herodotus

and they counselled him to find out the most powerful of the Hellenesand join these with himself as friends. 54. So when the answers werebrought back and Crœsus heard them, he was delighted with the oracles,and expecting that he would certainly destroy the kingdom of Cyrus, hesent again to Pytho,[58] and presented to the men of Delphi, havingascertained the number of them, two staters of gold for each man: andin return for this the Delphians gave to Crœsus and to the Lydiansprecedence in consulting the Oracle and freedom from all payments, andthe right to front seats at the games, with this privilege also forall time, that any one of them who wished should be allowed to becomea citizen of Delphi. 55. And having made presents to the men ofDelphi, Crœsus consulted the Oracle the third time; for from the timewhen he learnt the truth of the Oracle, he made abundant use ofit.[59] And consulting the Oracle he inquired whether his monarchywould endure for a long time. And the Pythian prophetess answered himthus:"But when it cometh to pass that a mule of the Medes shall be monarchThen by the pebbly Hermos, O Lydian delicate-footed,Flee and stay not, and be not ashamed to be callèd a coward."56. By these lines when they came to him Crœsus was pleased more thanby all the rest, for he supposed that a mule would never be ruler ofthe Medes instead of a man, and accordingly that he himself and hisheirs would never cease from their rule. Then after this he gavethought to inquire which people of the Hellenes he should esteem themost powerful and gain over to himself as friends. And inquiring hefound that the Lacedemonians and the Athenians had the pre-eminence,the first of the Dorian and the others of the Ionian race. For thesewere the most eminent races in ancient time, the second being aPelasgian and the first a Hellenic race: and the one never migratedfrom its place in any direction, while the other was very exceedinglygiven to wanderings; for in the reign of Deucalion this race dwelt inPthiotis, and in the time of Doros the son of Hellen in the land lyingbelow Ossa and Olympos, which is called Histiaiotis; and when it wasdriven from Histiaiotis by the sons of Cadmos, it dwelt in Pindos andwas called Makednian; and thence it moved afterwards to Dryopis, andfrom Dryopis it came finally to Peloponnesus, and began to be calledDorian.57. What language however the Pelasgians used to speak I am not ablewith certainty to say. But if one must pronounce judging by those thatstill remain of the Pelasgians who dwelt in the city of Creston[60]above the Tyrsenians, and who were once neighbours of the race nowcalled Dorian, dwelling then in the land which is now calledThessaliotis, and also by those that remain of the Pelasgians who