King Croesus ruled the Asia Minor kingdom of Lydia in the sixth century B.C., is owed
a huge debt of gratitude for minting the world’s first coinage, thereby
creating in a single stroke the lifeblood of every business: liquidity
and cash flow. Moreover, his opulent lifestyle has given entrepreneurs
throughout history something to shoot for. Is there a greater
distinction for the commercially inclined than to be deemed “as rich as
Croesus”?
The expression "as rich as Croesus" comes from the legendary wealth of the king who reigned from 560 to 546 BC over Lydia in western Asia Minor.
Gold from the mines and from the sands of the River Pactolus filled his
coffers to overflowing. The Lydians in the time of Croesus, it is
believed, were the first people to mint coins as money.
The fame of the splendid court of Croesus at Sardis
attracted many visitors. One of these, according to a legend, was
Solon, the lawgiver of the Greeks. The king proudly displayed his
treasures and asked Solon who was the happiest man that he had met.
Solon named two or three obscure men who had lived and died happily.
Croesus was surprised and angry and said: "Man of Athens, dost thou
count my happiness as nothing?" "In truth," replied Solon, "I count no
man happy until his death, for no man can know what the gods may have in
store for him."
There was indeed great misfortune
in store for Croesus. Cyrus the Great of Persia, extending his vast
domains, was soon threatening the kingdom of Lydia. Croesus consulted the oracle of Delphi in Greece.
The oracle replied: "If Croesus goes to war he will destroy a great
empire." So Croesus went out to meet the army of Cyrus and was utterly
defeated, he destroyed his own great empire.
The old
story goes on to relate that Cyrus ordered Croesus to be burned alive.
When Croesus saw the flames creeping upward to consume him, he
remembered the words of the wise Solon and cried out, "O Solon! Solon!
Solon!" Supposedly Cyrus was so moved by the story of how Solon had
warned the proud king that he ordered Croesus to be released. Cyrus
asked to Croesus why he shouted Solon's name, and Croesus asked him
another question "what your soldiers are doing now?", showing the
Persian soldiers taking all the treasures and destroying everything;
Cyrus replied "They are plundering your city"; then Croesus said "They
are not plundering my city, it's your city now and your soldiers are
destroying your city". After that short conversation Cyrus the Great
stopped his soldiers.
quite a splendid life!!
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