De insidiis
having accused the patricide and fratricide. After these things, when a little time had passed, the king also died, and the nation rose up against his
The Median seemed then to be after the Assyrian. This Arbaces, then, having come into conversation with Belesys, the ruler of Babylon, and being a fel
her sufferings, having learned beforehand that they were her children, embracing her mother, she both implored her to deliver her from her evils, and
a passion, pretending some of the servants, she pushed her father, who was bent over a jar of wine, headfirst and killed him. 8. That Aegisthus, havin
to Corinthus, from whom the city of Corinth gets its name, who was slain by the locals through a plot, Sisyphus, coming to his aid, punished the murde
but these, indeed these, I bring. And at the same time he shows both heads. He, being pleased, ordered him to ask for whatever he wanted in return fo
He, as they say, suspecting the noble character of the young man, did not wish to destroy him openly, since there was no cause, but in another way, by
Gyges ordered the man to lead. And he himself was driving the chariot for her, and somehow by divine will Gyges meets him at a bend in the road. The r
Concerning the war. And God said that helpers would come to them from Phrygia, who would both exact vengeance for the murder of Leodamas and deliver b
Cleonas brought him while he was still a boy, and one who excelled many in appearance and virtue. In time, Cypselus, wishing to return to Corinth, con
he undertook a policy of this sort: he made one board of eight probouloi, and from the rest he enrolled a council of 9 men. [SEEK IN THE ON POLITICS.]
he was in charge and he himself offered the cup to the king to drink. And he receives him eagerly and orders him to pour wine for the king's table-com
signifies wealth and power, just as the name also says. Quickly then Cyrus takes the man and ordered him to be with him and he obeyed. After this, he
being with children. Being very distressed at what had been done and even more angered, so that he no longer received Oebaras, he changed his mind aga
lying on the road, and that he should arm the other Persians as quickly as possible, as if the king 30 were commanding it for he did not reveal the t
having wounds they send up to the king. But Cyrus' men, having fought nobly, flee to Pasargadae, where their children and wives were. But Astyages, wh
and he did obeisance and said he was ready with even another much larger, if he should command and after him the Parthian and the Saka and the Bactri
He then praised the Apolloniates, and on assuming power, he bestowed upon them freedom and immunity from taxes and not a few other favors, making the
to appear pleasing, if he should concede so great a name and power to anyone at all, especially since his country was also eager and calling him to hi
They were led to attack the man by grievances that were not small, which had occurred both privately to each and publicly to all. For some, having a c
that the people also became invalid in the appointment of magistrates, and that they were given to him to give to whomever he wished, just as the decr
The story is that Antony did these things wishing to gratify that man, as he supposed, but courting for himself the hope that he might become an adopt
to appoint, on which those from the senate would meet to deliberate about matters he himself was about to introduce. And when the appointed day arrive
wounds, breathed his last. A countless cry arose, on the one hand, of those from the senate-house fleeing in terror, as many as did not participate in
in Pompey's portico. Decimus Brutus was the one getting these men ready, under the pretext of other business, wishing, as he said, to seize one of the
to both for then those who seemed to have been destroyed, taking courage again, drove back the victors Therefore, Caesar, even though dead, would ca
having broken off a certain part of Caesar's army, he himself also held power in Nearer Spain, holding the Celts who bordered on the upper sea but Lu
eagerly towards one another, some already being burdened by Antony's power, others out of piety towards Caesar and his successor, others for the sake
paradoxical, and asking what the report might be and what the man’s intention was, they advised him to get out of the way for those days, until these
who participated in the campaign and in the subsequent events. And these were Marcus Agrippa, Lucius Maecenas, Quintus Juventius, Marcus Modialius and
He took Cassandra as his wife in Troy, and she, having found a pretext, plots his death with Aegisthus her adulterer, who was himself of royal blood.
able to stop it. Therefore, while they were in confusion and preparing to do something, a certain Julius Proclus, an equestrian, having dressed himsel
and abolished the kingdom. 11. That in the time of Darius, king of the Persians, when Philip of Macedonia was reigning for twenty-one years and had su
Antiochus surnamed Theos but Seleucus, suspected of plotting against his father, is put to death. 20. That Demetrius was the son of Philip, king of t
they deprived them of the burdens they were carrying. And they offered the runaways none of the booty, but having become masters of much wealth themse
by a correction of what was amiss, he brought it back to the Roman order, having done nothing harsh or bitter to any of his subjects. He humbled Jugur
that Pompey's party opposed Caesar but that he, wishing to receive some extension of the appointed time, in order to subdue all the barbarians togeth
to be of the winning side, and holding in no account the misfortunes of friends, before he had even landed, having said nothing nor lamented, he kills
is fortunately preserved. Caesar, therefore, with all the civil wars now finished, was returning to Rome, his spirit swollen by his continuous deeds o
a consul decided to stir up a civil war in Italy. He was the brother of Marcus Antonius, who fought alongside Caesar against Brutus and Cassius. Not l
by Agrippina his wife and sister, for whom he both committed perjury and did other things, he was plotted against in his food and wickedly destroyed,
and having been brought up very badly, he thus fell from power, being 30 years old, and having reigned for 14 years less two months. And the city was
a plot. And when he asked, In what manner shall I die? Apollonius said, The way Odysseus is said to have. For they say that death came to him also
Therefore the trustworthiness of his judgment was confirmed more from what he knew he had done than from what others thought. For which reason, indeed
And he got rid of those who were slandered indiscriminately, especially his father's and his necessary friends, with Perennius contriving this. For ha
a sister of the king, having unbound her hair and thrown herself upon the ground, related all the things done by Cleander, and that they were being dr
who was left of the friends of Marcus to whom they arrive in the dead of night, both they themselves and a few of the conspirators. And standing at t
he called upon and deemed him worthy to become a helper with all speed to the Roman empire, as it was suffering insult and they proclaimed this man e
having settled matters and having killed all the friends of Albinus, he drove into Rome. 51. That Severus betrothed the daughter of Plautianus, who wa
he arrived at the city. And when the people received them carrying laurel, and the senate acclaimed them emperors, and having buried their father, the
And suspecting that everyone prophesied to him out of flattery, he sends a letter to a certain Maternianus, who had at that time been entrusted with a
having arrived at the wall of the camp, they were very easily received. And immediately the whole camp acclaimed the boy Antoninus, and having thrown
of his mother they handed over to be dragged and abused by those who wished which, having been dragged for a long time through the middle of the city
And when the army of Maximinus drew near, and shouting, the young men called upon their fellow soldiers to abandon a petty woman and a cowardly boy wh
of the senate, and he was the leader of the Mauretanian Nomads under the Romans, having also a not inconsiderable force of soldiers. Gordian relieved
army. For having set these on fire, they poured them down like rain, so that they were stripped of their weapons, being burned, and were destroyed, th
delaying, he organized his return to Rome. And he sent away the rest of the army to the provinces and to their own camps but he himself returned to R
Perinthus, as it was reported to him that civil dissensions had occurred in Rome, which Decius, of consular rank and prefect of the city, had caused,
having taken a harsh sharpness, they decided to act before they suffered, and they killed him in the middle of his journey from Byzantium to Heraclea,
put on the purple and seized Britain. And while he was doing this, and with affairs being in a state of commotion, Achilleus also was causing a revolu
he appointed. But having raised the army, he neither made his march towards Italy, nor was he clearly set on civil war, but hastened again against the
hanged himself. Then, therefore, the victorious emperors proceeded to Rome, with Theodosius's son Honorius accompanying them. Therefore, they were in
having taken Timasius, Gainas the Scythian, and Saul from the Alans as leaders of the armies, and at the same time having set Stilicho over the troops
sent Gainas, he immediately set out, in word against Tribigildus, but in deed wishing to become a tyrant. And he led with him not a few myriads of Got
of the enemies perished. But Gainas, having departed through Thrace and taken to flight, falls in with a Roman force and is killed along with the barb
he might get him out of the way. 125 Theodosius, therefore, having learned these things, writes to Valentinian to send Honoria out to Attila. And he,
who had served in the army and were attached to Valentinian, he came to terms, and after giving and receiving pledges, he accused the 127 emperor on a
having taken off his robe. There the followers of Majorinus did not desist from the siege, until, pressed by hunger, he left this life, eight months h
Misael and Cosmas, being chamberlains of the palace, because having neglected to guard the palace, while the emperor was living outside, they allowed
Illus and he himself marched out because Paul, the emperor's servant, was seized, holding a sword at the ready for a plot against Illus. But at that t
a military force having been sent against them, Marcian's party is turned and flees, with many from both sides having been killed. And some few of the
Illus, having brought Verina to Tarsus, prepared for her to use the imperial robe and, as she was the mistress of the empire, to proclaim Leontius emp
wishing to win him over, he sent his sister, who was living with the empress, to him while he was still at war, along with much wealth, giving him whi
passing through Odoacer's body at the loin, they say Theodoric said: Perhaps this wretch had not even a bone. And sending him out, he buried him in th
happening in Cotiaeum, the city of Phrygia, the emperor's army of *about two thousand also met them. They were led by two generals, John the Scythian
concerning the injustices of the general of the Thracians, and that the correct divine doctrine be ratified. On the next day, when those of the first
and when the people in Constantinople rose up in revolt during the spectacle of the horse races, the emperor cancelled the afternoon festival, and no
he writes to the general Comentiolus to betray the captivity, to secretly betray the people of Thrace to the barbarians. So the people knew the trick
Heraclius being at Abydos, he fled in the city. Heraclius therefore received at Abydos all the exiles whom Phocas had exiled. Therefore Heraclius came
to go against Aegisthus. And taking Orestes he comes *** *** persuaded their own mother, and she received Orestes. And when Clytemnestra was entreated
her, and it was not known where she was. He also had Chrysothemis and Laodice as daughters. And when she heard these things, she ordered him to be rel
sister Electra to Pylades, he held the land of the Mycenaeans until his death. 2. That Julius Caesar, having gone up from Antioch to Rome, was slain b
the Greeks having plotted against him through the giving of a drink, since it was the dogma of the Epicureans that the one after him would receive the
was killed by the multitude of the city. For his reinforcement with him, having been frightened by the immense multitude of the Roman citizens and hav
where the Byzantines shouted: A dead man has no friend, except Ostrys alone. And the same Leo made a persecution of the Arian Exakionites on account
numbers. And immediately going forth he became tyrant and took over all of Thrace, and he came against the emperor Zeno as far as Sycae opposite Const
and he was carried by his men into his house. But Zeno, upon hearing this, swore an oath, saying he was ignorant of the plot for the death of Illus a
of him were beheaded by an executioner, and their heads were brought to the emperor Zeno. And while the hippodrome was watching, they were brought in
of the people the king, but being angered he ordered a chariot to go against them, and a great disorder occurred. And the demes went up against the ex
of a diadem. And knowing this, the people entered the hippodrome, and through his address he managed the multitudes of the city, ordering them not to
having insulted and reviled the empress Theodora, and he exiled him to Cyzicus, who ought to have been cast into prison, and having been cast into the
on the same evening. And those who had devised the same plan of the plot were these: Ablabius the melistes near Miltiades, and Marcellus the silversmi
having attacked at the place called Pittakia, they seized him and brought him into the Great Church. And a great riot and disorder arose about this in
His nephew Caesar Augustus, son of Octavius, having subjected all of Egypt, also killed those who had murdered his great-uncle Julius. 7. That Gaius c
he sends letters to Gratian the emperor, ordering Theodosius to be sent to him. And Theodosius, having begun 180 the journey and having learned of Val
having captured one who had taken refuge in the church, he exiled him along with his wife and children to a fortress in Cappadocia, in which, having b
From this, Maurice, being hated, was reviled by all. But coming to repentance, he chose to receive his due here rather than there, and he sent to mona
and having gathered forces from Mauritania, he seized the city of Constantine, bringing with him also the icon of the Lord not made by human hands, as
with the senate, and indeed upon entering the city, he impaled these, and castrated his brothers. 187 41. That Justinian, having become emperor again,
a curopalates is suddenly proclaimed emperor in the hippodrome by the senate and the regiments, since Staurakios was already despaired of on account o
having learned this, he immediately withdrew from the city and set out against him with a very great force, and indeed, having besieged him for some s
he was to make the Medes and Persians revolt, while the other was to persuade the Babylonians to join in the undertaking and to win over the leader of
himself from living, the oldest after him succeeds to the leadership. 13. That the men on the island in the ocean make garments from certain reeds whi
Whatever Medea might command concerning the body of their father, and that the maidens were ready to do what was ordered, when night had come on, and
and there he continued to be honored by those who had been well-treated. 24. That Numitor, deprived of his kingdom by his own brother, who was called
Ptolemy, even before this, having held the Syrian kings in contempt, became a rebel, and because of their own distractions he ruled the country withou
claiming he was the son of Perseus, also declaring a fabricated birth and upbringing, and approaching Demetrius with a crowd to urge him to restore hi
to revolt, and having received Ptolemy into the city 204 they placed a diadem upon him and entrusted the kingdom to him. But he, not desiring the king
that Philometor had given him a child by Cleopatra to raise for the kingship, and having placed a diadem on him, and having many fugitives as allies,
His mind preoccupied and a multitude of the best men having been gathered, he withdrew into the stoa behind the temple, distressed and tormented. And
he used to act with a council and advisors, but holding hearings privately and, having shown himself the sole judge, he would make the decisions and
to send gifts, and for this reason it happened that the houses were open all night long they therefore agreed at this time to send into the houses of
the people as doing these things, from which the people will be small and worthy of nothing, and as having no care for the poor in a time of famine, n
PUBLIC SPEECHES] And when it was reported to the senate, they appointed a dictator. And he ordered the master of the horse * to come to him with the c
they were receiving But those who had shared in the conspiracy, being freed from fear, pretended to rejoice and praised the council for its decisions
now is and then was the way of life and for all the remaining time will be, being a fruitful plain and with many pastures and best for the health of t
they lead them to be transported to Rome and to be guarded in unknown prisons, separating one from another, until he himself should arrive. But as the
and 400 Sidicini, of all of whom Decius, a Campanian by birth, was the leader. This man, whenever he was entertained by the most distinguished of the
for that time he remained blind and having survived a few more days, he becomes subject to the Romans, having been arrested by his own men. For some,
to get all the prominent men out of his way. He also sent Scopas the Aetolian to Greece for recruitment, putting together a large amount of gold for a
misinterpreting and distorting some reports, while fabricating and elaborating others from the very 228 beginning. And he did these things, wishing to
but these, indeed these, I bring." And at the same time he shows both heads. He, being pleased, ordered him to ask for whatever he wanted in return for these. But Thuosos said: "I ask you for neither your daughter nor gold, but grant me to have my tavern tax-free, when you become king." And he granted it to him. And Thuosos in time became rich from his tavern-keeping, and from this he established a marketplace near him and a Hermaeum, called Thuosos'. But the Lydians call Ardys 13 to the kingship, having sent both other messengers and some of the Heraclidae. And Ardys, having returned, ruled after Akimios best of all, and he becomes exceedingly agreeable to the Lydians and a lover of justice. And Ardys also counted the Lydian army, (and the greatest part was cavalry,) and he found, as they say, 30,000 horsemen. And to Ardys, already growing old, Dascylus of the race of Gyges, a Mermnad, was most beloved. This man held, so to speak, the entire rule of the Lydians in his hand. Adyattes, the son of Ardys, therefore, fearing that when his father died that man would make everything subject to himself, secretly kills Dascylus. And his wife, being pregnant, fled to Phrygia, from where she also was, fearing the murderers of her husband. And when Ardys perceived these things, he was exceedingly grieved, and he called the Lydians to an assembly; and having been carried to them himself, (for he was bedridden from old age) he accused the culprits, knowing nothing of who they were, and he urged the Lydians to seek out the murder of Dascylus, and he laid countless curses on the murderers and finally proclaimed it was permitted for whoever wished to kill them, if he should find them. Ardys, then, having reigned 70 years, dies. And while Meles was ruling the Lydians, Lydia suffered a great famine, and the people turned to oracles. And the divinity signified to them that vengeance for the murder of Dascylus was to be exacted from the kings. Having heard these things from the oracle-mongers, and that it was necessary to be purified of the murder by going into exile for 3 years, he fled voluntarily to Babylon. And he also sent to Phrygia to the son of Dascylus, Dascylus himself by name, whom his mother fled while carrying him in her womb, ordering him to come to Sardis and to receive reparations for his father's murder from them, for so the seers prophesied. But he was not persuaded, saying that he had not seen his father; for he was still being carried in the womb when he was killed; therefore it was not fitting for him to meddle in these things. And Meles, being in exile, entrusted the rule to Sadyattes son of Cadyas, who was by race descended from Tylon, who governed for the exile and received him when he returned from Babylon after three years and faithfully gave the kingship back to him. And while Myrsus was ruling, Dascylus, the son of the Dascylus who was slain by Sadyattes, fearing lest he draw the plot against himself by the Heraclidae, fleeing from Phrygia, went away to the Sy 14 rians who dwell in Pontus above Sinope; and remaining there he married a local woman, a Syrian, from whom Gyges is born to him. 15. That Sadyattes, the last king of the Lydians, was overthrown in the following manner. There was a certain man in Sardis, the uncle of the Dascylus who had departed to Pontus, Ardys by name, son of Gyges; this man met with Sadyattes the king, being grieved by his childlessness, [and asked him] to grant him, after summoning Dascylus from Pontus, to adopt him as a son, so that their house might not become desolate, since he himself was childless, and they had departed; and that it was now fitting to make a truce with the family of Dascylus; for he said that the king's forefathers had also called them to Lydia from their exile. The king grants these things to Ardys as he requested, and he, having sent for Dascylus, called him to Lydia. But he, loving his country, did not obey, but he did send his son Gyges, who was about 18 years old. Ardys receives him when he arrived and declared him his son. And Gyges was outstanding in beauty and size, noble in matters of war and by far the best in all things of those his age, and he practiced the use of horses and arms. And some report about him came to the king, about what sort of man he was in both deeds and appearance, whether the one speaking was truly praising him, or out of envy, so that some evil might happen to him. But the king, being pleased, sent for Gyges, and having seen him, he admired both his form and his size, and he ordered him to be with the bodyguards. And in a short time also
ἀλλὰ ταῦτα δὴ ταῦτα φέρω· καὶ ἅμα δείκνυσιν ἀμφοτέρας τὰς κεφαλάς. ὁ δὲ ἡσθεὶς ἐκέλευεν αἰτεῖν αὐτὸν ὅ τι θέλοι ἀντὶ τούτων.
Θύοσος δ' εἶπεν· οὔτι σε οὔτε τὴν θυγατέρα οὔτε χρυσὸν αἰτῶ, ἀλλά μοι τὸ καπηλεῖον τοὐμὸν ἀτελὲς ἔχειν δός, ὅταν βασιλεὺς
γένῃ. καὶ ὃς ἔδωκεν αὐτῷ. καὶ Θύοσος ἀνὰ χρόνον ἐκ τοῦ καπηλεύειν ἐπλούτησεν, καὶ ἀπὸ τούτου ἀγορὰν πλησίον αὐτοῦ καὶ Ἑρμαῖον
εἵσατο, Θυόσου λεγόμενον. Λυδοὶ δὲ Ἄρδυν 13 ἐπὶ βασιλείαν καλοῦσιν ἀγγέλους τε ἄλλους πέμψαντες καὶ τῶν Ἡρακλειδῶν τινας.
κατελθὼν δὲ ὁ Ἄρδυς ἐβασίλευσε μετὰ Ἀκίμιον πάντων ἄριστα, καὶ σφόδρα γίνεται Λυδοῖς καταθύμιος καὶ φιλοδίκαιος. συνηρίθμησε
δὲ καὶ τὸν Λύδιον στρατὸν ὁ Ἄρδυς, (ἦν δ' ἱππότης ὁ πλεῖστος,) καὶ εὗρεν, ὥς φασι, μυριάδας γʹ ἱππέων. Ἄρδυϊ δὲ γηράσκοντι
ἤδη προσφιλέστατος ἦν ∆άσκυλος Γύγεω γένος Μερμνάδης. οὗτος ἅπασαν ὡς εἰπεῖν τὴν Λυδῶν ἀρχὴν διὰ χειρὸς εἶχεν. δείσας οὖν
Ἀδυάττης ὁ Ἄρδυος μὴ τοῦ πατρὸς τελευτήσαντος ἐκεῖνος μὲν πάνθ' ὑφ' ἑαυτῷ ποιήσαιτο, ἀποκτείνει κρύφα τὸν ∆άσκυλον. ἡ δ' ἐκείνου
γυνὴ κύουσα ἔφυγεν εἰς Φρυγίαν, ὅθεν καὶ ἦν, δείσασα τοὺς φονέας τοῦ ἀνδρός. ὡς δὲ ταῦτα ᾔσθετο ὁ Ἄρδυς, σφόδρα ἠχθέσθη, καὶ
Λυδοὺς ἐκάλεσεν εἰς ἐκκλησίαν· καὶ αὐτὸς εἰς τούτους κομισθείς, (δεμνιοπετὴς γὰρ ἦν ὑπὸ γήρως) κατηγόρει τῶν αἰτίων, οὐθὲν
εἰδὼς οἵτινες ἦσαν, καὶ Λυδοὺς παρεκάλει ζητεῖν τὸν ∆ασκύλου φόνον, ἐπηρᾶτό τε μυρία τοῖς φονεῦσι καὶ τέλος ἀνεῖπεν ἐξεῖναι
τῷ χρῄζοντι κτείνειν αὐτούς, εἰ ἀνεύροι. Ἄρδυς μὲν οὖν βασιλεύσας οʹ ἔτη θνήσκει. Ἐπὶ Μήλεω δὲ βασιλεύοντος Λυδῶν σφόδρα ἐλίμηνε
Λυδία, καὶ οἱ ἄνθρωποι ἐπὶ μαντείας ἐτράποντο. τοῖς δ' ἐσήμαινε τὸ δαιμόνιον δίκας πράττεσθαι τοῦ ∆ασκύλου φόνου παρὰ τῶν
βασιλέων. ταῦτα ἀκούσας παρὰ τῶν χρησμολόγων, καὶ ὅτι δεῖ φεύγοντα ἐπὶ γʹ ἔτη καθήρασθαι τὸν φόνον, ἔφυγεν ἐθελουσίως εἰς
Βαβυλῶνα. ἔπεμψε δὲ καὶ εἰς Φρυγίαν παρὰ τὸν ∆ασκύλου παῖδα, ∆άσκυλον καὶ αὐτὸν ὄνομα, ὅντινα ἡ μήτηρ ἐν γαστρὶ ἔχουσα ἔφυγε,
κελεύων εἰς Σάρδεις ἀφικνεῖσθαι καὶ δίκας δέχεσθαι τοῦ πατρῴου φόνου παρ' αὐτῶν, οὕτως γὰρ ἐθέσπιζον οἱ μάντεις. ὁ δ' οὐκ
ἐπείσθη, λέγων μὴ ἑωρακέναι τὸν πατέρα· κυεῖσθαι γὰρ ἔτι ὅτε ἀνῄρητο· οὔκουν προσήκειν αὐτῷ ταῦτα πολυπραγμονεῖν. Μήλης δὲ
φεύγων τὴν ἀρχὴν ἐπίστευσε Σαδυάττῃ τῷ Καδύος, γένος ὄντι τὸ ἀνέκαθεν ἀπὸ Τύλωνος, ὃς τὸν φεύγοντα ἐπετρόπευσε καὶ κατιόντα
ἐκ Βαβυλῶνος ἐδέξατο μετὰ τρία ἔτη καὶ τὴν βασιλείαν οἱ ἀπέδωκε πιστῶς. Βασιλεύοντος δὲ Μύρσου, ∆άσκυλος ὁ ∆ασκύλου τοῦ σφαγέντος
ὑπὸ Σαδυάττεω, μὴ τὴν ἐπιβουλὴν εἰς ἑαυτὸν ἐπισπάσηται ὑπὸ τῶν Ἡρακλειδῶν φοβηθείς, ἐκ Φρυγίας φεύγων ᾤχετο εἰς Σύ 14 ρους
τοὺς ἐν τῷ Πόντῳ ὑπὲρ Σινώπης οἰκοῦντας· ἐκεῖ δὲ καταμείνας γυναῖκα τῶν ἐγχωρίων ἔγημε Σύραν, ἐξ ἧς αὐτῷ γίνεται Γύγης. 15.
Ὅτι Σαδυάττης ὁ ἔσχατος βασιλεὺς Λυδῶν κατελύθη τρόπῳ τοιούτῳ. ἦν τις ἐν Σάρδεσι ∆ασκύλου θεῖος τοῦ εἰς Πόντον ἀποχωρήσαντος,
Ἄρδυς ὄνομα, Γύγεω παῖς· οὗτος Σαδυάττῃ τῷ βασιλεῖ ἐνέτυχεν ἀχθόμενος ἀτεκνίᾳ δοῦναί οἱ μεταπεμψαμένῳ ∆άσκυλον ἐκ τοῦ Πόντου
θέσθαι παῖδα, ὡς μὴ ἔρημος αὐτοῖς ὁ οἶκος γένοιτο, αὐτοῦ μὲν ὄντος ἄπαιδος, ἐκείνων δὲ οἰχομένων· ἐπιεικὲς δὲ ἤδη εἶναι σπένδεσθαι
τοῖς ∆ασκυλίοις· καὶ γὰρ τοὺς τοῦ βασιλέως προπάτορας ἔφη καλεῖν αὐτοὺς εἰς Λυδίαν ἀπὸ τῆς φυγῆς. ταῦτα δεομένῳ τῷ Ἄρδυϊ δίδωσιν
ὁ βασιλεύς, καὶ ὃς ἐπὶ ∆άσκυλον πέμψας εἰς Λυδίαν αὐτὸν ἐκάλει. ὁ δὲ φιλοχωρῶν οὐχ ὑπήκουσεν, τὸν μέντοι παῖδα Γύγην ἔπεμψε
περὶ ιηʹ ἔτη γεγονότα. τοῦτον ἐλθόντα δέχεται ὁ Ἄρδυς καὶ παῖδα ἀπέδειξεν. ἦν δὲ ὁ Γύγης κάλλει τε καὶ μεγέθει διαφέρων, τά
τε πολέμια γενναῖος καὶ τῶν ἡλίκων μακρῷ τὰ πάντα ἄριστος, ἵππων τε καὶ ὅπλων χρῆσιν ἤσκει. καί τις ὑπὲρ αὐτοῦ λόγος ἐφοίτησεν
πρὸς βασιλέα, οἷος εἴη κατά τε ἔργα καὶ ἰδέαν, εἴτε καὶ ὄντως ἐπαινοῦντος τοῦ λέγοντος, εἴτε καὶ ὑπὸ φθόνου, ὡς ἂν αὐτῷ κακόν
τι γένοιτο. βασιλεὺς δὲ ἡσθεὶς μετεπέμψατο τὸν Γύγην, καὶ θεασάμενος ἠγάσθη τό τε εἶδος καὶ τὸ μέγεθος, ἐκέλευσέ τε μετὰ τῶν
δορυφόρων εἶναι. ὀλίγου δὲ χρόνου καὶ
