The Ancient Greek historian Herodotus is widely regarded as the Father of History and is celebrated for his skill as a storyteller, often weaving engaging anecdotes into his historical narratives. He wrote extensively about the famed king of Lydia, Croesus, the man renowned for his unparalleled wealth.
Yet before telling Croesus’ story, the Greek historian traced the lineage of his ancestors and recounted the unusual events that brought them to the throne of Lydia.
One of these ancestors was the former king of Lydia at Sardis, Candaules, a descendant of Alcaeus, son of Heracles. His father was Myrsus, and Candaules was the last of the Heraclids to reign in Sardis.
Candaules was famously proud of his wife’s beauty. The king had a peculiar habit of showing his queen to his bodyguards. Herodotus, in Histories 1.8, describes the situation:
“This Candaules, of whom I speak, had become passionately in love with his own wife; and having become so, he deemed that his wife was far fairer than all other women. Believing this, he confided to Gyges, the son of Daskylos (for he of all his spearmen was the most pleasing to him), not only the more important affairs of state but also the beauty of his wife, praising it without measure. And after no long time, since it was destined that evil should befall Candaules, he said to Gyges as follows:
‘Gyges, I think you do not believe me when I tell you of my wife’s beauty, for men’s ears are less apt to believe than their eyes. Therefore, contrive some means by which you may look upon her naked.’
But Gyges cried aloud and said:
‘Master, what word of unwisdom is this that you speak, bidding me to look upon my mistress naked? When a woman takes off her tunic, she also takes off her modesty. Moreover, men of old discovered these truths, from which we ought to learn wisdom; one of these is that each man should look upon his own. I indeed believe that she is the fairest of all women, but I entreat you not to ask me to do what is unlawful.’”
Herodotus’ account: The bodyguard sees the queen naked
Although Gyges refused to participate in such a lewd act, Candaules promised that the queen would not see him. He explained his plan, assuring Gyges that he would be hidden while witnessing the queen without her knowledge. In his Histories, Herodotus further writes from the perspective of Candaules:
“I will hide you behind the open door of our bedroom. My wife will follow me to bed. Near the door is a chair—she will place her clothes on it as she removes them, one by one. You will be able to watch her without difficulty. Then, as she walks away from the chair toward the bed with her back to you, slip quietly out the door—and make sure she does not catch you.”
Unable to resist the voyeuristic challenge set by the king, Herodotus explains, Gyges reluctantly agreed. At bedtime, Candaules led him to the room. The queen arrived as planned, and Gyges watched her remove her clothes and place them on the chair. When she turned her back to go to bed, he slipped quietly out. Yet he was apparently neither fast nor quiet enough, for the queen noticed him.
Realizing what her husband had done, the queen felt both shocked and humiliated. She chose not to speak immediately, concealing her anger while silently plotting her revenge.
Gyges is given two choices
As the story goes, the next morning at dawn, the queen confided in a trusted servant and sent her to summon Gyges. The bodyguard did not suspect anything out of the ordinary, assuming he was being called as usual to attend to the queen. He arrived unaware that she knew what had transpired the previous night.
When Gyges appeared, the queen spoke directly and without hesitation. She presented him with two stark options: either kill King Candaules and seize the throne, along with her as his wife, or be killed on the spot. Herodotus’ narrative continues:
“’Gyges,’ she said as he entered, ‘there are two courses open to you, and you must choose between them. Kill Candaules and take the throne, with me as your wife; or die immediately, so that never again may your blind obedience to the king tempt you to see what is not yours to see. One of you must die: either my husband, the author of this wicked plot, or you, who have outraged propriety by seeing me naked.’ (1.11)
It is said that, at first, Gyges was too astonished to respond. Eventually, he found his voice and pleaded with the queen not to force him into such an impossible decision. But there was no escape: the alternatives were real—either he would murder his master, or he would be killed himself. Reluctantly, he ultimately made a decision, choosing to live.
Killing the king
Faced with no other option to preserve his life, Gyges turned to the disgraced queen for guidance on how to carry out the murder of King Candaules. The queen was resolute: one of the two men had to die. Her husband had to be punished for exposing her in the most shameful way, while the bodyguard had to act because he had consented to the king’s contemptible desire to see her naked.
The queen instructed that the attack should take place while the king was asleep, at the very spot where he had exposed her to Gyges. She led the bodyguard to the royal bedroom that night and placed a knife in his hand. Gyges was to hide behind the same door from which he had witnessed her the night before. When Candaules fell asleep, Gyges crept from his hiding place and struck.
Thus, according to Herodotus, Gyges killed the king, seized the throne, and married the queen, securing both his survival and his new position of power (Histories 1.12).
Gyges, the king of Lydia
Gyges ruled Lydia in Anatolia from around 680 to 652 BC. He founded the Mermnad dynasty and transformed his kingdom into a formidable military power. Through a series of campaigns against neighboring regions, he conquered several territories and built a reputation for wealth and strength.
Gyges allied with King Ashurbanipal of Assyria in the fight against the Cimmerians, who had overrun Phrygia and then turned his attention to Ionia in West Anatolia, capturing the Greek city of Colophon and launching attacks on Miletus. At one point, the king traveled to Greece to make offerings at the Oracle of Delphi. His downfall came when he lost Assyrian military support after dispatching troops to aid a revolt in Egypt. Taking advantage of this vulnerability, the Cimmerians invaded Lydia, and Gyges was killed while defending his kingdom.
The Mermnad dynasty continued his legacy, making Lydia one of the leading kingdoms in the region. Among his descendants was the famed King Croesus, who ruled from 585 to 546 BC until Lydia was conquered by the Persian King Cyrus. According to Herodotus and the Greek historian Pausanias, Croesus’ offerings were preserved at Delphi.
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