Editing Gyges of Lydia (section)

===Rise to power===
Available historical evidence suggests that Gyges became the king of Lydia by overthrowing his predecessor, King [[Candaules]] of the Heraclid dynasty.{{sfn|Mellink|1991|p=643-655}} Gyges was helped in his coup by a Carian prince from [[Milas|Mylasa]] named Arselis,{{sfn|Braun|1982|p=36}}{{sfn|Mellink|1991|p=663}} suggesting that Gyges's Mermnad dynasty might have had good relations with Carian aristocrats, as they provided armed support in his rebellion.<ref name="Leloux-1">{{cite thesis |last=Leloux |first=Kevin |date=2018 |title=La Lydie d'Alyatte et Crésus: Un royaume à la croisée des cités grecques et des monarchies orientales. Recherches sur son organisation interne et sa politique extérieure |type=PhD |volume=1 |publisher=[[University of Liège]] |docket= |oclc= |url=https://orbi.uliege.be/bitstream/2268/220928/1/The%CC%80se%20entie%CC%80re%20vol%20I.pdf |access-date=5 December 2021 |archive-date=9 October 2022 |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/https://orbi.uliege.be/bitstream/2268/220928/1/The%CC%80se%20entie%CC%80re%20vol%20I.pdf |url-status=dead }}</ref> Gyges's rise to power happened during a period of turmoil following the invasion of the [[Cimmerians]], a nomadic people from the [[Eurasian Steppe]] who had invaded [[Western Asia]], who around 675 BC [[Cimmerian invasion of Phrygia|destroyed the previous major power]] in Anatolia, the kingdom of Phrygia.{{sfn|Cook|1988|p=196-197}}

Immediately after Gyges seized the Lydian throne, the [[Pythia|oracle]] of the god [[Apollo]] at [[Delphi]] confirmed the legitimacy of his kingship. To thank the oracle, Gyges made lavish offerings of gold and silver. These offerings remained at Delphi in the time of [[Herodotus]], who referred to Gyges's dedications as the Gygadas ({{langx|grc|[[wikt:Γυγάδας|Γυγαδας]]}} {{Transliteration|grc|Gugadas}}, and remarked that most of the silver at Delphi was part of it. The most notable of these offerings were six crates made of gold which collectively weighed thirty [[Talent (measurement)|talents]].<ref>{{cite journal |last=Dale |first=Alexander |title=Gyges and Delphi: Herodotus 1.14 |date=December 2020 |url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/classical-quarterly/article/abs/gyges-and-delphi-herodotus-114/DB24FF6A7D649874D9A851A2CE4F109F |journal=The Classical Quarterly |volume=70 |issue=2 |pages=518–523 |doi=10.1017/S000983882000083X |s2cid=232248593 |access-date=3 May 2022 }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Mikalson |first=John D. |author-link= |date=2003 |title=Herodotus and Religion in the Persian Wars |url= |location=[[Chapel Hill, North Carolina]] |publisher=[[University of North Carolina Press]] |pages=115–116 |isbn=978-0-807-82798-7 }}</ref><ref name="Leloux-1"/>