Editing Gyges of Lydia

{{Short description|King of Lydia (fl. 7th century BC)}}
{{Contains special characters|cuneiform}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2018}}
{{Use British English|date=July 2018}}
{{Infobox royalty
| succession   = [[List of kings of Lydia|King of Lydia]]
| image        = Der Ring des Gyges (Ferrara 16 Jh).jpg
| caption      = A rare depiction of the legend of Gyges finding the magic ring, Ferrara, 16th century
| image_size   = 
| reign        = {{c.|680}}-644 BC
| coronation   = 
| predecessor  = [[Candaules]]
| successor    = [[Ardys of Lydia|Ardys]]
| spouse       = 
| issue        = [[Ardys of Lydia|Ardys]]
| dynasty      = [[List of kings of Lydia#Mermnadae|Mermnad dynasty]]
| father       = Dascylus
| mother       = 
| birth_date   = 
| birth_place  = 
| death_date   = 644 BC
| death_place  = 
| date of burial = 
| place of burial = 
| native_lang1 = [[Lydian language|Lydian]]
| native_lang1_name1 = {{lang|xld|{{script|Lydi|𐤨𐤰𐤨𐤠𐤮}}}}<br/><small>({{Transliteration|xld|Kukas|italics=no}})</small>
}}

'''Gyges'''{{efn|Phonetically:{{IPAc-en|ˈ|dʒ|aɪ|dʒ|iː|z}}, {{IPAc-en|ˈ|g|aɪ|dʒ|iː|z}}; [[Lydian language|Lydian]]: {{lang|xld|{{script|Lydi|[[wikt:𐤨𐤰𐤨𐤠𐤮|𐤨𐤰𐤨𐤠𐤮]]}}}}, <small>[[romanization|romanized]]:</small> {{Transliteration|xld|Kukas}};<ref name="Browne1">{{cite journal |last=Browne |first=Gerald M. |author-link=Gerald Michael Browne |date=2000 |title=A New Lydian Text |url=https://www.degruyter.com/document/doi/10.1515/kadm.2000.39.1-2.177/html |journal=Kadmos |volume=39 |issue= 1–2|pages=177–178 |doi=10.1515/kadm.2000.39.1-2.177 |s2cid=161165986 |access-date=13 November 2021 }}</ref><ref name="Browne2">{{cite journal |last=Browne |first=Gerald M. |author-link=Gerald Michael Browne |date=2000 |title=The Tomb of Alyattes? |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/20190706 |journal=[[Zeitschrift für Papyrologie und Epigraphik]] |volume=132 |issue= |page=172 |doi= |jstor=20190706 |access-date=13 November 2021 }}</ref> {{langx|akk-x-neoassyr|{{cuneiform|11|𒁹𒄖𒊌𒄖}}}}, {{lang|akk|{{cuneiform|11|𒁹𒄖𒄖}}}}, <small>[[romanization|romanized]]:</small> {{Transliteration|akk|Gugu}};<ref>{{cite web |title=Gugu [GYGES, KING OF LYDIA] (RN) |url=https://oracc.museum.upenn.edu//rinap/cbd/qpn-x-people/x000002150.html |website=[[Open Richly Annotated Cuneiform Corpus]] |publisher=[[University of Pennsylvania]] }}</ref> {{langx|grc|[[wikt:Γύγης|Γύγης]]|Gugēs}}; {{langx|la|Gygēs}}}} (reigned c. 680–644 BC)<ref name="Livius">{{cite web |url=https://www.livius.org/articles/person/gyges/ |title=Gyges of Lydia |last=Lendering |first=Jona |author-link=Jona Lendering |date=2003 |website=Livius |publisher= |access-date=26 October 2021 }}</ref><ref name="Spalinger1978">{{cite journal |last=Spalinger |first=Anthony J. |date=1978 |title=The Date of the Death of Gyges and Its Historical Implications |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/599752 |journal=Journal of the American Oriental Society |volume=98 |issue=4 |pages=400–409 |doi=10.2307/599752 |jstor=599752 |access-date=25 October 2021}}</ref> was the founder of the [[List of kings of Lydia#Mermnadae|Mermnad dynasty]] of [[Lydia]]n kings and the first known king of the Lydian kingdom to have attempted to transform it into a powerful empire. Gyges reigned 38 years according to [[Herodotus]].

==Attestations and etymology==
The name {{lang|en|Gyges}} is derived from the [[Ancient Greek]] form {{Transliteration|grc|Gugēs}} ({{langx|grc|Γύγης}}) recorded by Graeco-Roman authors. In addition, the annals of the Assyrian king [[Ashurbanipal]] refer several times to {{Transliteration|akk|Gu(g)gu}}, king of {{Transliteration|akk|Luddi}}, to be identified with Gyges, king of the Lydians.<ref>{{cite book |last=Pedley |first=John G. |author-link= |date=1972 |title=Ancient Literary Sources on Sardis |url= |location=[[Cambridge, Massachusetts]] |publisher=[[Harvard University Press]] |pages=82–83 |isbn=978-0-674-03375-7}}</ref>

{{Transliteration|akk|Gu(g)gu}} and {{Transliteration|grc|Gugēs}} are respectively the Akkadian and Greek forms of the [[Lydian language|Lydian]] name {{Transliteration|xld|Kukas}} ({{lang|xld|{{script|Lydi|𐤨𐤰𐤨𐤠𐤮}}}}),<ref name="Browne1"/><ref name="Browne2"/> which means "grandfather".<ref name="Bianconi">{{cite book |last=Bianconi |first=Michele |author-link= |date=2021 |title=Linguistic and Cultural Interactions between Greece and Anatolia: In Search of the Golden Fleece |url= |location=[[Leiden]] |publisher=[[Brill Publishers]] |pages=119–120 |isbn=978-9-004-46159-8 }}</ref> {{Transliteration|xld|Kukas}} is derived from a common Proto-Indo-European root from which evolved [[Hittite language|Hittite]] {{Transliteration|hit|ḫuḫḫa-}} ({{lang|hit|{{cuneiform|ana|𒄷𒄴𒄩}}}}), [[Luwian language|Luwian]] {{Transliteration|xlu|ḫūḫa-}} ({{lang|xlu|{{cuneiform|ana|𒄷𒌋𒄩}}}}) and {{Transliteration|hlu|huha-}} ({{lang|hlu|{{script|Hluw|𔕳𔓷}}}}), and [[Lycian language|Lycian]] {{Transliteration|xcl|xuga-}} ({{lang|xcl|{{script|Lyci|𐊜𐊒𐊄𐊀}}}}) in the [[Anatolian languages]] family, as well as [[Latin]] {{lang|la|avus}}, all meaning "grandfather".<ref name="Bianconi"/>

Another derivation for {{Transliteration|xld|Kukas}} suggests that it might be a loanword from [[Carian language|Carian]] {{Transliteration|xcr|Quq}} ({{lang|xcr|{{script|Cari|𐊨𐊲𐊨}}}}), which was represented in Greek as {{Transliteration|grc|Gugos}} ({{lang|grc|Γυγος}}), and was a cognate of the various [[Anatolian languages|Anatolian]] words for "grandfather": [[Hittite language|Hittite]] {{Transliteration|hit|ḫuḫḫa}} ({{lang|hit|{{cuneiform|ana|𒄷𒄴𒄩}}}}), [[Luwian language|Luwian]] {{Transliteration|xlu|ḫūḫa-}} ({{lang|xlu|{{cuneiform|ana|𒄷𒌋𒄩}}}}) and {{Transliteration|hlu|huha-}} ({{lang|hlu|{{script|Hluw|𔕳𔓷}}}}), [[Milyan language|Milyan]] {{Transliteration|imy|xuga-}} ({{lang|imy|{{script|Lyci|𐊜𐊒𐊄𐊀}}}}), and [[Lycian language|Lycian]] {{Transliteration|xcl|xuga-}} ({{lang|xcl|{{script|Lyci|𐊜𐊒𐊄𐊀}}}}).<ref>{{cite book |last=Adiego |first=Ignacio J. |author-link= |date=2007 |title=The Carian Language |url= |location=[[Leiden]] |publisher=[[Brill Publishers]] |pages=334–335 |isbn=978-9-004-15281-6 }}</ref> If this etymology is accurate, it correlates with the probability of a Carian origin of the [[Mermnad dynasty]].<ref>{{cite journal |last=Yakubovich |first=Ilya |date=2017 |title=An Agreement between the Sardians and the Mermnads in the Lydian Language? |url=https://www.academia.edu/35571454 |journal=Indogermanische Forschungen |volume=122 |issue=1 |pages=265–294 |doi=10.1515/if-2017-0014 |s2cid=171633908 |access-date=13 November 2021 }}</ref>

Attestations of Gyges's name from the period of the Lydian kingdom are found on the legends of coins by his great-grandson [[Alyattes]], reading {{Transliteration|xld|Kukalim}} ({{lang|xld|𐤨𐤰𐤨𐤠𐤩𐤦𐤪|}}), meaning "I am of Kukas".<ref name="Browne1"/><ref name="Browne2"/>

==Life, reign and death==
Nothing is known about Gyges's origins except for the Greek historian [[Herodotus]]'s claim that he was the son of a man named [[Dascylus]].{{sfn|Mellink|1991|p=643-655}}

===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"/>

===Wars against the Ionians===
Gyges took advantage of the power vacuum created by the Cimmerian invasions to consolidate his kingdom and make it a military power, and, to this end, immediately after coming to power he attacked the [[Ionians|Ionian]] Greek cities of [[Miletus]], [[Smyrna]], and [[Colophon (city)|Colophon]].{{sfn|Cook|1988|p=196-197}} Gyges was, however, unable to conquer Miletus, and he made peace with the city,<ref name="Livius"/> following which Gyges accorded to the Milesians the privilege of colonising the coastal areas of Asia Minor under Lydian control.{{sfn|Graham|1988|p=121}} Gyges's attempt to capture Smyrna likewise failed; the inhabitants of the city were able to repel his attacks. After this, peaceful and friendly relations were established between them. Thereafter, the Lydians used the port of Smyrna to export their products and import grain, and Lydian craftsmen worked in Smyrnian workshops. These close ties ended when Gyges's great-grandson Alyattes conquered Smyrna around 600 BC. Gyges's attack on Colophon enabled him to seize control of its lower city only, and Colophon soon regained its independence and would not be subject to Lydian rule again until Alyattes conquered it.<ref name="Leloux-1"/>

===Alliance with the Carians===
To the south, Gyges continued maintaining alliances with the dynasts of the various city-states of the [[Carians]] which required the Lydian and Carian rulers to support each other, and his successors would continue to maintain these alliances and solidify them through marriage. These connections ensured that the Lydians were able to control [[Caria]] through alliances with Carian dynasts ruling over fortified settlements, such as Mylasa and [[Pedasa]], and through Lydian aristocrats settled in Carian cities, such as [[Aphrodisias]]. In addition to diplomatic ties, the Lydians also shared strong cultural connections with the Carians, such as sharing the sanctuary of the god Zeus of [[Milas|Mylasa]] with the Carians and the Mysians because they believed these three peoples descended from three brothers.<ref name="Leloux-1"/>[[File:Gyges Tablet, British Museum.jpg|thumb|Gyges tablet, British Museum]]

Gyges entertained better relations with the leading [[Aeolis|Aeolian]] Greek city of [[Cyme (Aeolis)|Cyme]], which had already established friendly relations with Lydia during the preceding Heraclid dynasty, and with the [[Ionia]]n Greek city of [[Ephesus]], whose tyrant, Melas the Elder, married one of the daughters of Gyges. These ties with Ephesus would be renewed by Gyges's son [[Ardys of Lydia|Ardys]] through the marriage of his daughter [[Lyde of Lydia|Lyde]] with Melas's grandson Miletus, and by Gyges's great-grandson Alyattes, who married one of his daughters to the Ephesian tyrant Melas the Younger, himself a descendant of both Melas the Elder and of Miletus. These cordial relations between Lydia and Ephesus would continue until they were broken by Gyges's great-great-grandson Croesus.<ref name="Leloux-1"/>

===Wars with the Cimmerians===
In 665 BC, Gyges was faced with a war with the Cimmerians. Around the same time, according to Neo-Assyrian records, Gyges had a dream in which the Assyrian god [[Ashur (god)|Aššur]] appeared to him and told him to seek help from [[Ashurbanipal]] and send him tribute. Gyges contacted the [[Neo-Assyrian Empire|Neo-Assyrian]] court by sending diplomats to [[Nineveh]], but offered him presents only, not tribute, and therefore refused to become a vassal of Assyria. Gyges soon defeated the Cimmerian invaders without Assyrian help, and he sent to Nineveh Cimmerian soldiers captured while ravaging Lydian lands.<ref name="Spalinger1978"/><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/cimmerians-nomads |title=CIMMERIANS |last=Tokhtas’ev |first=Sergei R. |date=15 December 1991 |website=[[Encyclopædia Iranica]] |publisher= |access-date=13 November 2021 }}</ref>

===Conquests===
After having repelled the Cimmerians, and with the leading [[Aeolis|Aeolian]] Greek city of [[Cyme (Aeolis)|Cyme]] already having good relations with Lydia, Gyges took advantage of the power vacuum caused by the destruction of the Phrygian kingdom by the Cimmerians to conquer the [[Troad]] region in northern Anatolia without facing much resistance, following which he installed Lydian settlers in the region and created a hunting reserve in [[Cyzicus]]. Under Lydian rule, the city of [[Troy|Ilium]] acquired an important position and became a local administrative centre from which the Lydians exerted their power over the whole Aegean coast of the Troad as well as the coast of the Hellespont where was located the cities of [[Achilleion (Troad)|Achilleion]], [[Abydos (Hellespont)|Abydos]], and [[Neandreia]]. Furthermore, the Lydian rulers built connections with Illium so they could make profits out of the gold mines of [[Astyra (Troad)|Astyra]]. The southern part of the Troad, where were located [[Gargara]], [[Antandrus]], [[Assos]], and [[Lamponeia]] to the south of [[Mount Ida (Turkey)|Mount Ida]] and on the shore of the [[Edremit Gulf]], was administered from Adrymettium.<ref name="Leloux-1"/> In accordance with the monopoly of establishing colonies on lands ruled by the Lydians which Gyges had granted to Miletus, Greek settlers from that city founded the colony of [[Abydos (Hellespont)|Abydus]].{{sfn|Graham|1988|p=121}}

===Sending mercenaries to Egypt===
Gyges's extensive alliances with the Carian dynasts allowed him to recruit Carian and Ionian Greek soldiers to send overseas to assist the [[Ancient Egypt|Egyptian]] king [[Psamtik I]] of the city of [[Sais]], with whom he had established contact around 662 BC. With the help of these armed forces, Psamtik I united Egypt under his rule after eliminating the eleven other kinglets with whom he had been co-ruling [[Lower Egypt]] following [[Esarhaddon]]'s and Ashurbanipal's [[Assyrian conquest of Egypt|invasions]].{{sfn|Braun|1982|p=36}}<ref name="Spalinger1976"/><ref name="Spalinger1978"/>{{sfn|Mellink|1991|p=663}}

Interpretations of these actions as an alliance between Lydia and Sais against Assyria, however, are inaccurate; Psamtik I's military activities were directed solely against the other local kinglets of Lower Egypt and not against Assyria, although Ashurbanipal disapproved of Psamtik I's actions since he knew he needed these kinglets' support to maintain Assyrian power in Egypt.<ref name="Spalinger1976">{{cite journal |last=Spakinger |first=Anthony |date=1976 |title=Psammetichus, King of Egypt: I |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/40001126 |journal=Journal of the American Research Center in Egypt  |volume=13 |issue= |pages=133–147 |doi=10.2307/40001126  |jstor=40001126 |access-date=2 November 2021 }}</ref> Moreover, not only had the Assyrians raised Sais to preeminence in Egypt after expelling the Saites' [[Twenty-fifth Dynasty of Egypt|Kushite]] enemies from the country, but the two kings had signed a treaty with each other, and no hostilities between them are recorded. Thus Psamtik I and Ashurbanipal had remained allies since the former had been put in power with Assyrian military support.  Furthermore, the silence of Assyrian sources concerning Psamtik I's expansion imply there was no hostility, whether overt or covert, between Assyria and Sais during Psamtik I's unification of Egypt under his rule.<ref name="Spalinger1976"/><ref name="Spalinger1978"/>

Likewise, Gyges's military support of Psamtik I was not directed against Assyria and is not mentioned as hostile to Assyria or allied with other countries against Assyria in Assyrian records;<ref name="Spalinger1976"/> the Assyrian disapproval of Gyges's support for Psamtik I was primarily motivated by Gyges's refusal to form an alliance with Assyria and his undertaking of these actions independently of Assyria, which the Assyrians interpreted as an act of arrogance, rather than by the support itself.<ref name="Spalinger1978"/>

Gyges's military support to Psamtik I lasted until 658 BC, at which point he faced an impending Cimmerian invasion. The Cimmerians invaded Lydia again in 657 BC, though not much is known about this attack except that Gyges survived it. This event is recorded in the Assyrian oracular reports, where it is called a "bad omen" for the "Westland", that is for Lydia.<ref name="Spalinger1978"/>

===Death===
In 644 BC, Lydia faced a third attack by the Cimmerians, led by their king [[Tugdamme|Lygdamis]]. This time, the Lydians were defeated, Sardis was sacked, and Gyges was killed. Assyrian records blamed Gyges's defeat and death on his decision to act independently from Assyria by sending troops to Psamtik I, and his ending of diplomacy with Assyria, which the Assyrians interpreted as an act of arrogance. He was succeeded by his son [[Ardys of Lydia|Ardys]], who resumed diplomatic relations with Assyria and also had to face the Cimmerians.<ref name="Spalinger1976"/><ref name="Spalinger1978"/>

===Legacy===

Gyges's name was later used on the legends of coins by his great-grandson [[Alyattes]], which read {{Transliteration|xld|Kukalim}} ({{lang|xld|𐤨𐤰𐤨𐤠𐤩𐤦𐤪|}}), meaning "I am of Kukas".<ref name="Browne1"/><ref name="Browne2"/> Some of these coins have a legend {{Transliteration|xld|Walwet}} ({{lang|xld|𐤥𐤠𐤩𐤥𐤤𐤯}}), which is the abbreviation of the Lydian name of Alyattes, {{Transliteration|xld|Walwetes}} ({{lang|xld|[[wikt:𐤥𐤠𐤩𐤥𐤤𐤯𐤤𐤮|𐤥𐤠𐤩𐤥𐤤𐤯𐤤𐤮]]}}), on one side and on the other side have the legend {{Transliteration|xld|Kukalim}}, which in this context meant "I am the son/descendant of {{Transliteration|xld|Kukas}}" by which Alyattes was declaring his belonging to the dynasty of Gyges.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Dale |first=Alexander |date=2015 |title=WALWET and KUKALIM: Lydian coin legends, dynastic succession, and the chronology of Mermnad kings |url=https://www.academia.edu/29719834 |journal=Kadmos |volume=54 |issue= |pages=151–166 |doi=10.1515/kadmos-2015-0008 |s2cid=165043567 |access-date=10 November 2021}}</ref><ref name="Bianconi"/>

==Mythical Gyges==
Like many kings of early antiquity, including [[Midas]] of [[Phrygia]] and even the better historically documented [[Alexander the Great]], Gyges was subject to mythologizing. The motives for such stories are many; one possibility is that the [[myth]]s embodied religious beliefs or practices.<ref>Richard Seaford, ''Money and the Early Greek Mind'' (Cambridge University Press, 2004), p. 114 ff., [https://books.google.com/books?id=kU6xx-DAgFgC&dq=%22the+time+of+Gyges%22&pg=PA114 limited preview.]</ref>

===Allegorical accounts of Gyges' rise to power===
[[Image:William Etty (1787–1849) – Candaules, King of Lydia, Shews his Wife by Stealth to Gyges, One of his Ministers, as She Goes to Bed – N00358 – Tate.jpg|thumb|''[[Candaules, King of Lydia, Shews his Wife by Stealth to Gyges, One of his Ministers, as She Goes to Bed]]'' by [[William Etty]].  This image illustrates [[Herodotus]]'s version of the tale of Gyges (as told by Herodotus, Gyges watched the naked queen secretly, but is seen by her as he is sneaking out of concealment). An earlier artistic treatment of the same subject, by [[Dosso Dossi]], is now in the [[Galleria Borghese]] [https://books.google.com/books?id=Ce2Fg7FIvFgC&pg=PA327]. ]]

Authors throughout ancient history have told differing stories of Gyges's rise to power, which considerably vary in detail, but virtually all involve him seizing the throne after killing the king, [[Candaules]], and marrying Candaules' widow.<ref>Her name is traditionally known as 'Nyssia', but this is not found in Herodotus. Apparently this name was supplied by the ancient historian [[Ptolemy Hephaestion]].</ref>

The main source for Gyges is Herodotus, whose account may be traced to the poet [[Archilochus of Paros]]. In this, Gyges was a [[bodyguard]] of Candaules, who believed his wife to be the most beautiful woman on Earth. He insisted upon Gyges seeing his wife disrobed and the betrayal so enraged her that she afterwards gave Gyges the choice of murdering her husband and making himself king or being put to death himself.{{sfn|Sayce|1911}}<ref>{{harvnb | Herodotus | 1975 | pp=44–45}}</ref>

Herodotus goes on to record how Gyges plied the Oracle of Delphi with numerous gifts, notably six mixing bowls minted of gold extracted from the [[Pactolus]] river weighing thirty [[Talent (measurement)|talents]]. The Oracle confirmed Gyges as the rightful king of Lydia and gave moral support to the Lydians in their conflict with the [[Ionians]]. The priestess nevertheless declared that the dynasty of Gyges would fall in the fifth generation. This prediction was later fulfilled when Gyges's fourth descendant, [[Croesus]], lost the kingdom as a result of attacking the [[Achaemenid Empire]] of [[Cyrus the Great]].<ref name="H46">{{harvnb | Herodotus | 1975 | p=46}}</ref>

In [[Plato]]'s ''[[The Republic (Plato)|Republic]]'', Gyges was a shepherd who discovered a [[Ring of Gyges|magic ring]] of invisibility, by means of which he murdered the king and won the affection of the queen.{{sfn|Sayce|1911}}<ref name="P46">{{harvnb | Plato | 1987 | pp=46–47}}</ref>

[[Nicolaus of Damascus]] supplies his own version of the story that is quite different from both Herodotus and Plato. It involves a multi-[[generational curse]] by an old King Ardys of Lydia, because his trusted advisor Dascylus was murdered by Ardys’ son named Sadyattes (or Adyattes). This Sadyattes was envious of Dascylus's growing power. The murderers were never discovered, so King Ardys issued a curse upon them.<ref>JOHN R. PORTER, [https://ugp.rug.nl/AN/article/download/24338/21788/ Nicolaus Reads Euphiletus: A Note on the Nachleben of Lysias 1.] Ancient Narrative, Volume 3 (2003), 82–87</ref> Dascylus's wife, being then pregnant, escapes to Phrygia (her home), and gives birth to a son, also named Dascylus. Later this Dascylus has a son Gyges who, as a young man arrives to Lydia and is recognized by the king for his outstanding abilities. He is appointed to the royal bodyguard. Gyges soon became a favourite of Candaules and was dispatched by him to fetch Tudo, the daughter of Arnossus of [[Mysia]], whom the Lydian king wished to make his queen. On the way, Gyges fell in love with Tudo, who complained to Sadyates of his conduct. Forewarned that the king intended to kill him, Gyges assassinated Candaules in the night and seized the throne.<ref>Max Duncker, [https://books.google.com/books?id=hyoZAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA419 The History of Antiquity], Volume 3. R. Bentley & son, 1879. pp. 419ff</ref>

According to [[Plutarch]], Gyges seized power with the help of Arselis of [[Milas|Mylasa]], the captain of the Lydian bodyguard, whom he won over to his cause.{{sfn|Sayce|1911}}<ref>Debra Hamel, [https://books.google.com/books?id=iaQYE2Gge7MC&pg=PA12 Reading Herodotus: A Guided Tour Through the Wild Boars, Dancing Suitors, and Crazy Tyrants of 'The History'.] JHU Press, 2012. p. 12</ref>

===Other legends about Gyges===
In the second book of [[Plato]]'s philosophical work ''[[Republic (Plato)|The Republic]]'', [[Glaucon]] recounts the story of the [[Ring of Gyges]] to [[Socrates]], using it to illustrate a point about [[human nature]]. Some scholars have suggested that Plato's story was based on a now-lost older version of the myth, while others argue that Plato invented it himself, using elements from Herodotus's story of Gyges.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Danzig |first=Gabriel |doi=10.1017/S001738350800051X |title=Rhetoric and the Ring: Herodotus and Plato on the Story of Gyges as a Politically Expedient Tale |journal=Greece & Rome |volume=55 |issue=2 |year=2008 |pages=169–192|s2cid=162212810 |quote=It is usually thought that these two stories are based on older sources, either two different versions of the story of Gyges or, as K. F. Smith argued, a single longer version of the story, which served as the source for both authors. A third possibility has also been raised: Andrew Laird has recently argued that Plato largely invented his version of the story, inspired primarily by his reading of Herodotus's version.}}</ref> It tells of a man named Gyges who lived in [[Lydia]], an area in modern Turkey. He is a [[shepherd]] for the king of that land. One day, there is an [[earthquake]] while Gyges is out in the fields, and he notices that a new cave has opened up in a rock face. When he goes in to see what is there, he notices a gold ring on the finger of a former giant king buried in the cave, in an iron horse with a window in its side. He takes the ring and soon discovers that it enables the wearer to become [[Invisibility|invisible]]. The next time he goes to the palace to give the king a report about his sheep, he puts the ring on, seduces the queen, kills the king, and takes control of the palace.

In ''The Republic'', Glaucon argues that men are inherently unjust, and are only restrained from unjust behavior by the fetters of law and society. In Glaucon's view, unlimited power blurs the difference between just and unjust men. He tells Socrates:
<blockquote>
Suppose there were two such magic rings, and the just [man] put on one of them and the unjust the other; no man can be imagined to be of such an iron nature that he would stand fast in justice. No man would keep his hands off what was not his own when he could safely take what he liked out of the market or go into houses and lie with anyone at his pleasure, or kill or release from prison whom he would, and in all respects be like a god among men. Then the actions of the just would be as the actions of the unjust; they would both come at last to the same point.
</blockquote>
Socrates concludes, however, that a truly just man is not a slave to his appetites, so that the opportunities afforded by the ring would not tempt him to abandon his principles.

Many [[Bible]] scholars<ref>{{Cite book |last=Bøe |first=Sverre |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vettpBoVOX4C |title=Gog and Magog: Ezekiel 38-39 as Pre-text for Revelation 19, 17-21 and 20,7-10 |date=2001 |publisher=Mohr Siebeck |isbn=978-3-16-147520-7 |language=en}}</ref> believe that Gyges of Lydia is the Biblical [[Gog and Magog|Gog]], ruler of [[Magog (Bible)|Magog]], who is mentioned in the [[Book of Ezekiel]] and the [[Book of Revelation]].

==Influence on modern works==
* [[Théophile Gautier]] wrote a story entitled "Le roi Candaule" (published in 1844), which was translated by [[Lafcadio Hearn]].<ref>{{Cite web | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=BuVFAQAAMAAJ |title = Le roi Candaule|last1 = Gautier|first1 = Théophile|last2 = France|first2 = Anatole|year = 1893}}</ref>
* "[[Tsar Kandavl]]" or "[[Le Roi Candaule]]" is a ''grand ballet'' with choreography by [[Marius Petipa]], and music by [[Cesare Pugni]], with a libretto by [[Jules-Henri Vernoy de Saint-Georges]], based on the Herodotus version. It was first presented by the [[Mariinsky Ballet|Imperial Ballet]] in  [[St. Petersburg, Russia]], in 1868, with [[Henriette D'or]] as Queen Nisia, [[Felix Kschessinsky]] as King Candaules/Tsar Candavl, [[Lev Ivanov]] as Gyges and [[Klavdia Kantsyreva]] as Claytia.
* "''Le Roi Candaule''" is also the title of a comedy by [[Henri Meilhac]] and [[Ludovic Halévy]], loosely based on the ancient tale and presenting light sketches of [[Paris]]ian life in the 1860s and 1870s.
* German playwright [[Friedrich Hebbel]]'s 1856 tragedy ''Gyges und sein Ring'' ("Gyges and his Ring").
* In the novel ''[[Temporary Kings]]'', penultimate in [[Anthony Powell]]'s 12-volume ''[[A Dance to the Music of Time]]'', Candaules' exhibiting of his naked wife to Gyges and her discovery of it feature on a ceiling painting, attributed to Tiepolo, in a Venetian palace.  The story counterpoints themes of voyeurism and death in Powell's narrative.
* In the novel ''The [[English Patient]]'', and the film based on it, Count Almásy (himself a disciple of Herodotus) falls in love with a married woman (Katherine Clifton) as she tells Herodotus' version of the Gyges story around a campfire. The story is harbinger of their own tragic path.
*In the novel ''[[Hyperion (Simmons novel)|Hyperion]]'' by [[Dan Simmons]], one of the four evil constructs created by the Core and named by Councillor Albedo is called Gyges.
* One of the chapters in [[Robertson Davies]]' novel ''[[Fifth Business]]'' is called "Gyges and King Candaules". The protagonist, scholar Dunstan Ramsay; his lifelong "friend and enemy", the tycoon Percy "Boy" Staunton; and Staunton's wife Leola who had been Ramsay's childhood sweetheart are throughout the book  compared with, respectively, Gyges, King Candaules and the Queen of Lydia. In particular, in one scene where Staunton insists upon showing Ramsay nude photos of his wife, Ramsay tells him the ancient story as a warning (which Staunton ignores).
* In 1990 [[Frederic Raphael]] published ''The Hidden I, A Myth Revised'', a retelling of the story of Lydia, King Candaules and Gyges.<ref>[http://www.bookfever.com/Book_Listing/Raphael_Frederic_THE_HIDDEN_I_A_MYTH_REVISED_book_2130.html The Hidden I, A Myth Revised], bookfever.com</ref>

== Notes ==
{{notelist}}

==References==
;Citations
{{Reflist}}

;Bibliography
{{Refbegin}}
* {{cite book | last1=Bury | first1=J. B. | author1-link=J. B. Bury | last2=Meiggs | first2=Russell | author2-link=Russell Meiggs | title=A History of Greece | year=1975 | orig-year=first published 1900 | publisher=MacMillan Press | location=London | isbn=0-333-15492-4| edition=Fourth }}
*{{cite book |editor1-last=Boardman |editor1-first=John |editor1-link=John Boardman (art historian) |editor2-last=Hammond |editor2-first=N. G. L. |editor2-link=N. G. L. Hammond |last=Braun |first=T. F. R. G. |author-link= |date=1982 |title=The Cambridge Ancient History |volume=3 |chapter=The Greeks in Egypt |issue=3 |url= |location=[[Cambridge]] |publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]] |pages=32–56 |isbn=978-0-521-23447-4}}
*{{cite book |editor1-last=Boardman |editor1-first=John |editor1-link=John Boardman (art historian) |editor2-last=Hammond |editor2-first=N. G. L. |editor2-link=N. G. L. Hammond |last=Cook |first=J. M. |author-link=John Manuel Cook |date=1988 |title=The Cambridge Ancient History |volume=3 |chapter=The Eastern Greeks |issue=3 |url= |location=[[Cambridge]] |publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]] |pages=196–221 |isbn=978-0-521-23447-4}}
*{{cite book |editor1-last=Boardman |editor1-first=John |editor1-link=John Boardman (art historian) |editor2-last=Hammond |editor2-first=N. G. L. |editor2-link=N. G. L. Hammond |last=Graham |first=A. J. |author-link= |date=1988 |title=The Cambridge Ancient History |volume=3 |chapter=The Colonial Expansion of Greece |issue=3 |url= |location=[[Cambridge]] |publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]] |pages=83–162 |isbn=978-0-521-23447-4}}
* {{cite book | last=Herodotus | author-link=Herodotus | title=The Histories | editor1-last=Burn | editor1-first=A. R. | editor2-last=de Sélincourt | editor2-first=Aubrey | publisher=Penguin Books | location=London | year=1975 | orig-year=first published 1954 | isbn=0-14-051260-8}}
*{{cite book |editor1-last=Boardman |editor1-first=John |editor1-link=John Boardman (art historian) |editor2-last=Edwards |editor2-first=I. E. S. |editor2-link=I. E. S. Edwards |editor3-last=Hammond |editor3-first=N. G. L. |editor3-link=N. G. L. Hammond |editor4-last=Sollberger |editor4-first=E. |editor4-link=Edmond Sollberger |editor5-last=Walker |editor5-first=C. B. F. |last=Mellink |first=M. |author-link=Machteld Mellink |date=1991 |title=The Cambridge Ancient History |volume=3 |chapter=The Native Kingdoms of Anatolia |issue=2 |url= |location=[[Cambridge]] |publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]] |pages=619–665 |isbn=978-1-139-05429-4}}
* {{cite book | last=Plato | author-link=Plato | title=The Republic | editor1-last=Lee | editor1-first=Desmond | publisher=Penguin Books | location=London | year=1987 | orig-year=first published 1955 | isbn=0-14-044048-8 | url-access=registration | url=https://archive.org/details/republic1987plat }}
{{Refend}}

== External links ==
* {{EB1911|wstitle=Gyges|volume=12|page=751|first=Archibald Henry|last=Sayce|author-link=Archibald Sayce}}
* [https://www.livius.org/men-mh/mermnads/gyges.html Livius.org: Gyges of Lydia] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121229042011/http://www.livius.org/men-mh/mermnads/gyges.html |date=29 December 2012 }}

{{S-start}}
{{S-hou|[[List of kings of Lydia#Mermnadae|Mermnad]] dynasty||||644 BC|name={{Transliteration|xld|Kukas|italics=no}}}}
{{s-reg}}
{{S-bef|before=[[Candaules]]}}
{{S-ttl|title=King of [[Lydia]]|years={{c.|680}}–644 BC}}
{{S-aft|after=[[Ardys of Lydia|Ardys]]}}
{{s-end}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gyges Of Lydia}}
[[Category:Gyges of Lydia| ]]
[[Category:8th-century BC births]]
[[Category:640s BC deaths]]
[[Category:7th-century BC monarchs in Asia]]
[[Category:Bodyguards]]
[[Category:Fictional characters who can turn invisible]]
[[Category:Kings of Lydia]]
[[Category:Mermnad dynasty]]
[[Category:Monarchs killed in action]]
[[Category:Regicides]]
[[Category:Shepherds]]