, and thus
overthrows the hypothesis that Lygdamis or Dygdamis was a
Lycian chief who managed to discipline the barbarian hordes.

** The alliance of the Lycians with the Cimmerians and
Treres is known from the evidence of Callisthenes preserved
for us by Strabo. It is probable that many of the marauding
tribes of the Taurus--Isaurians, Lycaonians, and
Painphylians--similarly joined the Cimmerians.

Their heavy cavalry, with metal helmets and long steel swords, overran
the peninsula from end to end, treading down everything under their
horses' hoofs. Gyges did his best to stand up against the storm, but
his lancers quailed beneath the shock and fled in confusion: he himself
perished in the flight, and his corpse remained in the enemy's hands
(652 B.C.). The whole of Lydia was mercilessly ravaged, and the lower
town of Sardes was taken by storm.*

* Strabo states definitely that it was Lygdamis who took the
city. The account given by the same author of a double
destruction of Sardes in 652 and 682 B.C. is due to an
unfortunate borrowing from the work of Caliisthenes.

[Illustration: 240.jpg BATTLE OF THE CIMMERIANS AGAINST THE GREEKS
ACCOMPANIED BY THEIR DOGS]

Drawn by Faucher-Gudin, from the sarcophagus of Clazomenae.

Ardys, who had succeeded his father on the throne, was able, however,
to save the citadel: he rallied around him the remnants of his army and
once more took the field. The cities of Ionia made common cause with
him; their hoplites issued victorious from more than one engagement, and
their dogs, trained to harry fearlessly the horses of the enemy, often
took an active part in the battle. City after city was attacked by the
barbarians, and the suburbs plundered. Ephesus, on account of the wealth
it contained, formed their chief attraction, but their forces dashed
themselves fruitlessly against its walls; they avenged themselves for
their failure by setting on fire the temple of Artemis which stood
in the outskirts. This act of sacrilege profoundly stirred the whole
Hellenic world, and when the first fury of pillage was exhausted, the
barbarians themselves seemed to have been struck with superstitious
horror at their crime: deadly fevers contracted in the marshes near the
city thinned their ranks, and in the scourge which struck down their
forces they recognised the chastisement of the goddess.*

* The invasion of Ionia by the Cimmeria