Croesus

Name

The name Croesus is the Latin form of the Greek Κροισος (Kroisos). In 2019, study of Lydian coins from his rule suggested the ruler's name was Qλdãns. Under this analysis, Croesus's actual name would have been Karoś, with Krowisas serving as an honorific meaning 'The noble Karoś'.

Life and reign

Croesus was born in 620 BC to King Alyattes and a Carian noblewoman. He had a full sister, Aryenis, and a half-brother, Pantaleon, from an Ionian wife of Alyattes. Before becoming king, Croesus governed Adramyttium, a base for campaigns against the Cimmerians.

As king, he attacked Ephesus, whose tyrant Pindar—a nephew of Croesus—had supported Pantaleon. He then provided patronage for rebuilding the Temple of Artemis, donating marble columns. Miletus, meanwhile, paid tribute to avoid attack, as its new magistrates had ended earlier friendly relations with Lydia.

Legacy

After defeating Croesus, Cyrus the Great adopted gold coinage for his kingdom. Croesid coins continued under Persian rule until Darius the Great replaced them with the daric. Later croesids under Cyrus were lighter and closer in weight to early darics and sigloi.

The Armenian historian Movses Khorenatsi wrote that King Artaxias I captured Croesus and conquered Lydia. References to Croesus as a symbol of human vanity appear widely in literature; 'rich as Croesus' is a common idiom. Examples include Isaac Watts's poem 'False Greatness', Leo Tolstoy's short story 'Croesus and Fate', and Alfred Bate Richards's tragedy 'Crœsus, King of Lydia'. The TF1 game show Crésus features a CGI skeleton of the king.

On The Simpsons, Montgomery Burns lives at Croesus and Mammon streets. John Steinbeck's East of Eden uses Croesus to discuss righteous living. In 1968, the band World of Oz released 'King Croesus'.