- Feb 2014
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gap2.alexandriaarchive.org gap2.alexandriaarchive.org
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Like for most of the major characters we see in Herodotus, he gives us a very thorough history of a character's ancestry. Nevertheless there are times where he gives a state's history instead. Here we see Herodotus begin the story of the Lydians.
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he stole out and killed Candaules
1.12. Gyges assassinates Candaules and takes the throne of Lydia, establishing the Mermnad dynasty.
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She gave him a dagger and hid him behind the same door
1.12. Candaules' wife arms Gyges and hides him in Candaules' bedroom.
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She replied
1.11. The wife of Candaules instructs Gyges to kill Candaules in his sleep.
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Then he asked: “Since you force me against my will to kill my master, I would like to know how we are to lay our hands on him.”
1.11. Gyges, having failed to persuade Candaules' wife not to force him to make this choice, asks how they will kill Candaules.
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Speaking thus, Gyges resisted: for he was afraid that some evil would come of it for him. But this was Candaules' answer: “Courage, Gyges! Do not be afraid of me, that I say this to test you, or of my wife, that you will have any harm from her.
1.9. Candaules rejects Gyges' advice and overrules his hesitation; the situation moves from a consultation to an order from a superior to an inferior.
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“Master,” he said, “what an unsound suggestion, that I should see my mistress naked!
1.8. Gyges responds to Candaules' invitation with a warning not to challenge the natural order of things (don't look at women who aren't your own wife naked).
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he praised her beauty beyond measure to Gyges son of Dascylus
1.8. Candaules praises his wife's beauty to his bodyguard Gyges, setting in motion the chain of events that will end in his death.
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since among the Lydians and most of the foreign peoples it is felt as a great shame that even a man be seen naked
Hdt. 1.10 See previous note. Great shame to be seen naked, even for men.
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When a woman's clothes come off, she dispenses with her modesty, too
Hdt. 1.8 Modesty is an important value/virtue in this culture/time period
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fell in love with his own wife, so much so that he believed her to be by far the most beautiful woman in the worl
Hdt. 1.8 It seems like it was strange to love one's wife; might be interesting to look into views on women/wives during this time period.
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