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This article refers to the historical King of Lydia. For the opera by Reinhard Keiser, see Croesus (opera).

Croesus (pronounced /ˈkriːsəs/, CREE-sus) (595 BC – c. 546 BC) was the king of Lydia from 560/561 BC until his defeat by the Persians in about 547 BC. The English name Croesus comes from the Latin transliteration of the Greek Κροῖσος, in Arabic and Persian قارون, Qârun. Croesus was renowned for his wealth— Pausanias noted his gifts preserved at Delphi— and in Greek and Persian cultures his name became a synonym for a wealthy man; in English, expressions such as "rich as Croesus" or "richer than Croesus" were used to indicate great wealth.^[1]

Aside from a poetical account in Bacchylides, there are three classical accounts of Croesus. Herodotus presents the Lydian accounts^[2] of the conversation with Solon (Histories 1.29-.33), the tragedy of Croesus' son Atys (Histories 1.34-.45) and the fall of Croesus (Histories 1.85-.89); Xenophon instances Croesus in his panegyric fictionalized biography of Cyrus: Cyropaedia, 7.1; and Ctesias,^[3] 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 Ionian Greeks against the increasing Persian power in Anatolia. He began preparing a campaign against Cyrus the Great of Persia. Before setting out he turned to the Delphic oracle and the oracle of Amphiaraus to inquire whether he should pursue this campaign and whether he should also seek an alliance. The oracles answered, with typical ambiguity, that if Croesus attacked the Persians, he would destroy a great empire – this would become one of the most famous oracular statements from Delphi. Croesus was also advised to find out which Greek state was most powerful and to ally himself with it.^[4]

Croesus, now feeling secure, formed an alliance with Sparta in addition to those he had with Amasis II of Egypt and Nabonidus of Babylonia,^[5] and launched his campaign into the Persian Empire in 547 BC.^{[citation needed]} 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.

Croesus on the pyre, Attic red-figure amphora, 500–490 BC, Louvre (G 197)

According to Herodotus, Croesus was placed upon a great pyre by Cyrus' orders, for 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 watched he saw Croesus mutter a word, "Solon". He asked the interpreters to find out why he said this word with such resignation and agony. The interpreters returned the answer that Solon had warned Croesus of the fickleness of good fortune: see Interview with Solon 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-- [considered by some historians to be "Lydia"], killed its king [who 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.

The episode of Croesus' interview with Solon reported by Herodotus^[6] 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' hubristic 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

Wikimedia Commons has media related to:

Croesus

• Herodotus' account of Croesus (from the Perseus Project): see 1.6-94; contains links Croesus was the son of Alyattes II and continued the conquest of Ionian cities of Asia Minor that his father had began to both English and Greek versions
• An in-depth account of Croesus' life, by Carlos Parada
• Livius, Croesus by Jona Lendering