Croesus’ Wealth

Sham S. Misri

Croesus was the king of Lydia modern Turkey around 550 BC. This last king of Lydia conquered the Greeks but was in turn defeated by the Persians. Croesus was renowned for his wealth.His palaces were full of treasures. Once the famous law giver by name Solon,  was travelling there to observe their customs. Croesus received Solon with great distinction, and showed him all his treasures.He is credited with issuing the first true gold coins with a standardized purity for general circulation. However, they were quite crude, and were made of an alloy of gold and silver. In 546 BC, Croesus was defeated and captured by the Persians, who then adopted gold as the main metal for their coins.

Croesus was friendly to many. Once he gave refuge to a Greek prince. Herodotus tells that the prince had exiled himself to Lydia after accidentally killing his brother. King Croesus welcomed him but then the prince accidentally killed Croesus' son. The prince then committed suicide. Croesus did not have good relations with the Greeks. He began preparing a campaign against Cyrus the Great of Persia. Before setting out he met a wise man to inquire whether he should pursue this campaign. The wise man answered, with typical ambiguity, that if Croesus attacked the Persians, he would destroy a great empire.

Croesus, however, launched his campaign against the Persian Empire in 547 BC. A  battle was fought. As per the custom in those days, the armies would disband for winter and Croesus did accordingly. Cyrus did not. Then Cyrus attacked Croesus in Sardis, which was the capital of the ancient kingdom of Lydia (Modern Turkey). Cyrus captured Croesus.

            Herodotus a historian tells- Croesus was placed upon a great pyre by Cyrus' orders.  Cyrus wanted to see if any of the heavenly powers would appear to save him from being burned alive. The pile was set ablaze, and as Cyrus the Great watched he saw Croesus call out "Solon" three times. He asked the interpreters to find out why he said this word with such acquaintance and agony. The interpreters returned the answer that Solon had warned Croesus of the fickleness of good fortune: 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’.

            In Greek and Persian cultures the name of Croesus is associated with a wealthy man. Croesus' wealth remained proverbial in English, expressions: The phrase "as rich as Croesus" having been a common proverb in all the modern languages of Europe for many centuries. It was to this Croesus, king of Lydia, whose story relates, the proverb. Croesus died in 546 BC.