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Aside from a poetical account in . whose account is also an Encomium of Cyrus. Born about 595 BC, Croesus was friendlier to the Greeks than his father had been, traditionally giving refuge at one point to the legendary Athenian statesman Adrastus . It was said that Adrastus exiled himself to Lydia after accidentally killing his brother. King Croesus welcomed him but then Adrastus accidentally killed Croesus' son, Atys . (Adrastus then committed suicide.) Croesus' uneasy relations with the Greeks obscures the larger fact that he was their last bastion of the , a great empire shall be brought down"–one of the most Famous Oracular Statements From Delphi . Croesus, now feeling secure, launched his campaign into the Persian Empire. He was intercepted near the Halys River in central Anatolia and an inconclusive battle was fought. As was usual in those days, the armies would disband for winter and Croesus did accordingly. Cyrus did not and he attacked Croesus in Sardis , capturing him. It became clear that the powerful empire Croesus was about to destroy was his own. APOLLO'S INTERVENTION red-figure Amphora , 500 – 490 BC , Louvre (G 197)]] According to '' below. This touched Cyrus, who realized that he and Croesus were much the same man, and he bade the servants to quench the blazing fire as quickly as they could. They tried to do this, but the flames were not to be mastered. According to the story, Croesus called out to Apollo and prayed to him. The sky had been clear and the day without a breath of wind, but soon dark clouds gathered and a storm with rain of such violence that the flames were speedily extinguished. Cyrus, convinced by this that Croesus was a good man, made Croesus an advisor who served Cyrus well and later Cyrus's son by Cassandane, Cambyses . It is not known when exactly Croesus died, although it is traditionally dated 546 BC, after Cyrus' conquest. In the Nabonidus Chronicle it is said that Cyrus "marched against the country Ly-- by some historians to be "Lydia" , killed its king would have been Croesus , took his possessions, put there a Garrison of his own." However, it should be noted that the Cuneiform word that is thought to represent "Lydia" is damaged, and its interpretation is doubtful. INTERVIEW WITH SOLON The episode of Croesus' interview with Solon reported by HerodotusHerodotus, ''Histories'' 1.29-.33). is in the nature of a philosophical disquisition on the subject "What man is happy?" It is legendary rather than historical. Croesus, secure in his own wealth and happiness, poses the question and is disappointed by Solon's response: that three have been happier than Croesus, Tellus , who died fighting for his country, and Kleobis And Biton , brothers who died peacefully in their sleep when their mother prayed for their perfect happiness, after they had demonstrated filial piety by drawing her to a festival in an oxcart themselves. Croesus' Hubris tic happiness was reversed by the tragic deaths of his accidentally-murdered son and, in Critias, his wife's suicide at the fall of Sardis. Thus the "happiness" of Croesus is presented as a moralistic '' Exemplum '' of the fickleness of Tyche , a theme that gathered strength from the fourth century, revealing its late date. See Also: Qarun Treasure NOTES EXTERNAL LINKS
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