1 00:00:02,400 --> 00:00:05,160 Speaker 1: Happy Saturday. Crisus came up a couple of times in 2 00:00:05,200 --> 00:00:07,600 Speaker 1: our episode on the Battle of the Eclipse not too 3 00:00:07,640 --> 00:00:11,680 Speaker 1: long ago, so our episode on him is Today's Saturday Classic. 4 00:00:12,360 --> 00:00:19,279 Speaker 1: This originally came out September seventh, twenty twenty. Enjoy Welcome 5 00:00:19,320 --> 00:00:22,040 Speaker 1: to Stuff You Missed in History Class, a production of 6 00:00:22,120 --> 00:00:32,080 Speaker 1: iHeartRadio Hello, and Welcome to the podcast. I'm Holly Frye 7 00:00:32,200 --> 00:00:35,560 Speaker 1: and I'm Tracy V. Wilson. So, Crisus is a name 8 00:00:35,600 --> 00:00:38,159 Speaker 1: that is now most commonly referenced when someone wants to 9 00:00:38,200 --> 00:00:41,879 Speaker 1: shorthand that a person is ridiculously wealthy. That is a 10 00:00:41,920 --> 00:00:44,960 Speaker 1: thing that it happens sometimes in English language, but other 11 00:00:45,080 --> 00:00:47,919 Speaker 1: languages use it all the time, and I think possibly 12 00:00:47,960 --> 00:00:51,800 Speaker 1: a little bit more than English speakers. And he is 13 00:00:51,840 --> 00:00:54,600 Speaker 1: one of those historical figures who was both real and 14 00:00:54,680 --> 00:00:58,600 Speaker 1: has taken on a mythical status, also mythical. Aesop was 15 00:00:58,800 --> 00:01:01,040 Speaker 1: a member of his court, and there's all kinds of 16 00:01:01,400 --> 00:01:05,720 Speaker 1: mythical swirlings around him. But the story of the ridiculously 17 00:01:05,760 --> 00:01:09,920 Speaker 1: wealthy Cresus, which was likely fictionalized in a number of ways, 18 00:01:09,920 --> 00:01:12,800 Speaker 1: and we'll talk about that, also becomes this sort of 19 00:01:12,840 --> 00:01:17,240 Speaker 1: cautionary tale about pride and hubris and what really has 20 00:01:17,319 --> 00:01:20,680 Speaker 1: value in life. So Crisus was born into the royal 21 00:01:20,720 --> 00:01:24,320 Speaker 1: family of Lydia. Lydia was a kingdom that occupied the 22 00:01:24,360 --> 00:01:28,800 Speaker 1: western section of Anatolia. Roughly speaking in modern shorthand, we're 23 00:01:28,800 --> 00:01:32,240 Speaker 1: talking about the left half of the Asia Minor peninsula, 24 00:01:32,319 --> 00:01:35,400 Speaker 1: so it's part of modern day Turkey. To the west 25 00:01:35,440 --> 00:01:37,640 Speaker 1: sat the Greeks, and to the east or the lands 26 00:01:37,680 --> 00:01:41,480 Speaker 1: of Persia. The Lydia that Crisus was born into was 27 00:01:41,640 --> 00:01:45,319 Speaker 1: very prosperous. When Phrygia, which had been the dominant power 28 00:01:45,360 --> 00:01:49,280 Speaker 1: on the peninsula since around twelve hundred BCE, was attacked 29 00:01:49,320 --> 00:01:53,000 Speaker 1: by Samerians and fell from power circus seven hundred BCE, 30 00:01:54,000 --> 00:01:57,240 Speaker 1: Lydia became the most powerful kingdom in the region. It's 31 00:01:57,320 --> 00:02:00,600 Speaker 1: kind of filled that power vacuum at that point. It 32 00:02:00,640 --> 00:02:03,840 Speaker 1: was ruled by King Jaijis from the newly established Lydian 33 00:02:03,920 --> 00:02:09,400 Speaker 1: capital of Sardis. This also established the Merbnad dynasty after 34 00:02:09,680 --> 00:02:13,880 Speaker 1: Jaiji's came Artists in the mid seventh century BCE, followed 35 00:02:13,880 --> 00:02:19,920 Speaker 1: by Sidides and then Alioities. Aliities was Criesus's father, and 36 00:02:19,960 --> 00:02:23,200 Speaker 1: it's under Aliites that Lydia is said to have really 37 00:02:23,280 --> 00:02:27,040 Speaker 1: hit its apex in terms of power and prosperity. The 38 00:02:27,120 --> 00:02:30,320 Speaker 1: exact dates for the reigns of those kings are pretty fuzzy. 39 00:02:30,919 --> 00:02:34,200 Speaker 1: The main source that's used for them is from Herodotus, 40 00:02:34,200 --> 00:02:36,560 Speaker 1: but if you do the math based on the counts 41 00:02:36,560 --> 00:02:38,800 Speaker 1: of the years that he uses, that math is not 42 00:02:38,880 --> 00:02:43,080 Speaker 1: quite add up. Also, just in general, Herodotus sometimes would 43 00:02:43,080 --> 00:02:45,520 Speaker 1: like to say this is how I heard it, Yes, 44 00:02:45,639 --> 00:02:47,840 Speaker 1: one hundred percent. It's one of those things where he 45 00:02:47,919 --> 00:02:51,240 Speaker 1: is listed as a great historian. But as we'll discuss later, 46 00:02:52,600 --> 00:02:58,760 Speaker 1: there's definitely some flexibility with the record, like what serves 47 00:02:58,760 --> 00:03:02,280 Speaker 1: his purpose. But what is less fuzzy is the fact 48 00:03:02,320 --> 00:03:05,639 Speaker 1: that during the years from seven hundred BCE to Creases 49 00:03:05,680 --> 00:03:10,440 Speaker 1: becoming king circa five sixty BCE, Lydia had established itself 50 00:03:10,480 --> 00:03:14,519 Speaker 1: as a very prosperous commercial culture. It is one of 51 00:03:14,560 --> 00:03:17,560 Speaker 1: the earliest cultures known to have instituted the concept of 52 00:03:17,680 --> 00:03:21,480 Speaker 1: retail shops like permanent stores, and the Lydians were minting 53 00:03:21,520 --> 00:03:24,480 Speaker 1: coinage way ahead of the rest of the Western world. 54 00:03:24,720 --> 00:03:28,000 Speaker 1: There is evidence of Chinese coinage that predates the Lydians, 55 00:03:28,360 --> 00:03:31,560 Speaker 1: although the coins that were minted specifically under Creasus more 56 00:03:31,600 --> 00:03:35,160 Speaker 1: closely resemble what we would think of today as coinage. 57 00:03:35,600 --> 00:03:39,720 Speaker 1: When Aliantes died in five sixty BCE, Cresus became king 58 00:03:39,920 --> 00:03:43,040 Speaker 1: and he was thirty five at the time. And Cresus was, 59 00:03:43,520 --> 00:03:46,120 Speaker 1: like a lot of people in his day, very into 60 00:03:46,240 --> 00:03:49,320 Speaker 1: using things like dreams and oracles to predict the future. 61 00:03:50,040 --> 00:03:53,480 Speaker 1: He had two sons, one of them is described again 62 00:03:53,520 --> 00:03:57,160 Speaker 1: by Herodotus as having a very minor disability, and this 63 00:03:57,320 --> 00:04:00,920 Speaker 1: is treated just horribly within the text, says quote. Since 64 00:04:00,920 --> 00:04:03,800 Speaker 1: he is ruined, he doesn't exist for me. Yeah, there's 65 00:04:03,840 --> 00:04:06,360 Speaker 1: a whole side story about his son that I'm maybe 66 00:04:06,400 --> 00:04:10,720 Speaker 1: gonna save for our casual Friday chat. It's a weird thing. 67 00:04:11,000 --> 00:04:14,120 Speaker 1: But the other son that he had, Adis, was much 68 00:04:14,240 --> 00:04:17,920 Speaker 1: beloved and was the king's pride. And when Cresus had 69 00:04:17,920 --> 00:04:21,080 Speaker 1: a dream that showed Adis being killed by an iron spear, 70 00:04:21,360 --> 00:04:24,800 Speaker 1: Crisus then did everything in his power to shelter his son. 71 00:04:25,480 --> 00:04:28,400 Speaker 1: He arranged for a speedy marriage to give him a 72 00:04:28,400 --> 00:04:31,280 Speaker 1: home life, and he stopped tasking him with going out 73 00:04:31,320 --> 00:04:34,320 Speaker 1: into battle, and he basically tried to keep him safe 74 00:04:34,360 --> 00:04:38,480 Speaker 1: and at home all the time. But ultimately Crisus did 75 00:04:38,560 --> 00:04:40,800 Speaker 1: allow Addis to go on a hunt, and this was 76 00:04:40,880 --> 00:04:44,359 Speaker 1: at his son's request and after much debate, because Adis 77 00:04:44,400 --> 00:04:49,800 Speaker 1: was sort of feeling like, hey, I don't have anything 78 00:04:49,839 --> 00:04:51,760 Speaker 1: to be proud of in our culture at this point 79 00:04:51,800 --> 00:04:53,640 Speaker 1: because you won't let me go to war and I 80 00:04:53,720 --> 00:04:57,880 Speaker 1: can't even go outside the stinks. So he allowed him 81 00:04:57,920 --> 00:05:00,640 Speaker 1: to go on this hunt, and of course, an hunter's 82 00:05:00,640 --> 00:05:03,640 Speaker 1: spear missed the wild board that they were hunting and 83 00:05:03,760 --> 00:05:07,799 Speaker 1: killed Attis, and Creasus reportedly mourned this sun for two 84 00:05:07,800 --> 00:05:12,160 Speaker 1: full years. Lydia is usually cited as the first kingdom 85 00:05:12,279 --> 00:05:16,440 Speaker 1: to mint metal coinage. Under Creasus, the first silver and 86 00:05:16,560 --> 00:05:20,120 Speaker 1: gold coins for Lydia were made, And this is kind 87 00:05:20,120 --> 00:05:22,400 Speaker 1: of reminding us a little bit of the many episodes 88 00:05:22,400 --> 00:05:25,320 Speaker 1: where we have talked about the gold standard being challenged 89 00:05:25,320 --> 00:05:27,760 Speaker 1: by the silver standard in the United States and how 90 00:05:27,839 --> 00:05:31,120 Speaker 1: much strife came out of all that those precious metals 91 00:05:31,120 --> 00:05:33,880 Speaker 1: were part of tender going all the way back to 92 00:05:33,920 --> 00:05:37,400 Speaker 1: the sixth century BCE. Yeah, and the coin type known 93 00:05:37,480 --> 00:05:41,159 Speaker 1: as a cresad, featuring a face off between a lion 94 00:05:41,240 --> 00:05:44,320 Speaker 1: and a bowl was developed during this time, and the 95 00:05:44,360 --> 00:05:47,200 Speaker 1: representation of the lion actually served as a means to 96 00:05:47,240 --> 00:05:50,520 Speaker 1: indicate the purity and the value of the coin. So 97 00:05:50,680 --> 00:05:53,159 Speaker 1: a smaller piece of the lion's body would be stamped 98 00:05:53,160 --> 00:05:55,640 Speaker 1: on a coin to indicate that that coin was a 99 00:05:55,680 --> 00:05:58,960 Speaker 1: smaller denomination than one with a larger, more complete image 100 00:05:58,960 --> 00:06:02,960 Speaker 1: of a lion. And the Lydians really made great strides 101 00:06:03,040 --> 00:06:07,080 Speaker 1: under creases in the purification of gold, enabling them to 102 00:06:07,240 --> 00:06:11,000 Speaker 1: ensure accuracy in these different coins. This is basically the 103 00:06:11,040 --> 00:06:15,799 Speaker 1: beginning of the gold standard, and the wealth was incredible. 104 00:06:15,839 --> 00:06:19,080 Speaker 1: Another name that you've almost certainly heard in connection with 105 00:06:19,240 --> 00:06:23,880 Speaker 1: ridiculous levels of riches as King Midas, and Crisus's very 106 00:06:23,920 --> 00:06:26,400 Speaker 1: great wealth is said to have come from Midas. In 107 00:06:26,440 --> 00:06:31,520 Speaker 1: a way, the Mermnad dynasty allegedly got its extraordinary riches 108 00:06:31,560 --> 00:06:35,000 Speaker 1: in part by collecting it from the river Pactulus, where 109 00:06:35,120 --> 00:06:38,200 Speaker 1: Midas is said to have washed his hands. There were 110 00:06:38,240 --> 00:06:43,120 Speaker 1: also some taxes plundering other kingdoms, including enslaving people from 111 00:06:43,160 --> 00:06:46,120 Speaker 1: those kingdoms. Yeah, they actually gained their riches in a 112 00:06:46,240 --> 00:06:49,400 Speaker 1: number of ways, but that Midas story is one that persists, 113 00:06:49,960 --> 00:06:51,919 Speaker 1: and what defines much of what we know of the 114 00:06:52,000 --> 00:06:55,919 Speaker 1: rule of Cresus is war. And it's said that conflict 115 00:06:56,120 --> 00:06:59,039 Speaker 1: was ultimately what brought Cresus out of his mourning state 116 00:06:59,160 --> 00:07:03,480 Speaker 1: over his son. Once he was refocused on military leadership, 117 00:07:03,560 --> 00:07:06,560 Speaker 1: Creesus was eager to expand his power, and he could 118 00:07:06,640 --> 00:07:10,600 Speaker 1: be ruthless in this quest. Herodotus wrote this of him, 119 00:07:10,720 --> 00:07:14,240 Speaker 1: quote this, Crisus was the first foreigner whom we know 120 00:07:14,440 --> 00:07:17,480 Speaker 1: who subjugated some Greeks and took tribute from them and 121 00:07:17,560 --> 00:07:21,320 Speaker 1: won the friendship of others, the former being the Ionians, 122 00:07:21,400 --> 00:07:25,160 Speaker 1: the Aeolians and the Dorians of Asia, and the latter 123 00:07:25,280 --> 00:07:29,160 Speaker 1: the Lacedaemonians. Before the reign of Cresus, all Greeks were 124 00:07:29,200 --> 00:07:33,120 Speaker 1: free for the Samerian host which invaded Ionia before his 125 00:07:33,200 --> 00:07:37,720 Speaker 1: time did not subjugate the cities that raided and robbed them. Yeah, 126 00:07:37,720 --> 00:07:40,760 Speaker 1: so keep in mind as we talk about Cresus, and 127 00:07:40,800 --> 00:07:43,120 Speaker 1: he's an interesting figure, but he was very big on 128 00:07:43,240 --> 00:07:46,400 Speaker 1: enslavement as something new that was not a tradition, that 129 00:07:46,480 --> 00:07:52,680 Speaker 1: was something he instituted in his war making. So we 130 00:07:52,800 --> 00:07:56,160 Speaker 1: mentioned a moment ago that Cresus believed in oracles, but 131 00:07:56,480 --> 00:07:59,480 Speaker 1: he really wanted to run a test to ensure that 132 00:07:59,520 --> 00:08:02,200 Speaker 1: the oracle that he would patronize was going to be 133 00:08:02,240 --> 00:08:06,120 Speaker 1: the best one. So Herodotus wrote that Crisus sent men 134 00:08:06,160 --> 00:08:09,760 Speaker 1: out to various shrines, but after they left the palace 135 00:08:09,880 --> 00:08:12,040 Speaker 1: at Sartis, they had to bide their time for one 136 00:08:12,120 --> 00:08:15,160 Speaker 1: hundred days, so they didn't know what Crisus was doing 137 00:08:15,560 --> 00:08:17,880 Speaker 1: before going to these shrines. And then on the one 138 00:08:17,920 --> 00:08:20,720 Speaker 1: hundredth day, each oracle was supposed to be asked to 139 00:08:20,800 --> 00:08:24,840 Speaker 1: divine what Crisus was doing at that very moment, and 140 00:08:24,880 --> 00:08:28,080 Speaker 1: then all of these messengers would bring back the divinations 141 00:08:28,120 --> 00:08:31,600 Speaker 1: and it would be obvious which oracle or oracles were 142 00:08:31,640 --> 00:08:34,760 Speaker 1: the real deal. The men who had visited the Oracle 143 00:08:34,800 --> 00:08:37,480 Speaker 1: of Delphi at the Temple of Apollo came back with 144 00:08:37,520 --> 00:08:40,160 Speaker 1: the following verse quote, I know the number of the 145 00:08:40,200 --> 00:08:43,040 Speaker 1: grains of sand and the extent of the sea, and 146 00:08:43,240 --> 00:08:46,520 Speaker 1: understand the mute and hear the voiceless. The smell has 147 00:08:46,559 --> 00:08:49,960 Speaker 1: come to my senses of a strong shelled tortoise boiling 148 00:08:50,000 --> 00:08:53,240 Speaker 1: in a cauldron, together with a lamb's flesh under witch's 149 00:08:53,320 --> 00:08:57,560 Speaker 1: bronze and overwitch's bronze. We don't know what any of 150 00:08:57,559 --> 00:09:00,920 Speaker 1: the others divined, because this one was apparently spot on. 151 00:09:01,880 --> 00:09:04,959 Speaker 1: Crisus said that the oracle of Amphiarus had also given 152 00:09:05,000 --> 00:09:07,440 Speaker 1: a quote true answer, but we don't know the wording 153 00:09:07,520 --> 00:09:11,040 Speaker 1: of what that answer specifically was. But in an effort 154 00:09:11,040 --> 00:09:13,600 Speaker 1: to concoct a strange enough event that it would be 155 00:09:13,600 --> 00:09:16,960 Speaker 1: impossible to guess what he had been doing, Crisus had 156 00:09:17,120 --> 00:09:19,679 Speaker 1: cut up a tortoise and a lamb and boiled them 157 00:09:19,720 --> 00:09:24,240 Speaker 1: together in a covered bronze cauldron. So let's move along 158 00:09:24,320 --> 00:09:26,720 Speaker 1: from that less than pleasant image and take a quick 159 00:09:26,840 --> 00:09:29,640 Speaker 1: break and have a word from some of the sponsors 160 00:09:29,640 --> 00:09:41,520 Speaker 1: that keeps stuff you missed in history class going. So, 161 00:09:41,920 --> 00:09:46,600 Speaker 1: Crisus was devoted to the Oracle of Delphi after it 162 00:09:46,640 --> 00:09:53,360 Speaker 1: had successfully uh passed this test. He sacrificed literally thousands 163 00:09:53,400 --> 00:09:56,480 Speaker 1: of animals and burned almost every valuable thing he could 164 00:09:56,520 --> 00:10:00,079 Speaker 1: lay hands on. He also commanded the citizens of Lyddy 165 00:10:00,200 --> 00:10:03,320 Speaker 1: to do the same, and he sent so much gold 166 00:10:03,480 --> 00:10:10,239 Speaker 1: to the temple. There is a line in the translation 167 00:10:10,320 --> 00:10:13,720 Speaker 1: that I read that stated quote. Moreover, he dedicated his 168 00:10:13,760 --> 00:10:18,160 Speaker 1: own wife's necklaces and girdles, which I just found funny 169 00:10:18,200 --> 00:10:23,040 Speaker 1: as things to sacrifice to Apollo. So the goal of 170 00:10:23,120 --> 00:10:26,360 Speaker 1: all of these offerings was to ensure that Crisus got 171 00:10:26,360 --> 00:10:30,080 Speaker 1: good advice from the oracle regarding his military plans, and 172 00:10:30,160 --> 00:10:32,800 Speaker 1: the people he tasked with bringing his many gifts to 173 00:10:32,840 --> 00:10:36,640 Speaker 1: the temple were instructed to get this advice. Two points 174 00:10:36,720 --> 00:10:39,480 Speaker 1: came back. One was that if Criesus were to attack 175 00:10:39,559 --> 00:10:42,040 Speaker 1: the Persians, crossing a river to do so, he would 176 00:10:42,120 --> 00:10:46,000 Speaker 1: destroy a great empire, and two that he should make 177 00:10:46,040 --> 00:10:48,960 Speaker 1: friends with the most powerful Greeks. So, at this point 178 00:10:48,960 --> 00:10:51,679 Speaker 1: in time, the power of the Persians, led by Cyrus 179 00:10:51,720 --> 00:10:54,600 Speaker 1: the Second also known as Cyrus the Great, was expanding. 180 00:10:55,040 --> 00:10:57,880 Speaker 1: We actually talked at some length about Cyrus the Second 181 00:10:57,880 --> 00:11:02,400 Speaker 1: in our episode on the Achemenid Empire in twenty sixteen. Crisus, 182 00:11:02,400 --> 00:11:05,760 Speaker 1: of course wanted to curtail the expansion of the Persian Empire, 183 00:11:06,280 --> 00:11:08,520 Speaker 1: and he started a campaign of his own to make 184 00:11:08,520 --> 00:11:11,720 Speaker 1: sure that Cyrus the Second's forces did not get close 185 00:11:11,760 --> 00:11:15,160 Speaker 1: to Lydia. So Crisus asked the oracle to once again 186 00:11:15,240 --> 00:11:18,560 Speaker 1: tell him the future. They sent messengers to Delphi to 187 00:11:18,600 --> 00:11:20,760 Speaker 1: ask if his reign would be a long one, and 188 00:11:20,800 --> 00:11:23,880 Speaker 1: the reply was quote, when the medics have a mule 189 00:11:24,040 --> 00:11:29,079 Speaker 1: as king, just then, tenderfooted Lydian by the stone, shrewn 190 00:11:29,200 --> 00:11:32,160 Speaker 1: hermus flee and do not stay, and do not be 191 00:11:32,240 --> 00:11:36,920 Speaker 1: ashamed to be a coward. Crisus took this pretty literally, 192 00:11:37,080 --> 00:11:39,000 Speaker 1: and he thought, well, a mule is never going to 193 00:11:39,000 --> 00:11:41,600 Speaker 1: be a king, so this must be telling me that 194 00:11:41,760 --> 00:11:44,000 Speaker 1: my rule is going to be very, very long, and 195 00:11:44,040 --> 00:11:46,920 Speaker 1: I have a lot of power ahead of me. So, 196 00:11:47,120 --> 00:11:51,800 Speaker 1: bolstered and confident, he continued his military campaigning. Over the 197 00:11:51,880 --> 00:11:56,400 Speaker 1: course of his rule, Crisus had attacked Ephesus, than Ionian cities, 198 00:11:56,520 --> 00:12:00,120 Speaker 1: than the cities of Aeolia. According to Herodotus, all all 199 00:12:00,120 --> 00:12:02,480 Speaker 1: of these attacks were based on some sort of reason, 200 00:12:02,800 --> 00:12:05,960 Speaker 1: and in his words quote, he found graver charges where 201 00:12:06,000 --> 00:12:11,679 Speaker 1: he could, but sometimes alleged very pettygrounds of offence. Yeah, 202 00:12:11,720 --> 00:12:15,920 Speaker 1: the justified invasions were pretty lightly justified in some cases. 203 00:12:16,840 --> 00:12:20,440 Speaker 1: So next, Crisus set his sights on the islands of 204 00:12:20,480 --> 00:12:22,680 Speaker 1: Greece as a target, and he knew that he was 205 00:12:22,720 --> 00:12:25,160 Speaker 1: going to need to assemble a navy fleet to conquer them, 206 00:12:25,600 --> 00:12:29,280 Speaker 1: so he started up a shipbuilding project. But while this 207 00:12:29,440 --> 00:12:31,560 Speaker 1: was all under way, he was approached by a man 208 00:12:31,600 --> 00:12:34,720 Speaker 1: from the Lesbos capital of Middelein, whose name was either 209 00:12:35,120 --> 00:12:37,920 Speaker 1: Prianna or Pitcus, depending on the source that you read, 210 00:12:38,480 --> 00:12:41,280 Speaker 1: and this man told Crisus that the islanders were actually 211 00:12:41,320 --> 00:12:45,040 Speaker 1: amassing their own ground forces to attack Criesus at Sartis. 212 00:12:45,760 --> 00:12:48,840 Speaker 1: Crisus replied, essentially that he wished they would do that 213 00:12:49,040 --> 00:12:52,520 Speaker 1: because his troops would destroy the Islanders, who had no 214 00:12:52,679 --> 00:12:57,240 Speaker 1: experience in ground battle warfare. In response to this, the 215 00:12:57,240 --> 00:13:01,120 Speaker 1: emissary from Middelein pointed out that in starting a navy 216 00:13:01,160 --> 00:13:05,160 Speaker 1: from scratch, Cresus would be similarly disadvantaged if he tried 217 00:13:05,200 --> 00:13:08,040 Speaker 1: to take on the islander forces. So this put an 218 00:13:08,160 --> 00:13:11,480 Speaker 1: end to Crisus's navy project, and he opted instead to 219 00:13:11,520 --> 00:13:15,920 Speaker 1: form an alliance with the Ionian Islanders. This story cracks 220 00:13:15,960 --> 00:13:19,000 Speaker 1: me up back. Oh yeah, come at me on land, 221 00:13:19,040 --> 00:13:21,320 Speaker 1: and they're like, that's what we say about you coming 222 00:13:21,360 --> 00:13:24,560 Speaker 1: at us on sea. Dude, Yeah, you are not going 223 00:13:24,640 --> 00:13:28,200 Speaker 1: to manage this. During his time as king of Lydia, 224 00:13:28,400 --> 00:13:31,360 Speaker 1: Creesus eventually became the ruler of most of the nations 225 00:13:31,360 --> 00:13:34,000 Speaker 1: and peoples on the peninsula west of the Hallis River 226 00:13:34,679 --> 00:13:36,480 Speaker 1: that was the name of what is now known as 227 00:13:36,520 --> 00:13:41,600 Speaker 1: the Kaziller Mock River. Persians conquered the Median Empire in 228 00:13:41,720 --> 00:13:44,400 Speaker 1: five point fifty BCE, and this was a sobering event 229 00:13:44,440 --> 00:13:48,240 Speaker 1: for Creesus. It became immediately apparent that his own power 230 00:13:48,320 --> 00:13:52,120 Speaker 1: could also be challenged by the Persian forces. This led 231 00:13:52,200 --> 00:13:55,359 Speaker 1: him to try to fortify his own strength through an alliance, 232 00:13:55,480 --> 00:13:57,680 Speaker 1: and this goes back to that advice that he got 233 00:13:57,720 --> 00:14:02,240 Speaker 1: from the Oracle of Delphi, the most powerful Greek state. 234 00:14:02,800 --> 00:14:05,719 Speaker 1: So Crisus had already made an alliance with Amasus, the 235 00:14:05,800 --> 00:14:09,600 Speaker 1: king of Egypt, and he also got the Lacedaemonians and 236 00:14:09,640 --> 00:14:12,200 Speaker 1: then the Spartans, which he believed to be the most 237 00:14:12,200 --> 00:14:15,800 Speaker 1: powerful Greek state, to agree to stand with him. But 238 00:14:16,160 --> 00:14:18,720 Speaker 1: Crisus was not really content with waiting to see what 239 00:14:18,760 --> 00:14:21,160 Speaker 1: would happen with the Persians and getting all of these 240 00:14:21,280 --> 00:14:24,520 Speaker 1: alliances arranged, and he was very impatient, so he just 241 00:14:24,560 --> 00:14:27,600 Speaker 1: decided that he would go right on ahead and invade Anatolia. 242 00:14:28,160 --> 00:14:32,640 Speaker 1: He decided to invade Anatolia, specifically Cappadocia in the eastern 243 00:14:32,680 --> 00:14:35,080 Speaker 1: part of the territory, and that meant he had to 244 00:14:35,080 --> 00:14:38,600 Speaker 1: cross the Hallas River. And the battle that ensued at 245 00:14:38,720 --> 00:14:41,680 Speaker 1: Teria was not what anybody had hoped. It sort of 246 00:14:41,800 --> 00:14:45,920 Speaker 1: ended in a draw. After Teria, Criesus wanted to regroup, 247 00:14:46,080 --> 00:14:48,360 Speaker 1: so he had summoned all of those groups that he 248 00:14:48,400 --> 00:14:51,440 Speaker 1: had allied with to join him in the springtime, five 249 00:14:51,480 --> 00:14:54,280 Speaker 1: months after he sent these messages out to them, so 250 00:14:54,400 --> 00:14:56,480 Speaker 1: that they would have time to assemble their armies and 251 00:14:56,520 --> 00:14:58,840 Speaker 1: travel after the winter, and so then he took his 252 00:14:58,880 --> 00:15:02,600 Speaker 1: own troops and headed back to Sardis. But apparently he 253 00:15:02,760 --> 00:15:06,320 Speaker 1: didn't realize that Cyrus the second and his Persian troops 254 00:15:06,320 --> 00:15:10,160 Speaker 1: had followed him home. When Sartis was attacked by Persia, 255 00:15:10,200 --> 00:15:13,520 Speaker 1: it came just as a complete surprise to Creesus. The 256 00:15:13,600 --> 00:15:16,880 Speaker 1: Lydians scrambled to meet the Persians in battle, and according 257 00:15:16,880 --> 00:15:21,480 Speaker 1: to Herodotus, Cyrus was afraid of the Lydians, but on 258 00:15:21,560 --> 00:15:25,080 Speaker 1: the advice of a Median who was with him, Cyrus 259 00:15:25,160 --> 00:15:28,840 Speaker 1: put his cavalry on the pack camels. The camels drove 260 00:15:28,960 --> 00:15:32,280 Speaker 1: back the Lydian horses because apparently the horses were afraid 261 00:15:32,320 --> 00:15:35,280 Speaker 1: of the camels and their smell, and they retreated even 262 00:15:35,320 --> 00:15:37,960 Speaker 1: as their riders tried to move them forward into battle. 263 00:15:38,560 --> 00:15:41,400 Speaker 1: The Lydian army was forced to fight on foot, and 264 00:15:41,560 --> 00:15:45,040 Speaker 1: ultimately they were defeated by the Persians. Cresus sent word 265 00:15:45,120 --> 00:15:47,680 Speaker 1: to his allies to come and help, but efforts at 266 00:15:47,680 --> 00:15:51,240 Speaker 1: assistants were not enough or came too late. Criesus was 267 00:15:51,280 --> 00:15:54,600 Speaker 1: taken captive, and Sardis was taken by the Persians after 268 00:15:54,640 --> 00:15:58,720 Speaker 1: two weeks of this conflict. So when the Oracle of 269 00:15:58,760 --> 00:16:02,200 Speaker 1: Delphi had told Cries about crossing a river and destroying 270 00:16:02,200 --> 00:16:05,480 Speaker 1: a kingdom, oops, that was his own kingdom that would 271 00:16:05,480 --> 00:16:08,800 Speaker 1: be destroyed. And that story of the mule leading the 272 00:16:08,800 --> 00:16:12,520 Speaker 1: may DAEs empire. Cyrus the Second was half may Days 273 00:16:12,560 --> 00:16:15,640 Speaker 1: and half Persian, the child of two different groups of people, 274 00:16:15,720 --> 00:16:18,080 Speaker 1: So the mule reference was kind of a casual like 275 00:16:18,640 --> 00:16:24,440 Speaker 1: slurry representation. Cresus had in his literalism in interpreting all 276 00:16:24,480 --> 00:16:28,040 Speaker 1: of these words of the oracle, failed to catch any 277 00:16:28,080 --> 00:16:31,200 Speaker 1: of the actual meaning in the oracle's words. We will 278 00:16:31,200 --> 00:16:34,000 Speaker 1: talk about the varied accounts of the end of Creesus's 279 00:16:34,080 --> 00:16:36,800 Speaker 1: life after we pause and have a quick sponsor break. 280 00:16:45,760 --> 00:16:48,600 Speaker 1: In five point forty six BCE, with his defeat by 281 00:16:48,640 --> 00:16:51,280 Speaker 1: Cyrus the Second and the Persian army, the reign of 282 00:16:51,280 --> 00:16:55,280 Speaker 1: Cresus ended. But what happened after this invasion is something 283 00:16:55,320 --> 00:16:58,080 Speaker 1: that again is a little unclear, and that's because there 284 00:16:58,120 --> 00:17:02,000 Speaker 1: are a number of different versions of the story. The Chylides, 285 00:17:02,160 --> 00:17:05,240 Speaker 1: a poet from Greece, tells the story and the odes 286 00:17:05,480 --> 00:17:09,040 Speaker 1: of the Epenetians that Crisus built his own funeral pyre 287 00:17:09,080 --> 00:17:10,959 Speaker 1: and then tried to burn himself to death on it. 288 00:17:11,760 --> 00:17:15,760 Speaker 1: And this was, according to his writing, unsuccessful, because the 289 00:17:15,800 --> 00:17:20,200 Speaker 1: gods intervened before Criesus actually met his final end. Yes 290 00:17:20,200 --> 00:17:22,800 Speaker 1: in that history, it's written quote when he had come 291 00:17:22,840 --> 00:17:26,399 Speaker 1: to that unexpected day, Crisus had no intention of waiting 292 00:17:26,440 --> 00:17:29,439 Speaker 1: any longer for the tears of slavery. He had a 293 00:17:29,480 --> 00:17:33,080 Speaker 1: pyre built before his bronze walled courtyard, and he mounted 294 00:17:33,080 --> 00:17:35,280 Speaker 1: the pyre with his dear wife and his daughters with 295 00:17:35,359 --> 00:17:40,119 Speaker 1: beautiful hair. They were weeping inconsolably. He raised his arms 296 00:17:40,119 --> 00:17:43,840 Speaker 1: to the steep sky and shouted, overweening deity, where is 297 00:17:43,880 --> 00:17:47,520 Speaker 1: the gratitude of the gods? Where is Lord Apollo. So 298 00:17:47,800 --> 00:17:50,879 Speaker 1: just as Criesus had gotten a trusted servant to really 299 00:17:50,920 --> 00:17:54,160 Speaker 1: get the flames going, and as his wife and daughters 300 00:17:54,200 --> 00:17:58,840 Speaker 1: were looking on in tears, the Dao six machina arrives quote. 301 00:17:58,880 --> 00:18:02,280 Speaker 1: But when the flashing force of terrible fire began to 302 00:18:02,320 --> 00:18:05,359 Speaker 1: shoot through the wood, Zeus set a dark rain cloud 303 00:18:05,400 --> 00:18:08,520 Speaker 1: over it and began to quench the golden flame. Nothing 304 00:18:08,560 --> 00:18:11,440 Speaker 1: is unbelievable, which is brought about by the god's ambition. 305 00:18:12,280 --> 00:18:15,359 Speaker 1: Then Apollo shows up, scoops up Creasus and his family, 306 00:18:15,400 --> 00:18:18,960 Speaker 1: and carries them north to Hyperborea, the land of the Giants, 307 00:18:19,040 --> 00:18:21,840 Speaker 1: where they could live safely. So we know that this 308 00:18:21,880 --> 00:18:24,560 Speaker 1: particular version of the story became an important part of 309 00:18:24,600 --> 00:18:27,679 Speaker 1: Greek lore. This moment is represented on a piece of 310 00:18:27,800 --> 00:18:30,680 Speaker 1: art in the louver decorated by Mason, a painter who 311 00:18:30,720 --> 00:18:33,640 Speaker 1: decorated vases in Athens using what is known as red 312 00:18:33,640 --> 00:18:37,200 Speaker 1: figure technique, and Maison's work on the vase that depicts 313 00:18:37,200 --> 00:18:40,159 Speaker 1: this particular subject is dated in the five hundred to 314 00:18:40,200 --> 00:18:43,600 Speaker 1: four ninety BCE range, so we're talking fifty to sixty 315 00:18:43,680 --> 00:18:47,600 Speaker 1: years after Criesus's defeat would have happened. This vase shows 316 00:18:47,680 --> 00:18:51,240 Speaker 1: Crisus sitting on a throne, pouring out a libation onto 317 00:18:51,240 --> 00:18:54,600 Speaker 1: the servant Utamos, while Eutamos is lighting the pyre that 318 00:18:54,640 --> 00:18:57,840 Speaker 1: the throne has been placed upon. There's an inscription on 319 00:18:57,960 --> 00:19:01,080 Speaker 1: the vase that specifically names the king in the image 320 00:19:01,119 --> 00:19:03,560 Speaker 1: as Creesus, so it's not a case of like, well, 321 00:19:03,600 --> 00:19:06,920 Speaker 1: this could be Cresus. The opposite side of the vase 322 00:19:07,000 --> 00:19:11,520 Speaker 1: has a totally different and unrelated scene showing theseus abducting 323 00:19:11,600 --> 00:19:15,000 Speaker 1: the Amazon and Tiape. If you're ever in Paris and 324 00:19:15,040 --> 00:19:16,840 Speaker 1: you want to see it, it is part of the Greek, 325 00:19:16,920 --> 00:19:20,080 Speaker 1: Etruscan and Roman Antiquities collection and is on the first 326 00:19:20,080 --> 00:19:23,119 Speaker 1: floor in the celly wing room six fifty two. So 327 00:19:23,560 --> 00:19:26,960 Speaker 1: after this happened and Creesus was saved by the gods, 328 00:19:27,240 --> 00:19:30,119 Speaker 1: the story goes that Criesus became an ally of the 329 00:19:30,200 --> 00:19:33,560 Speaker 1: leader who followed Cyrus that was Kimbici's the second, and 330 00:19:33,600 --> 00:19:37,000 Speaker 1: along with Cambises, the second, Creesus in this version, then 331 00:19:37,080 --> 00:19:40,399 Speaker 1: traveled to Egypt. That is not the only version of 332 00:19:40,440 --> 00:19:43,280 Speaker 1: this story where Creesus ends up friends with his former 333 00:19:43,440 --> 00:19:47,919 Speaker 1: enemy state. The Persian doctor Cetisius, who was born in Greece, 334 00:19:48,040 --> 00:19:51,160 Speaker 1: wrote an account that suggests that Creesus actually became part 335 00:19:51,160 --> 00:19:54,560 Speaker 1: of Cyrus's court and eventually rose to a point of 336 00:19:54,680 --> 00:19:58,280 Speaker 1: good enough standing that he was appointed governor of Burini. 337 00:19:58,600 --> 00:20:00,919 Speaker 1: Part of what makes the Creasus story so tricky to 338 00:20:01,040 --> 00:20:03,520 Speaker 1: unravel is the fact that he was such a big 339 00:20:03,560 --> 00:20:07,800 Speaker 1: figure culturally that people essentially started writing fan fiction about him, 340 00:20:08,440 --> 00:20:10,520 Speaker 1: and now when we reference it hundreds of years later, 341 00:20:10,560 --> 00:20:13,080 Speaker 1: it's a little hard to know which is fan fiction versus, 342 00:20:13,080 --> 00:20:17,320 Speaker 1: which is actual historical record. And we mentioned one version 343 00:20:17,320 --> 00:20:19,480 Speaker 1: of his faith that was written by Herodotus just a 344 00:20:19,520 --> 00:20:21,919 Speaker 1: moment ago, but that was not the only writing that 345 00:20:21,960 --> 00:20:27,080 Speaker 1: Herodotus did featuring Creases as a protagonist. And another story 346 00:20:27,200 --> 00:20:31,560 Speaker 1: by Herodotus Crisus met with Solon, the lawmaker of Athens, 347 00:20:31,560 --> 00:20:35,560 Speaker 1: whose life ended just as Crisus's reign was starting. And 348 00:20:35,600 --> 00:20:39,040 Speaker 1: this is really a parable about values and happiness. There's 349 00:20:39,080 --> 00:20:41,639 Speaker 1: really no evidence that any of it actually took place 350 00:20:42,160 --> 00:20:44,800 Speaker 1: in the story. Solon, like a lot of important men 351 00:20:44,840 --> 00:20:47,679 Speaker 1: of the day, decided to visit Cresus when the Lydian 352 00:20:47,760 --> 00:20:50,240 Speaker 1: king was at the height of his power. So there's 353 00:20:50,280 --> 00:20:52,920 Speaker 1: actually sort of a fun side story here about why 354 00:20:52,960 --> 00:20:55,840 Speaker 1: Solon the lawmaker would have been out and about traveling. 355 00:20:56,640 --> 00:20:59,199 Speaker 1: This kind of, you know, justifies how this may have 356 00:20:59,280 --> 00:21:03,440 Speaker 1: worked in the writing of Herodotus. So this travel was 357 00:21:03,520 --> 00:21:06,439 Speaker 1: part of a ten year trip. The idea was that 358 00:21:06,480 --> 00:21:08,720 Speaker 1: once Solon had made all of the laws that he 359 00:21:08,760 --> 00:21:11,679 Speaker 1: believed Athens needed to be a fair and just society, 360 00:21:12,080 --> 00:21:14,800 Speaker 1: he promised to stay away from Athens for ten years 361 00:21:14,800 --> 00:21:16,840 Speaker 1: so that he would not be tempted to change or 362 00:21:16,880 --> 00:21:21,160 Speaker 1: repeal any of those laws. Athens wanted to live by 363 00:21:21,240 --> 00:21:23,760 Speaker 1: this set of laws that Solin had carefully penned, and 364 00:21:23,800 --> 00:21:26,159 Speaker 1: so they promised to do so, and they were not 365 00:21:26,240 --> 00:21:30,800 Speaker 1: themselves allowed to make any changes. An interesting governmental experiment, 366 00:21:30,880 --> 00:21:33,240 Speaker 1: to be sure, And yes, Solin is certainly on my 367 00:21:33,320 --> 00:21:36,160 Speaker 1: list for his own episode one day. No telling when 368 00:21:36,200 --> 00:21:41,280 Speaker 1: that might happen in any case. After receiving sullen, Cresus 369 00:21:41,359 --> 00:21:45,120 Speaker 1: basically spent the whole visit entertaining his visitor and then 370 00:21:45,119 --> 00:21:48,520 Speaker 1: making the household staff point out all the expensive things 371 00:21:48,560 --> 00:21:51,560 Speaker 1: that Cresus had just lying around the palace so that 372 00:21:51,600 --> 00:21:55,359 Speaker 1: Solan would understand just how rich and successful the king was. 373 00:21:55,840 --> 00:21:59,080 Speaker 1: And after this little exercise in wealth, show and tell 374 00:21:59,320 --> 00:22:02,960 Speaker 1: creases at soulan quote, my Athenian guest, we have heard 375 00:22:03,000 --> 00:22:05,159 Speaker 1: a lot about you because of your wisdom and of 376 00:22:05,200 --> 00:22:08,600 Speaker 1: your wanderings. How As one who loves learning, you have 377 00:22:08,680 --> 00:22:11,000 Speaker 1: traveled much of the world for the sake of seeing it. 378 00:22:11,600 --> 00:22:14,159 Speaker 1: So now I desire to ask you who is the 379 00:22:14,160 --> 00:22:17,879 Speaker 1: most fortunate man you have seen? And of course the 380 00:22:18,000 --> 00:22:20,320 Speaker 1: king expected that the lawmaker was going to say, Oh, 381 00:22:20,320 --> 00:22:23,399 Speaker 1: it's you, for sure, dude. You have everything like there's 382 00:22:23,480 --> 00:22:25,679 Speaker 1: no reason anybody could ever be any happier than you, 383 00:22:26,280 --> 00:22:29,800 Speaker 1: but he did not say that. Solan instead named an 384 00:22:29,840 --> 00:22:33,280 Speaker 1: Athenian called Tellus as the most fortunate man he knew. 385 00:22:33,840 --> 00:22:37,560 Speaker 1: King Criesus asked for an explanation of Solan's answer, and 386 00:22:37,640 --> 00:22:40,040 Speaker 1: the lawmaker told him that Tellus had been part of 387 00:22:40,080 --> 00:22:43,199 Speaker 1: a prosperous city, a good community, and that he had 388 00:22:43,320 --> 00:22:46,120 Speaker 1: children who grew up to be good people and all 389 00:22:46,119 --> 00:22:49,440 Speaker 1: gave him grandchildren, and that all of his progeny survived, 390 00:22:49,880 --> 00:22:52,679 Speaker 1: and then once Tellas died in battle against the people 391 00:22:52,760 --> 00:22:56,280 Speaker 1: of Eleusis, it was a good and honorable death, and 392 00:22:56,320 --> 00:23:00,080 Speaker 1: that he was honored in his burial. So, after hearing this, 393 00:23:00,720 --> 00:23:03,320 Speaker 1: apparently hoping that he would get a second place spot, 394 00:23:03,800 --> 00:23:06,359 Speaker 1: then asked Solan who he thought was the next most 395 00:23:06,359 --> 00:23:10,520 Speaker 1: fortunate man, and Solan gave two men's names in answer, 396 00:23:10,920 --> 00:23:14,600 Speaker 1: Klebus and Biton of Argive. These two brothers had a 397 00:23:14,600 --> 00:23:17,959 Speaker 1: stable home life, they were physically very strong, and they 398 00:23:18,000 --> 00:23:20,879 Speaker 1: both died after pulling their mother in a wagon five 399 00:23:20,960 --> 00:23:23,760 Speaker 1: miles to the festival of Hara in Argos, as the 400 00:23:23,800 --> 00:23:26,640 Speaker 1: oxen that were intended to convey her were not back 401 00:23:26,640 --> 00:23:30,280 Speaker 1: from the fields in time to do so. Before Klebus 402 00:23:30,440 --> 00:23:33,919 Speaker 1: and Biton died. Everyone present commented that their mother had 403 00:23:34,000 --> 00:23:37,040 Speaker 1: raised great children, and then she prayed to Hara to 404 00:23:37,119 --> 00:23:39,919 Speaker 1: grant her sons the best thing for a man, and 405 00:23:39,960 --> 00:23:42,199 Speaker 1: they both died in their sleep that night after the 406 00:23:42,240 --> 00:23:49,320 Speaker 1: evening's feast. Here's how Herodotus renders the speech about this quote. Crisus, 407 00:23:49,400 --> 00:23:52,439 Speaker 1: you ask me about human affairs, and I know that 408 00:23:52,480 --> 00:23:56,359 Speaker 1: the divine is entirely grudging and troublesome to us. Crisus, 409 00:23:56,640 --> 00:23:59,159 Speaker 1: man is entirely chance to me, you seem to be 410 00:23:59,280 --> 00:24:01,399 Speaker 1: very rich and be king of many people. But I 411 00:24:01,440 --> 00:24:04,440 Speaker 1: cannot answer your question before I learn that you ended 412 00:24:04,480 --> 00:24:08,600 Speaker 1: your life well. He explains in the story that wealth 413 00:24:08,680 --> 00:24:11,440 Speaker 1: is not what leads to happiness, and that one should 414 00:24:11,440 --> 00:24:15,440 Speaker 1: focus instead on good fortune in a more expansive sense. 415 00:24:15,600 --> 00:24:19,080 Speaker 1: So the advice that Solan allegedly gave to Creesus was quote, 416 00:24:19,119 --> 00:24:23,280 Speaker 1: count no man happy until his death. That story actually 417 00:24:23,320 --> 00:24:26,480 Speaker 1: feeds into a version of the tale of Cyrus having 418 00:24:26,520 --> 00:24:29,600 Speaker 1: creases burned alive, in which Cresus has a moment of 419 00:24:29,640 --> 00:24:33,560 Speaker 1: revelation related to Solan's teaching as he is being executed. 420 00:24:34,440 --> 00:24:37,880 Speaker 1: In this version, as Crisus begins to call out Solan's name. 421 00:24:37,920 --> 00:24:41,280 Speaker 1: While on the pyre, Cyrus asks why that was the 422 00:24:41,359 --> 00:24:45,320 Speaker 1: name he invoked, and he was moved by Criesus's realization 423 00:24:45,440 --> 00:24:49,720 Speaker 1: that wealth was meaningless in that moment. Cresus, then released 424 00:24:49,720 --> 00:24:53,520 Speaker 1: from his execution by Cyrus, then asks Cyrus what is 425 00:24:53,600 --> 00:24:56,960 Speaker 1: soldiers are doing. When Cyrus responds that they are sacking 426 00:24:57,080 --> 00:24:59,760 Speaker 1: the city, Creasus tells him, well, it's your city now, 427 00:25:00,400 --> 00:25:03,960 Speaker 1: they're destroying your kingdom, not mine, And then this leads 428 00:25:03,960 --> 00:25:05,920 Speaker 1: to the whole Now where best friends come hang out 429 00:25:05,920 --> 00:25:08,920 Speaker 1: in my court business. In this version, Cyrus the second 430 00:25:08,960 --> 00:25:12,760 Speaker 1: also says he will grant Crisus a request, any request, 431 00:25:13,160 --> 00:25:15,800 Speaker 1: and that the former king asked that his chains be 432 00:25:15,880 --> 00:25:19,200 Speaker 1: taken to Delphi, and that the Pithia be asked why 433 00:25:19,280 --> 00:25:22,520 Speaker 1: Apollo should have him sent to attack Persia since it 434 00:25:22,640 --> 00:25:26,520 Speaker 1: doomed him, and the oracle replied that quote, no one 435 00:25:26,560 --> 00:25:29,600 Speaker 1: may escape his lot, not even a god. Crisus has 436 00:25:29,640 --> 00:25:32,240 Speaker 1: paid for the sin of his ancestor of the fifth 437 00:25:32,280 --> 00:25:35,600 Speaker 1: generation before, who was led by the guile of a 438 00:25:35,640 --> 00:25:39,320 Speaker 1: woman to kill his master. Yeah, things he had no 439 00:25:39,520 --> 00:25:42,200 Speaker 1: part in. He was still paying for for the family dues, 440 00:25:42,240 --> 00:25:44,520 Speaker 1: and that was the whole thing. Ultimately in that story, 441 00:25:44,560 --> 00:25:47,120 Speaker 1: I should point out Crisus does kind of take personal 442 00:25:47,119 --> 00:25:50,159 Speaker 1: responsibility and recognize like, oh, I was the one that 443 00:25:50,200 --> 00:25:53,040 Speaker 1: got the information and acted on it. But here's the thing. 444 00:25:53,200 --> 00:25:55,879 Speaker 1: All of these stories of creases being saved at the 445 00:25:55,920 --> 00:25:59,160 Speaker 1: last minute are considered these days to be simply useful 446 00:25:59,200 --> 00:26:03,000 Speaker 1: didactic tale, and some versions of the story actually just 447 00:26:03,040 --> 00:26:06,400 Speaker 1: say that Criesus was killed when Lydia was defeated. Those 448 00:26:06,440 --> 00:26:12,520 Speaker 1: are like translations that have been done by other cultures, 449 00:26:12,720 --> 00:26:17,400 Speaker 1: not not the ones that would be descendants of the Lydians. 450 00:26:17,400 --> 00:26:21,320 Speaker 1: For example. The boring reality is that Crisus kind of 451 00:26:21,400 --> 00:26:24,800 Speaker 1: vanishes from the historical record after the fall of Lydia, 452 00:26:24,840 --> 00:26:27,600 Speaker 1: although his grandson Pytheas does show up later in the 453 00:26:27,600 --> 00:26:31,000 Speaker 1: work of Herodotus. He is also very wealthy, although he 454 00:26:31,040 --> 00:26:33,600 Speaker 1: gets in some very serious and ugly trouble with Xerxes, 455 00:26:33,600 --> 00:26:36,000 Speaker 1: but that is a whole other thing. As for Lydia, 456 00:26:36,200 --> 00:26:39,960 Speaker 1: it became a satrope under a Tabolus, but its treasury 457 00:26:40,000 --> 00:26:43,760 Speaker 1: money kept being managed by a Lydian, which was Pactius. 458 00:26:43,760 --> 00:26:46,920 Speaker 1: And if you play Assassin's Creed, that name may be 459 00:26:46,960 --> 00:26:50,600 Speaker 1: familiar to you as a newcomer to assassin's creed. It's 460 00:26:50,640 --> 00:26:53,960 Speaker 1: not in fact familiar to me. Yet with the leverage 461 00:26:54,040 --> 00:26:57,679 Speaker 1: of that Satrapi's wealth, Pactius was able to hire Greek 462 00:26:57,800 --> 00:27:01,240 Speaker 1: mercenaries in a move to revolt against Persian rule, and 463 00:27:01,280 --> 00:27:07,200 Speaker 1: that ultimately led up to the Persian Wars Oh crisis. Fascinating, 464 00:27:07,400 --> 00:27:10,280 Speaker 1: but I always got to remember, even in the stories, 465 00:27:10,359 --> 00:27:12,679 Speaker 1: you know, where it's like, and then he realized that 466 00:27:13,480 --> 00:27:15,600 Speaker 1: living in life is better, and I'm like, hey, we 467 00:27:15,640 --> 00:27:18,520 Speaker 1: got to address this slavery problem. Well never, it never 468 00:27:18,560 --> 00:27:20,879 Speaker 1: gets addressed. Also, there's a lot of stuff and a 469 00:27:20,920 --> 00:27:26,639 Speaker 1: lot of historical accounts from this time period that really 470 00:27:26,640 --> 00:27:29,879 Speaker 1: seemed to follow literary convention to a point that you're like, 471 00:27:30,359 --> 00:27:35,320 Speaker 1: you know, that's probably a little embellished. I think this 472 00:27:35,400 --> 00:27:41,320 Speaker 1: made a good yarn, but probably not. I mean, I 473 00:27:41,359 --> 00:27:45,840 Speaker 1: don't want to, you know, invalidate anybody's belief system, but 474 00:27:45,960 --> 00:27:48,520 Speaker 1: I do not believe that Zeus made a rain cloud 475 00:27:48,600 --> 00:27:55,720 Speaker 1: go just over creases as hire. Yeah. Maybe I know, 476 00:27:55,840 --> 00:28:03,879 Speaker 1: only that I know nothing. Thanks so much for joining 477 00:28:03,920 --> 00:28:06,679 Speaker 1: us on this Saturday. Since this episode is out of 478 00:28:06,680 --> 00:28:08,639 Speaker 1: the archive, if you heard an email address or a 479 00:28:08,680 --> 00:28:11,200 Speaker 1: Facebook RL or something similar over the course of the 480 00:28:11,280 --> 00:28:15,280 Speaker 1: show that could be obsolete now. Our current email address 481 00:28:15,440 --> 00:28:20,440 Speaker 1: is History Podcast at iHeartRadio dot com. 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