Atys son of Croesus
Encyclopedia
Atys was the son of Croesus
, father of Pythius
, a king of Lydia
. According to book one of the Histories
by Herodotus
, his father had a dream, in this dream he saw his son Atys being killed by a spear. As a result Croesus, seeking to prevent or stave off the foreseen fate, had his son married immediately and ceased sending him out to war. One day a giant boar began terrorizing Mysian Olympus, and the Mysians sent to Croesus seeking his son and a team of chosen young men and hounds to help drive it off. Croesus initially refused, but Atys talked his father into letting him hunt the boar, since boars don't wield iron weapons. Croesus gave his consent, but he sent Adrastus with him as a body guard. During the hunt, Adrastus accidentally killed Atys when hurling a spear at the boar. Riddled with guilt, Adrastus slew himself over the tomb of Atys.
Croesus
Croesus was the king of Lydia from 560 to 547 BC until his defeat by the Persians. The fall of Croesus made a profound impact on the Hellenes, providing a fixed point in their calendar. "By the fifth century at least," J.A.S...
, father of Pythius
Pythius
Pythius is a Lydian mentioned in book VII of Herodotus' Histories, chh. 27-29 and 38-39.Xerxes I of Persia, son of Darius I of Persia, and king of Persia, encounters Pythius on his way to invade Greece c. 480 BC. Pythius entertains him and offers to provide money for the expenses of war...
, a king of Lydia
Lydia
Lydia was an Iron Age kingdom of western Asia Minor located generally east of ancient Ionia in the modern Turkish provinces of Manisa and inland İzmir. Its population spoke an Anatolian language known as Lydian....
. According to book one of the Histories
Histories (Herodotus)
The Histories of Herodotus is considered one of the seminal works of history in Western literature. Written from the 450s to the 420s BC in the Ionic dialect of classical Greek, The Histories serves as a record of the ancient traditions, politics, geography, and clashes of various cultures that...
by Herodotus
Herodotus
Herodotus was an ancient Greek historian who was born in Halicarnassus, Caria and lived in the 5th century BC . He has been called the "Father of History", and was the first historian known to collect his materials systematically, test their accuracy to a certain extent and arrange them in a...
, his father had a dream, in this dream he saw his son Atys being killed by a spear. As a result Croesus, seeking to prevent or stave off the foreseen fate, had his son married immediately and ceased sending him out to war. One day a giant boar began terrorizing Mysian Olympus, and the Mysians sent to Croesus seeking his son and a team of chosen young men and hounds to help drive it off. Croesus initially refused, but Atys talked his father into letting him hunt the boar, since boars don't wield iron weapons. Croesus gave his consent, but he sent Adrastus with him as a body guard. During the hunt, Adrastus accidentally killed Atys when hurling a spear at the boar. Riddled with guilt, Adrastus slew himself over the tomb of Atys.