07,640 --> 00:19:10,320 Speaker 1: became an ally of the leader who followed Cyrus, that 326 00:19:10,400 --> 00:19:13,320 Speaker 1: was cam Byss the second, and along with camp Byces 327 00:19:13,359 --> 00:19:16,760 Speaker 1: the second, Cresus in this version then traveled to Egypt. 328 00:19:17,359 --> 00:19:19,880 Speaker 1: That is not the only version of this story where 329 00:19:19,880 --> 00:19:23,560 Speaker 1: Cresus ends up friends with his former enemy state. The 330 00:19:23,600 --> 00:19:27,040 Speaker 1: Persian doctor Satsias, who was born in Greece, wrote an 331 00:19:27,080 --> 00:19:30,560 Speaker 1: account that suggests that Creasus actually became part of Cyrus's 332 00:19:30,560 --> 00:19:33,879 Speaker 1: court and eventually rose to a point of good enough 333 00:19:33,920 --> 00:19:37,560 Speaker 1: standing that he was appointed governor of Barni. Part of 334 00:19:37,560 --> 00:19:40,800 Speaker 1: what makes the Creases story so tricky to unravel is 335 00:19:40,840 --> 00:19:43,159 Speaker 1: the fact that he was such a big figure culturally 336 00:19:43,280 --> 00:19:47,159 Speaker 1: that people essentially started writing fan fiction about him, and 337 00:19:47,200 --> 00:19:49,399 Speaker 1: now when we referenced hundreds of years later, it's a 338 00:19:49,400 --> 00:19:52,000 Speaker 1: little hard to know which is fan fiction versus which 339 00:19:52,119 --> 00:19:56,080 Speaker 1: is actual historical record. And we mentioned one version of 340 00:19:56,119 --> 00:19:58,640 Speaker 1: his faith that was written by Herodotus just a moment ago, 341 00:19:58,720 --> 00:20:01,560 Speaker 1: but that was not the only writing that Herodotus did 342 00:20:02,080 --> 00:20:06,840 Speaker 1: featuring Creases as a protagonist. And another story by Herodotus 343 00:20:07,200 --> 00:20:10,879 Speaker 1: Crisis met with Solon, the lawmaker of Athens, whose life 344 00:20:11,040 --> 00:20:14,520 Speaker 1: ended just as Crisus' reign was starting. And this is 345 00:20:14,560 --> 00:20:18,080 Speaker 1: really a parable about values and happiness. There's really no 346 00:20:18,160 --> 00:20:21,040 Speaker 1: evidence that any of it actually took place, and the 347 00:20:21,160 --> 00:20:23,639 Speaker 1: story Solon, like a lot of important men of the 348 00:20:23,720 --> 00:20:26,840 Speaker 1: day decided to visit Creasus when the Lydian king was 349 00:20:26,960 --> 00:20:29,520 Speaker 1: at the height of his power. So there's actually sort 350 00:20:29,560 --> 00:20:32,080 Speaker 1: of a fun side story here about why Solon the 351 00:20:32,160 --> 00:20:35,680 Speaker 1: lawmaker would have been out and about traveling. This kind 352 00:20:35,720 --> 00:20:38,679 Speaker 1: of you know, justifies how this may have worked in 353 00:20:38,840 --> 00:20:42,439 Speaker 1: the writing of Herodotus. So this travel was part of 354 00:20:42,440 --> 00:20:45,760 Speaker 1: a ten year trip. The idea was that once Solon 355 00:20:45,840 --> 00:20:48,280 Speaker 1: had made all of the laws that he believed Athens 356 00:20:48,320 --> 00:20:51,400 Speaker 1: needed to be a fair and just society, he promised 357 00:20:51,400 --> 00:20:53,679 Speaker 1: to stay away from Athens for ten years so that 358 00:20:53,720 --> 00:20:56,359 Speaker 1: he would not be tempted to change or repeal any 359 00:20:56,400 --> 00:21:00,240 Speaker 1: of those laws. Athens wanted to live by the set 360 00:21:00,240 --> 00:21:02,800 Speaker 1: of laws that Solan had carefully penned, and so they 361 00:21:02,840 --> 00:21:05,720 Speaker 1: promised to do so, and they were not themselves allowed 362 00:21:05,760 --> 00:21:10,000 Speaker 1: to make any changes. An interesting governmental experiment, to be sure, 363 00:21:10,040 --> 00:21:12,480 Speaker 1: And yes, Solan is certainly on my list for his 364 00:21:12,520 --> 00:21:15,520 Speaker 1: own episode one day, no telling when that might happen 365 00:21:17,080 --> 00:21:20,960 Speaker 1: in any case. After receiving sullen crisis, basically spent the 366 00:21:21,040 --> 00:21:24,760 Speaker 1: whole visit entertaining his visitor and then making the household 367 00:21:24,760 --> 00:21:27,840 Speaker 1: staff point out all the expensive things that Cris has 368 00:21:27,840 --> 00:21:30,840 Speaker 1: had just lying around the palace so that Solan would 369 00:21:30,920 --> 00:21:34,560 Speaker 1: understand just how rich and successful the king was. And 370 00:21:34,640 --> 00:21:38,400 Speaker 1: after this little exercise in wealth show and tell, Crisis 371 00:21:38,480 --> 00:21:41,720 Speaker 1: asked Soland, quote, my Athenian guests, we have heard a 372 00:21:41,720 --> 00:21:45,240 Speaker 1: lot about you because of your wisdom and of your wanderings. 373 00:21:45,240 --> 00:21:47,959 Speaker 1: How As one who loves learning, you have traveled much 374 00:21:48,000 --> 00:21:50,400 Speaker 1: of the world for the sake of seeing it. So 375 00:21:50,480 --> 00:21:53,040 Speaker 1: now I desire to ask you who is the most 376 00:21:53,080 --> 00:21:56,840 Speaker 1: fortunate man you have seen? And of course the king 377 00:21:56,920 --> 00:21:59,240 Speaker 1: expected that the lawmaker was going to say, Oh, it's you, 378 00:21:59,400 --> 00:22:02,520 Speaker 1: for sure, dude. You have everything like there's no reason 379 00:22:02,560 --> 00:22:05,239 Speaker 1: anybody could ever be any happier than you, but he 380 00:22:05,280 --> 00:22:09,359 Speaker 1: did not say that. Soland instead named an Athenian called 381 00:22:09,440 --> 00:22:12,640 Speaker 1: tell Us as the most fortunate man he knew. King 382 00:22:12,720 --> 00:22:16,320 Speaker 1: Crisis asked for an explanation of Solon's answer, and the 383 00:22:16,400 --> 00:22:18,679 Speaker 1: lawmaker told him that tell Us had been part of 384 00:22:18,680 --> 00:22:21,880 Speaker 1: a prosperous city, a good community, and that he had 385 00:22:21,960 --> 00:22:24,760 Speaker 1: children who grew up to be good people and all 386 00:22:24,760 --> 00:22:28,080 Speaker 1: gave him grandchildren, and that all of his progeny survived. 387 00:22:28,520 --> 00:22:30,960 Speaker 1: And then when tell Us died in battle against the 388 00:22:31,000 --> 00:22:34,760 Speaker 1: people of Eleusis, it was a good and honorable death, 389 00:22:34,840 --> 00:22:37,639 Speaker 1: and that he was honored in his burial. So, after 390 00:22:37,720 --> 00:22:40,919 Speaker 1: hearing this crisis, apparently hoping that he would get a 391 00:22:40,960 --> 00:22:44,080 Speaker 1: second place spot, then asked Solan who he thought was 392 00:22:44,160 --> 00:22:47,960 Speaker 1: the next most fortunate man, and Soland gave two men's 393 00:22:48,080 --> 00:22:52,320 Speaker 1: names in answer, Clebus and Byton, of our give. These 394 00:22:52,359 --> 00:22:55,040 Speaker 1: two brothers had a stable home life, they were physically 395 00:22:55,160 --> 00:22:58,360 Speaker 1: very strong, and they both died after pulling their mother 396 00:22:58,440 --> 00:23:01,119 Speaker 1: in a wagon five miles to the festival of Hera 397 00:23:01,240 --> 00:23:04,320 Speaker 1: and argos as the oxen that were intended to convey her, 398 00:23:04,680 --> 00:23:06,920 Speaker 1: we're not back from the fields in time to do so. 399 00:23:07,960 --> 00:23:12,120 Speaker 1: Before Clebus and Byton died, everyone present commented that their 400 00:23:12,160 --> 00:23:15,159 Speaker 1: mother had raised great children, and then she prayed to 401 00:23:15,240 --> 00:23:17,720 Speaker 1: Hera to grant her son's the best thing for a man, 402 00:23:18,480 --> 00:23:20,720 Speaker 1: and they both died in their sleep that night after 403 00:23:20,760 --> 00:23:26,719 Speaker 1: the evening's feast. Here's how Herodotus renders the speech about 404 00:23:26,800 --> 00:23:30,600 Speaker 1: this quote. Creasus, you ask me about human affairs, and 405 00:23:30,640 --> 00:23:33,719 Speaker 1: I know that the divine is entirely grudging and troublesome 406 00:23:33,720 --> 00:23:37,119 Speaker 1: to us. Creas Us, man is entirely chanced to me. 407 00:23:37,200 --> 00:23:39,040 Speaker 1: You seem to be very rich and to be king 408 00:23:39,080 --> 00:23:41,639 Speaker 1: of many people, but I cannot answer your question before 409 00:23:41,680 --> 00:23:46,000 Speaker 1: I learned that you ended your life well. He explains 410 00:23:46,000 --> 00:23:49,200 Speaker 1: in the story that wealth is not what leads to happiness, 411 00:23:49,240 --> 00:23:52,399 Speaker 1: and that one should focus instead on good fortune in 412 00:23:52,480 --> 00:23:56,240 Speaker 1: a more expansive sense. So the advice that Slan allegedly 413 00:23:56,280 --> 00:23:59,439 Speaker 1: gave to Creasus was quote count no man happy until 414 00:23:59,600 --> 00:24:03,639 Speaker 1: his death. That story actually feeds into a version of 415 00:24:03,640 --> 00:24:06,920 Speaker 1: the Tale of Cyrus Have Increases burned alive, in which 416 00:24:07,040 --> 00:24:10,560 Speaker 1: Creases has a moment of revelation related to Soulan's teaching 417 00:24:10,720 --> 00:24:14,640 Speaker 1: as he is being executed. In this version, as Cresus 418 00:24:14,680 --> 00:24:17,520 Speaker 1: begins to call out Solan's name while on the pire, 419 00:24:18,080 --> 00:24:21,320 Speaker 1: Cyrus asks why that was the name he invoked, and 420 00:24:21,440 --> 00:24:25,280 Speaker 1: he was moved by creasus realization that wealth was meaningless 421 00:24:25,280 --> 00:24:30,679 Speaker 1: in that moment. Creases, then released from his execution by Cyrus, 422 00:24:30,720 --> 00:24:34,200 Speaker 1: then asks Cyrus what his soldiers are doing. When Cyrus 423 00:24:34,240 --> 00:24:37,359 Speaker 1: responds that they are sacking the city, Creasus tells him, well, 424 00:24:37,400 --> 00:24:41,159 Speaker 1: it's your city now, they're destroying your kingdom, not mine, 425 00:24:41,720 --> 00:24:43,720 Speaker 1: and then this leads to the whole now where best 426 00:24:43,720 --> 00:24:46,720 Speaker 1: friends come hang out in my court business. In this version, 427 00:24:46,800 --> 00:24:50,080 Speaker 1: Cyrus the second also says he will grant Creasus a request, 428 00:24:50,200 --> 00:24:53,600 Speaker 1: any request, and that the former king asked that his 429 00:24:53,760 --> 00:24:57,119 Speaker 1: chains be taken to Delphi, and that the Pithea be 430 00:24:57,240 --> 00:25:00,840 Speaker 1: asked why Apollo should have him sent to its hack Persius, 431 00:25:00,840 --> 00:25:04,920 Speaker 1: since it doomed him. The oracle replied that quote, no 432 00:25:04,960 --> 00:25:08,000 Speaker 1: one may escape his lot, not even a god. Crisis 433 00:25:08,080 --> 00:25:10,560 Speaker 1: has paid for the sin of his ancestor of the 434 00:25:10,600 --> 00:25:14,080 Speaker 1: fifth generation before, who was led by the guile of 435 00:25:14,119 --> 00:25:17,760 Speaker 1: a woman to kill his master. Yeah, things, he had 436 00:25:17,800 --> 00:25:20,800 Speaker 1: no pardon. He was still paying for for the family dues, 437 00:25:20,880 --> 00:25:23,160 Speaker 1: and that was the whole thing. Ultimately. In that story, 438 00:25:23,160 --> 00:25:25,760 Speaker 1: I should point out, Creasus does kind of take personal 439 00:25:25,800 --> 00:25:28,800 Speaker 1: responsibility and recognize like, oh, I was the one that 440 00:25:28,840 --> 00:25:31,640 Speaker 1: got the information and acted on it. But here's the thing. 441 00:25:31,800 --> 00:25:34,520 Speaker 1: All of these stories of Creases being saved at the 442 00:25:34,560 --> 00:25:37,800 Speaker 1: last minute are considered these days to be simply useful 443 00:25:37,840 --> 00:25:41,639 Speaker 1: didactic tales, and some versions of the story actually just 444 00:25:41,680 --> 00:25:44,840 Speaker 1: say that Cresus was killed when Lydia was defeated. Uh. 445 00:25:44,880 --> 00:25:51,160 Speaker 1: Those are like translations that have been done by other cultures, 446 00:25:51,359 --> 00:25:56,040 Speaker 1: not not the ones that would be descendants of the Lydians. 447 00:25:56,040 --> 00:25:59,960 Speaker 1: For example, the boring reality is that Creasus kind of 448 00:26:00,080 --> 00:26:03,479 Speaker 1: vanishes from the historical record after the fall of Lydia, 449 00:26:03,520 --> 00:26:06,199 Speaker 1: although his grandson Pittheus does show up later in the 450 00:26:06,200 --> 00:26:09,639 Speaker 1: work of Herodotus. He is also very wealthy, although he 451 00:26:09,680 --> 00:26:12,240 Speaker 1: gets in some very serious and ugly trouble with Xerxes. 452 00:26:12,280 --> 00:26:14,680 Speaker 1: But that is a whole other thing. As for Lydia, 453 00:26:14,840 --> 00:26:18,639 Speaker 1: it became a sat repete under Tabitists, but it's treasury 454 00:26:18,640 --> 00:26:22,399 Speaker 1: money kept being managed by a Lydian, which was Pactius. 455 00:26:22,400 --> 00:26:25,440 Speaker 1: And if you play Assassin's Creed, that name may be 456 00:26:25,600 --> 00:26:29,399 Speaker 1: familiar to you as a newcomer to Assassin's Creed. It's not, 457 00:26:29,480 --> 00:26:32,760 Speaker 1: in fact familiar to me. Yet with the leverage of 458 00:26:32,800 --> 00:26:37,160 Speaker 1: that satrape's wealth, Pactius was able to hire Greek mercenaries 459 00:26:37,240 --> 00:26:40,120 Speaker 1: in a move to revolt against Persian rule, and that 460 00:26:40,320 --> 00:26:45,840 Speaker 1: ultimately led up to the Persian Wars. Oh crisis. Fascinating, 461 00:26:46,040 --> 00:26:48,880 Speaker 1: But I always got to remember, even in the stories, 462 00:26:49,000 --> 00:26:52,680 Speaker 1: you know, where it's like, and then he realized that 463 00:26:52,800 --> 00:26:54,520 Speaker 1: life is better, and I'm like, hey, we got to 464 00:26:54,560 --> 00:26:58,680 Speaker 1: address this slavery problem, whoever never gets addressed. Also, there's 465 00:26:58,720 --> 00:27:02,360 Speaker 1: a lot of stuff and a lot of historical accounts 466 00:27:03,040 --> 00:27:06,680 Speaker 1: from this time period that really seemed to follow literary 467 00:27:06,760 --> 00:27:10,480 Speaker 1: convention to a point that you're like, you know, that's 468 00:27:10,520 --> 00:27:15,080 Speaker 1: probably a little embellished. I think this made a good yarn, 469 00:27:17,359 --> 00:27:21,800 Speaker 1: but probably not. I mean, I don't wanna, uh, you know, 470 00:27:21,880 --> 00:27:25,720 Speaker 1: invalidate anybody's belief system. But I do not believe that 471 00:27:25,840 --> 00:27:30,560 Speaker 1: Zeus made a rain cloud go just over creases his fire. Yeah. 472 00:27:32,760 --> 00:27:37,280 Speaker 1: Maybe I know only that I know nothing. Um. I 473 00:27:37,359 --> 00:27:40,760 Speaker 1: have a little bit of listener mail that is um 474 00:27:40,800 --> 00:27:43,600 Speaker 1: related to our our White House episode, but is some 475 00:27:44,119 --> 00:27:48,520 Speaker 1: fun comedy. Okay. This is from our listener Bob, who writes, 476 00:27:48,560 --> 00:27:50,760 Speaker 1: I just finished part one of your White House episode. 477 00:27:51,119 --> 00:27:53,879 Speaker 1: Towards the end, you discussed Jackie Kennedy's remodel, and it 478 00:27:53,880 --> 00:27:56,359 Speaker 1: immediately brought me back to my childhood listening to the 479 00:27:56,440 --> 00:27:59,679 Speaker 1: Von Meter album The First Family, and Bob links to 480 00:27:59,760 --> 00:28:01,680 Speaker 1: it on YouTube. You can find it, and he says, 481 00:28:01,680 --> 00:28:03,800 Speaker 1: if you haven't heard it, I recommend you do. You 482 00:28:03,840 --> 00:28:05,639 Speaker 1: may be a bit young, but it is hilarious for 483 00:28:05,680 --> 00:28:08,240 Speaker 1: anyone who grew up in the sixties and remembers the 484 00:28:08,240 --> 00:28:12,280 Speaker 1: cultural and political realities and references of the times. As 485 00:28:12,320 --> 00:28:15,280 Speaker 1: are most things, the sensibilities are reflective of the times 486 00:28:15,520 --> 00:28:17,879 Speaker 1: relevant to your episode. I believe you will find the 487 00:28:17,920 --> 00:28:20,800 Speaker 1: track ten minutes five seconds in where Jackie gives a 488 00:28:20,800 --> 00:28:25,160 Speaker 1: white house tour especially interesting. I would make an episode suggestion, 489 00:28:25,200 --> 00:28:27,200 Speaker 1: but you guys seem to be doing just fine. Maybe 490 00:28:27,240 --> 00:28:32,000 Speaker 1: next time. That is a very very interesting thing. Von 491 00:28:32,119 --> 00:28:34,520 Speaker 1: Meter is someone who is historically very interesting to me. 492 00:28:34,560 --> 00:28:37,040 Speaker 1: He was a comedian. He became very famous for doing 493 00:28:37,040 --> 00:28:40,640 Speaker 1: a really good Kennedy impersonation, and so this first Family 494 00:28:40,640 --> 00:28:44,680 Speaker 1: album is essentially a satire, like a satirical version of 495 00:28:44,720 --> 00:28:49,600 Speaker 1: the Kennedy's, uh, including as Bob mentions, the Jackie Kennedy tour, 496 00:28:49,680 --> 00:28:54,560 Speaker 1: and it's very much that exaggerated, like sighing, slightly sleepy 497 00:28:54,680 --> 00:28:58,680 Speaker 1: sounding Jackie Kennedy. Uh. And he did a couple of 498 00:28:58,680 --> 00:29:03,760 Speaker 1: albums actually um about the Kennedy's, and then of course 499 00:29:03,760 --> 00:29:06,000 Speaker 1: stopped after the assassination because he thought it was im 500 00:29:06,040 --> 00:29:09,000 Speaker 1: poor taste. But if you are interested in von Meter, 501 00:29:09,160 --> 00:29:13,400 Speaker 1: because I really like uh, you know, old school comedian stories. 502 00:29:14,160 --> 00:29:17,800 Speaker 1: Morocca does a show called Mobituaries with Morocca and he 503 00:29:17,960 --> 00:29:21,000 Speaker 1: has a great von Meter episode, So I highly recommend it. 504 00:29:21,440 --> 00:29:25,240 Speaker 1: Um and it is a really good Kennedy impersonation that 505 00:29:25,240 --> 00:29:29,840 Speaker 1: that episode that Morocca did starts with a story of uh, 506 00:29:29,880 --> 00:29:34,920 Speaker 1: somebody who knew JFK in his car hearing what he 507 00:29:34,960 --> 00:29:37,240 Speaker 1: did not know at the time was this comedy troupe 508 00:29:38,040 --> 00:29:41,360 Speaker 1: doing Kennedy and he thought that what he was hearing 509 00:29:41,400 --> 00:29:43,240 Speaker 1: was something the President was actually saying, and it was 510 00:29:43,280 --> 00:29:46,840 Speaker 1: temporarily very upsetting. Um, that is the scoop. Go check 511 00:29:46,880 --> 00:29:51,000 Speaker 1: out that Morocca episode, and also, um, you know, I 512 00:29:51,080 --> 00:29:53,400 Speaker 1: also encourage people, if they haven't done it, to go 513 00:29:54,240 --> 00:29:59,000 Speaker 1: check out the the actual tour that Jackie Kennedy gave 514 00:29:59,120 --> 00:30:02,440 Speaker 1: for ABC of the White House because it is quite interesting. 515 00:30:02,920 --> 00:30:05,320 Speaker 1: I also will say this, we recorded, as I said 516 00:30:05,320 --> 00:30:08,720 Speaker 1: at the top of that episode, that White House episode, 517 00:30:08,720 --> 00:30:12,200 Speaker 1: we recorded it in response to the announcement that the 518 00:30:12,280 --> 00:30:15,200 Speaker 1: Rose Garden was getting redone, and we didn't we it 519 00:30:15,240 --> 00:30:17,680 Speaker 1: was completely by accident that it came out like the 520 00:30:17,760 --> 00:30:23,880 Speaker 1: day of the revie. Yeah, that was just a blind luck, 521 00:30:24,040 --> 00:30:28,560 Speaker 1: coincidence situation. Uh So, like just to be super clear, 522 00:30:28,600 --> 00:30:31,280 Speaker 1: like we had not seen what the actual reveal looked 523 00:30:31,320 --> 00:30:34,080 Speaker 1: like when we recorded it. Um. And what was kind 524 00:30:34,080 --> 00:30:36,880 Speaker 1: of hilarious to me was we got we we kea 525 00:30:37,000 --> 00:30:40,160 Speaker 1: all the episodes before we released them, and we got 526 00:30:40,160 --> 00:30:43,520 Speaker 1: all the emails about queaing the episodes. I think on 527 00:30:43,640 --> 00:30:49,600 Speaker 1: the day that the unveiling happens. Um, but just because 528 00:30:49,640 --> 00:30:52,360 Speaker 1: of the way my day worked, like I i q 529 00:30:52,560 --> 00:30:54,680 Speaker 1: eate all the episodes, It's like, Okay, that's really cool. 530 00:30:54,680 --> 00:30:56,360 Speaker 1: And then I was like, oh, this is funny. Now 531 00:30:56,400 --> 00:31:00,800 Speaker 1: that I'm looking at the computer again, there's what it 532 00:31:00,840 --> 00:31:05,120 Speaker 1: actually looks like. Now it's just super strange and weird. Yeah. 533 00:31:05,120 --> 00:31:07,360 Speaker 1: I don't know about you. I was not expecting it 534 00:31:07,480 --> 00:31:10,560 Speaker 1: to be finished that quickly after it was announced. It 535 00:31:10,680 --> 00:31:14,160 Speaker 1: was pretty fast. Yeah, I didn't have a good sense 536 00:31:14,200 --> 00:31:16,480 Speaker 1: of timeline. I did not think it would be done before. 537 00:31:19,800 --> 00:31:22,280 Speaker 1: But you know, we've watched enough home improvement shows to 538 00:31:22,360 --> 00:31:25,040 Speaker 1: know that, Um, if you get a team of very 539 00:31:25,160 --> 00:31:28,840 Speaker 1: energetic landscape ers, they can redo anything in forty eight hours. 540 00:31:28,920 --> 00:31:33,280 Speaker 1: So anyway, again, I hope that offered people a little 541 00:31:33,320 --> 00:31:37,120 Speaker 1: bit of solace if they are chagrined at the new design, 542 00:31:37,480 --> 00:31:40,479 Speaker 1: or if they've been chagrined at any previous redesign, just 543 00:31:40,520 --> 00:31:43,560 Speaker 1: remember it is always in motion. The White House and 544 00:31:43,600 --> 00:31:47,880 Speaker 1: its grounds were always intended to constantly change. Uh. Reassuring 545 00:31:47,920 --> 00:31:49,680 Speaker 1: if you don't like the way something is looking at 546 00:31:49,680 --> 00:31:51,640 Speaker 1: the moment. Odds are good it will change in the future. 547 00:31:52,800 --> 00:31:54,760 Speaker 1: You who can write to us if you'd like to. 548 00:31:54,920 --> 00:31:57,320 Speaker 1: You could do that at History Podcast at iHeart radio 549 00:31:57,400 --> 00:32:00,000 Speaker 1: dot com. You can also find us everywhere on social 550 00:32:00,040 --> 00:32:02,200 Speaker 1: media as Missed in History and we would love it 551 00:32:02,240 --> 00:32:03,880 Speaker 1: if you would subscribe to the show. You can do 552 00:32:03,920 --> 00:32:06,400 Speaker 1: that on the I heart radio app, at Apple podcasts, 553 00:32:06,560 --> 00:32:13,760 Speaker 1: or wherever it is you listen. Stuff you Missed in 554 00:32:13,800 --> 00:32:16,520 Speaker 1: History Class is a production of I heart Radio. 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