m he attacked the Ephesians
first. The Ephesians then, being besieged by him, dedicated their city
to Artemis and tied a rope from the temple to the wall of the city: now
the distance between the ancient city, which was then being besieged,
and the temple is seven furlongs. 22 These, I say, where the first upon
whom Croesus laid hands, but afterwards he did the same to the other
Ionian and Aiolian cities one by one, alleging against them various
causes of complaint, and making serious charges against those in whose
cases he could find serious grounds, while against others of them he
charged merely trifling offences.

27. Then when the Hellenes in Asia had been conquered and forced to pay
tribute, he designed next to build for himself ships and to lay hands
upon those who dwelt in the islands; and when all was prepared for
his building of ships, they say that Bias of Priene (or, according to
another account, Pittacos of Mytilene) came to Sardis, and being asked
by Croesus whether there was any new thing doing in Hellas, brought to
an end his building of ships by this saying: "O king," said he, "the men
of the islands are hiring a troop of ten thousand horse, and with this
they mean to march to Sardis and fight against thee." And Croesus,
supposing that what he reported was true, said: "May the gods put
it into the minds of the dwellers of the islands to come with horses
against the sons of the Lydians!" And he answered and said: "O king, I
perceive that thou dost earnestly desire to catch the men of the islands
on the mainland riding upon horses; and it is not unreasonable that thou
shouldest wish for this: what else however thinkest thou the men of the
islands desire and have been praying for ever since the time they heard
that thou wert about to build ships against them, than that they might
catch the Lydians upon the sea, so as to take vengeance upon thee for
the Hellenes who dwell upon the mainland, whom thou dost hold enslaved?"
Croesus, they say, was greatly pleased with this conclusion, 23 and
obeying his suggestion, for he judged him to speak suitably, he stopped
his building of ships; and upon that he formed a friendship with the
Ionians dwelling in the islands.

28. As time went on, when nearly all those dwelling on this side the
river Halys had been subdued, (for except the Kilikians and Lykians
Croesus subdued and kept under his rule all the nations, that is to say
Lydians, Phrygians, Mysians, Mariandynoi, C