Gyges
Γύγης
(Γύγης), the first king of Lydia of the dynasty of the Mermnadae, dethroned Candaules, and succeeded to the kingdom, as related under CANDAULES. [Comp. DEIOCES, p. 952a, sub fin.] The following is the chronology of the Mermnad dynasty, according to Herodotus: --
| 1. | Gyges reigned | 38 | years, B. C. | 716-678 |
| 2. | Ardys " | 49 | " " | 678-629 |
| 3. | Sadyattes " | 12 | " " | 629-617 |
| 4. | Alyattes " | 57 | " " | 617-560 |
| 5. | Croesus " | 14 | " " | 560-546 |
| ---- | -------- | |||
| Total - | 170 | 716-546. |
Dionysius reckons the accession of Gyges two years higher, B. C. 718. Eusebius (Chron.) gives an entirely different chronology: --
| 1. | Gyges reigned | 36 | years, B. C. | 670-664 |
| 2. | Ardys " | 37 | " " | 664-627 |
| 3. | Sadyattes " | 15 | " " | 627-612 |
| 4. | Alyattes " | 49 | " " | 612-563 |
| 5. | Croesus " | 15 | " " | 563-548 |
(Clinton, F. H. vol. ii. pp. 296, 297.)
The only thing worthy of mention in the reign of Gyges is, that the Lydians were at first disinclined to submit to him; but an oracle from Delphi established his authority, in gratitude for which he sent magnificent presents to the temple. He carried on various wars with the cities of Asia Minor, such as Miletus, Smyrna, Colophon, and Magnesia. " The riches of Gyges " became a proverb. (Hdt. 1.7_14; Justin, 1.7; Paus. 4.21.5, 9.29.4; Nicol. Damasc. pp. 51, 52, ed. Orelli; Creuzer, Frag. Hist. p. 203, Meletem. i. p. 72, note 28; Baehr, ad Herodot. 1.12.)
From William Smith (ed.), Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology. Text provided under a CC BY-SA license by Perseus Digital Library, http://www.perseus.tufts.edu, with funding from the National Endowment for the Humanities and Tufts University. Data accessed from https://github.com/PerseusDL/canonical-pdlrefwk/ on 17 October 2026.