Happy and Wealthy
What if your fate had already been decided, but you completely misunderstood the message?
That’s exactly what happened to King Croesus. He ruled Lydia (modern-day Turkey) around 585–546 BC and was filthy rich. If you’ve ever heard the phrase "rich as Croesus", yes, that’s the man himself. A large part of his wealth came from gold-bearing sediments naturally found in the Pactolus River, which flowed near Sardis, the capital of Lydia. Croesus was also famous for minting the first standardized gold and silver coins. Anyway, he was a highly successful ruler, expanding Lydia’s territory and solidifying his power.
A Short but Important Digression
Now is a good moment to digress a bit.
According to Herodotus, Croesus once spoke with Solon, an Athenian statesman. After proudly showing off his immense wealth, he asked him:
“Who is the happiest man you’ve ever met?”
Expecting to hear his own name, Croesus was deeply disappointed when Solon instead named a few other men. When Croesus questioned him, Solon explained that fortune changes, and a man’s happiness cannot be judged while he is still alive. He told Croesus:
“Count no man happy until he is dead.”
Solon warned that many people appear fortunate in life but later suffer great misfortunes. True happiness, he argued, can only be measured at the end of one’s life—when fate can no longer take anything away. These words would prove to be true by the end of our story... But let’s get back to where we left off.
The Oracle's Ambiguous Prophecy and the Start of the War
Years passed, and Croesus began to worry about the growing power of Cyrus the Great, the king of Persia (modern-day Iran). Basically, Cyrus was conquering everything in sight, and Croesus didn’t want to be next. So, as a precaution, he consulted the Oracle of Delphi for advice—something he had done quite often before.
However, before putting full trust in the oracle, Croesus decided to test her accuracy. He sent messengers to various oracles, including Delphi, instructing them to ask what he was doing at a precise moment on the 100th day after their departure. To make the test difficult, Croesus had deliberately chosen an obscure action—he was boiling a tortoise and a lamb together in a bronze cauldron with a bronze lid.
When his messengers returned, only the Oracle of Delphi correctly described his actions, delivering a cryptic but accurate response:
"I count the grains of sand and measure the sea;
I understand the mute and hear the speechless.
The smell has reached me of a hard-shelled tortoise
Boiling with lamb’s flesh in a bronze cauldron,
Bronze lies beneath it, and bronze is its cover."
Amazed by this precise vision, Croesus was convinced that the Oracle truly spoke with divine insight. Confident in her wisdom, he later asked the most critical question:
“Should I march against Persia, and should I seek military allies?”
The Oracle of Delphi responded with the famous ambiguous prophecy:
“If you cross the Halys River, you will destroy a great empire.”
Notice that she never said which empire. After receiving what he believed to be a positive response, Croesus sought alliances with Sparta, Egypt, and Babylon. Sparta agreed to help but failed to send troops in time, as it was occupied with a local conflict. Egypt and Babylon also promised support, but their aid never materialized. Feeling secure with these alliances, Croesus marched into Cappadocia (Persian territory) and crossed the Halys River. And that was pretty much the end of his successes in this campaign.
The Battles and the Fall of Lydia
The first and last major battle of Croesus' campaign took place in 547 BC near Pteria, an important city in Cappadocia. Croesus inflicted heavy losses on the Persians, but the battle was indecisive. Afterward, he retreated to Lydia, believing the campaign was over for the season—it was common in ancient warfare to pause fighting during winter. He disbanded many of his troops, expecting his allies (Sparta, Egypt, and Babylon) to join him in the spring.
However, Cyrus foresaw this move and pursued Croesus into Lydia. The two armies clashed at Thymbra, where Cyrus' army crushed the Lydian forces. Worth mentioning is that Cyrus used superior tactics, including an unusual but highly effective strategy. He deployed camels against the Lydian cavalry. Since horses fear the scent of camels, the Lydian cavalry panicked and fled, leading to a decisive Persian victory. After this defeat, Croesus retreated to Sardis, his capital.
The siege of Sardis lasted only 14 days. According to Herodotus, a Persian soldier named Hyroeades noticed that one section of Sardis' walls stood against a steep and rocky cliff. The Lydians believed this part of the wall was naturally unscalable, so they did not heavily guard it. However, Hyroeades saw a Lydian soldier climb down the wall to retrieve a fallen helmet, proving that it could be climbed. Taking advantage of this oversight, a small group of Persian soldiers likely scaled the cliff, infiltrated the city, and opened the gates, allowing the rest of the Persian army to enter and capture Sardis.
With the city lost, Croesus was taken prisoner. According to Herodotus, Cyrus ordered him to be burned alive on a funeral pyre. As the flames rose, Croesus cried out:
“Solon, Solon, Solon!”
He recalled the Athenian wise man's warning that no man can be called truly happy until his life is over. Cyrus, curious, asked his men to stop the execution and learned Croesus' story. After hearing it, Cyrus decided that Croesus was a good man and spared his life.
Final Thoughts
And that is the story of King Croesus. He was undoubtedly a wise and accomplished ruler, governing Lydia successfully for over 14 years. However, his downfall serves as a great reminder that wisdom alone is not enough when fate and misinterpretation are at play.
There are a few lessons to take from this story. No one should ever interpret the Oracle of Delphi’s words solely for their own benefit. Fortune is fickle, and prophecies are rarely as straightforward as they seem.
I’ll finish my story with a quote from Heraclitus, as quoted by Plutarch in Moralia:
“The oracle neither conceals, nor reveals, but indicates.”
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