BABYLON AND PERSIA

2IO ' MEDIA, BABYLON, AND PERSIA. ,habit of sending presents to the most renowned centresof Greek worship, and consulting the Greek godsthrough their oracles 2. e., through those of theirministers who were considered to possess the giftof divine inspiration and to deliver the messagesof the god or interpret the signs sent by him. Thetemple and oracle of Apollo at DELPHI was themost widely famed and.revered, and became a favor¬ite resort of the " Barbarians," whose lavish offeringsgreatly enriched its treasure-houses. This is whywe may consider the report of Gyges referring hisclaim to the Lydian throne to the arbitration of theDelphic Apollo as the least doubtful of the state¬ments made concerning the revolution which trans¬ferred the royal power to the dynasty of the Mermnada;.Plerodotus specifies the gifts sent by Gygesto the Delphic shrine, in gratitude for the verdictwhich confirmed his title ; they consisted in a largequantity of silver and " a vast number of vessels ofgold." Gyges, according to the same historian, " wasthe first of the barbarians whom we know to havesent offerings to Delphi," with the exception of acertain king of Phrygia who, even before his time,sent thither and dedicated to the god the royalthrone whereon he was accustomed to sit and to ad¬minister justice an object," Plerodotus adds, " wellworth looking at."12. In point of material civilization, the Lydianswere probably far ahead of the new-comers, at theeariy period of Greek emigration. They were pos¬sessed of great skill in various industrial arts, espe¬cially those of dyeing wool and weaving ; and Lydian