When Croesus was taking the field1 against Cyrus the Persian, he made inquiry of the
oracle. And the answer ran:“
If Croesus crosses Halys, a mighty realm
Will he destroy.
”He received and interpreted the ambiguous answer of the oracle in the light of his own
purpose and so came to grief.
[2]
Croesus inquired a second time whether he was to enjoy a rule of long duration. And the
oracle spoke the following verses:“
The day a mule becomes the king of Medes,
Then, tender-footed Lydian, do thou flee
Along the pebbly bed of Hermus, nor
Abide, nor be ashamed a coward to be.
”By a "mule" Cyrus was meant, because his mother was a Mede and his father a Persian.
[3]
Cyrus, the king of the Persians, appeared with all his host at the passes
of Cappadocia and sent messengers to Croesus both to
spy out his power and to declare to him that Cyrus would forgive his previous misdeeds and
appoint him satrap of Lydia, provided he presented
himself at Cyrus' court and acknowledged, as others did, that he was his slave. But Croesus
answered the messengers that it would be more fitting if Cyrus and the Persians should submit
to be the slaves of Croesus, reminding them that theretofore they had been slaves of the Medes
and that he had never yet taken orders from another.Const. Exc. 4, pp. 289-290.
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1 547 B.C.
Diodorus Siculus. Diodorus of Sicily in Twelve Volumes with an English Translation by C. H. Oldfather. Vol. 4-8. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press; London: William Heinemann, Ltd. 1989.
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