Editing Croesus (section)

===Coinage===
[[File:Kroisos. Circa 564-53-550-39 BC. AV Stater (16mm, 10.76 g). Heavy series. Sardes mint.jpg|thumb|Gold coin of Croesus, Lydian, around 550 BC, found in what is now modern Turkey]]

Croesus is credited with issuing the first true [[gold coin]]s with a standardised purity for general circulation, the [[Croeseid]] (following on from his father [[Alyattes of Lydia|Alyattes]] who [[History of Coins|invented minting]] with [[electrum]] coins). Indeed, the invention of coinage had passed into Greek society through [[Hermodike II]].<ref>Herodotus, I, p. 80</ref><ref>''An Encyclopedia of World History'', (Houghton Mifflin Company Boston, 1952), chap. II. "Ancient History", p. 37</ref> Hermodike II, the daughter of an [[Cyme (Aeolis)|Agamemnon of Cyme]], claimed descent from the original [[Agamemnon]] who conquered [[Troy]]. She was likely one of Alyettes’ wives, so may have been Croesus’ mother, because the bull imagery on the croeseid symbolises the Hellenic [[Zeus]]—see [[Europa (consort of Zeus)]].<ref>Grimal, Pierre (1991). ''The Penguin dictionary of classical mythology''. Kershaw, Stephen. (Abridged) ed. London: Penguin Books. {{ISBN|0140512357}}. {{OCLC|25246340}}.</ref> Zeus, through Hercules, was the divine forefather of his family line.

{{blockquote|While the pyre was burning, it is said that a cloud passed under Hercules and with a peal of thunder wafted him up to heaven. Thereafter, he obtained immortality... by Omphale he had Agelaus, from whom the family of Croesus was descended...<ref>[http://data.perseus.org/citations/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0548.tlg001.perseus-eng1:2.7 Perseus 1:2.7]– According to Hdt. 1.7 the dynasty which preceded that of Croesus on the throne of Sardes traced their descent from Alcaeus, the son of Herakles by a slave girl. It is a curious coincidence that Croesus, like his predecessor or ancestor Herakles, is said to have attempted to burn himself on a pyre when the Persians captured Sardes. See Bacch. 3.24–62, ed. Jebb. The tradition is supported by the representation of the scene on a red-figured vase, which may have been painted about forty years after the capture of Sardis and the death or captivity of Croesus. See Baumeister, Denkmäler des klassischen Altertums, ii.796, fig. 860. Compare Adonis, Attis, Osiris, 3rd ed. i.174ff. The Herakles whom Greek tradition associated with Omphale was probably an Oriental deity identical with the Sandan of Tarsus. See Adonis, Attis, Osiris, i.124ff.</ref>}}

Moreover, the first coins were quite crude and made of [[electrum]], a naturally occurring pale yellow alloy of [[gold]] and [[silver]]. The composition of these first coins was similar to [[Alluvium|alluvial deposits]] found in the [[silt]] of the [[Pactolus]] river (made famous by [[Midas]]), which ran through the [[Lydia]]n capital, [[Sardis]]. Later coins, including some in the [[British Museum]], were made from gold purified by heating with [[sodium chloride|common salt]] to remove the silver.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/ahistoryoftheworld/about/transcripts/episode25/|title=A History of the World-Episode 25 – Gold coin of Croesus|publisher=BBC British Museum|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100227235939/http://www.bbc.co.uk/ahistoryoftheworld/about/transcripts/episode25/|archive-date=2010-02-27|url-status=live}}</ref>

In Greek and Persian cultures the name of Croesus became a synonym for a wealthy man. He inherited great wealth from his father Alyattes, who had become associated with the [[Midas]] myth because Lydian precious metals came from the river [[Pactolus]], in which King Midas supposedly washed away his ability to turn all he touched into gold.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/ahistoryoftheworld/objects/7cEz771FSeOLptGIElaquA|title=BBC - A History of the World - Object: Gold coin of Croesus|website=BBC History}}</ref> In reality, Alyattes' tax revenues may have been the real 'Midas touch' financing his and Croesus' conquests. Croesus' wealth remained proverbial beyond classical antiquity: in English, expressions such as "rich as Croesus" or "richer than Croesus" are used to indicate great wealth to this day.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.theguardian.com/technology/commentisfree/2022/dec/04/longtermism-rich-effective-altruism-tech-dangerous | title=Longtermism: How good intentions and the rich created a dangerous creed | website=[[TheGuardian.com]] | date=4 December 2022 }}</ref> The earliest known such usage in English was [[John Gower]]'s in ''[[Confessio amantis]]'' (1390):

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Original text:
{{poemquote|
That if the tresor of Cresus
And al the gold Octovien,
Forth with the richesse Yndien
Of Perles and of riche stones,
Were al togedre myn at ones,
I sette it at nomore acompte
Than wolde a bare straw amonte.<ref>''Confessio amantis'', v. 4730. {{OED|Croesus}}</ref>
}}
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Modern spelling:
{{poemquote|
That if the treasure of Croesus
And all the gold Octavian,
Forth with the riches Indian
Of pearls and of rich stones,
Were altogether mine at once,
I set it at no more account
Than would a bare straw amount.
}}
{{col-end}}