Page:History of Greece Vol III.djvu/168

 152 HISTORY OF GREECE. formidable wild boar which they were unable to subdue, applied for aid to Croesus, who sent to the spot a chosen hunting force, and permitted, though with great reluctance, in consequence of an alarming dream, that his favorite son should accompany them. The young prince was unintentionally slain by the Phry- gian exile Adrastus, whom Croesus had sheltered and protected j 1 and he had hardly recovered from the anguish of this misfortune, when the rapid growth of Cyrus and the Persian power induced him to go to war with them, against the advice of his wisest counsellors. After a struggle of about three years he was com- pletely defeated, his capital Sardis taken by storm, and himself made prisoner. Cyrus ordered a large pile to be prepared, and placed upon it Croesus in fetters, together with fourteen young Lydians, in the intention of burning them alive, either as a re- ligious offering, or in fulfilment of a vow, " or perhaps (says He- rodotus) to see whether some of the gods would not interfere to rescue a man so preeminently pious as the king of Lydia."- In this sad extremity, Croesus bethought him of the warning which he had before despised, and thrice pronounced, with a deep groan, the name of Solon. Cyrus desired the interpreters to inquire whom he was invoking, and learned in reply the anecdote of the Athenian lawgiver, together with the solemn memento which he had offered to Croesus during more prosperous days, attesting the frail tenure of all human greatness. The remark sunk deep into the Persian monarch, as a token of what might happen to him- self: he repented of his purpose, and directed that the pile, which had already been kindled, should be immediately extinguished. But the orders came too late ; in spite of the most zealous efforts 1 Herod, i, 32. T i2 Kpolffe, kifiaru^tevov fj,e rb deiov, TTUV Ibv $ovepov re teal rapa^oxJcf, eneipurpf fie uv&puTrrjiuv Trpayfiaruv irepi. i, 34. Meru de 26/.(ji>a oix<>pevov, eXaftev IK &eov vefteotf fj.eyu7i.r] Kpolaov, tic e'lKuaai &TI ivofitae iuvrtiv flvat uv&puiruv UTTUVTUV 6A/?iurarov. The hunting-match, and the terrible wild boar with whom the Myshms cannot cope, appear to be borrowed from the legend of Kalydon. The whole scene of Adrastus, returning after the accident in a state of desperate remorse, praying for death with outstretched hands, spared by Croesus, and then killing himself on the tomb of the young prince, is deeply trsgi* (Herod, i, 44-45). 1 Herodot. i, 85.