"Croesus and Fate" (AKA: "Croesus and Solon")[1] is a short story by Leo Tolstoy that is a retelling of a Greek legend, classically told by Herodotus, and Plutarch, about the king Croesus. It was first published in 1886 by Tolstoy's publishing company The Intermediary. Tolstoy's version is shorter than that by Herodotus, and Tolstoy's characterization of Croesus was designed to parallel the title character in his 1886 novella The Death of Ivan Ilych.[2]
Croesus on the pyre, Attic red-figure amphora, 500–490 BC, Louvre (G 197)
Croesus is a rich king in ancient Lydia who is quite enamored with his own wealth. When the wise man Solon comes to visit his kingdom, Croesus asks Solon if he had ever seen greater opulence than his own. Solon replies that birds like peacocks are incomparable in their beauty. Croesus disagrees, and he tries to impress Solon with a list of vanquished foes and claimed territories. Solon still disagrees, telling Croesus that the happiest man he had ever met was a peasant in Athens. He explains that the peasant worked hard, raised a family, and was content with what he had. Croesus takes this as an insult and Solon leaves.
Soon after Solon's departure, tragedy befalls Croesus. His oldest son is killed in a hunting accident, and then Emperor Cyrus invades. Cyrus' army is triumphant, and Croesus' kingdom is ravaged and Croesus himself is captured and ordered to be executed. As Croesus is about to be burned on a pyre, he cries out Solon's name. Cyrus stops the pyre to hear what Croesus has to say. Croesus relates Solon's story to Cyrus, and Cyrus is moved by the notion that Fate can bring misery to a rich man and happiness to a poor man.[3] Croesus is freed and the emperor and the king become good friends.[4]
This is the report passed down by Greek historian Herodotus; but according to Persian historians and Persian school texts, Croesus had himself tied on the pyre to be burned rather than be tortured by Cyrus. What Croesus didn't know was that Cyrus was a kind liberator. So when he saw the pyre on fire, Cyrus ordered it to be doused and told Croesus that he was still king in Lydia and that he could keep all his riches because Cyrus would never want such a burden.
Bibliographyedit
Black's Readers Service Company. The Works of Tolstoi. Roslyn, New York. 1928.
Medzhibovskaya, Inessa. Tolstoy and the Religious Culture of His Time: A Biography of a Long Conversion, 1845-1887. Lexington Books. Lanham, MD, 2008.
croesus, fate, croesus, solon, short, story, tolstoy, that, retelling, greek, legend, classically, told, herodotus, plutarch, about, king, croesus, first, published, 1886, tolstoy, publishing, company, intermediary, tolstoy, version, shorter, than, that, herod. Croesus and Fate AKA Croesus and Solon 1 is a short story by Leo Tolstoy that is a retelling of a Greek legend classically told by Herodotus and Plutarch about the king Croesus It was first published in 1886 by Tolstoy s publishing company The Intermediary Tolstoy s version is shorter than that by Herodotus and Tolstoy s characterization of Croesus was designed to parallel the title character in his 1886 novella The Death of Ivan Ilych 2 Croesus on the pyre Attic red figure amphora 500 490 BC Louvre G 197 Contents 1 Synopsis 2 Bibliography 3 See also 4 External links 5 ReferencesSynopsis editCroesus is a rich king in ancient Lydia who is quite enamored with his own wealth When the wise man Solon comes to visit his kingdom Croesus asks Solon if he had ever seen greater opulence than his own Solon replies that birds like peacocks are incomparable in their beauty Croesus disagrees and he tries to impress Solon with a list of vanquished foes and claimed territories Solon still disagrees telling Croesus that the happiest man he had ever met was a peasant in Athens He explains that the peasant worked hard raised a family and was content with what he had Croesus takes this as an insult and Solon leaves Soon after Solon s departure tragedy befalls Croesus His oldest son is killed in a hunting accident and then Emperor Cyrus invades Cyrus army is triumphant and Croesus kingdom is ravaged and Croesus himself is captured and ordered to be executed As Croesus is about to be burned on a pyre he cries out Solon s name Cyrus stops the pyre to hear what Croesus has to say Croesus relates Solon s story to Cyrus and Cyrus is moved by the notion that Fate can bring misery to a rich man and happiness to a poor man 3 Croesus is freed and the emperor and the king become good friends 4 This is the report passed down by Greek historian Herodotus but according to Persian historians and Persian school texts Croesus had himself tied on the pyre to be burned rather than be tortured by Cyrus What Croesus didn t know was that Cyrus was a kind liberator So when he saw the pyre on fire Cyrus ordered it to be doused and told Croesus that he was still king in Lydia and that he could keep all his riches because Cyrus would never want such a burden Bibliography editBlack s Readers Service Company The Works of Tolstoi Roslyn New York 1928 Medzhibovskaya Inessa Tolstoy and the Religious Culture of His Time A Biography of a Long Conversion 1845 1887 Lexington Books Lanham MD 2008 Taleb Nassim N Fooled by Randomness The Hidden Role of Chance in Life and in the Markets New York Random House and Penguin 2001 ISBN 0 8129 7521 9 Herodotus The Histories Book 1 Clio 440 BC See also editLeo Tolstoy bibliographyExternal links editComplete Text Online Croesus and Solon at RevoltLib com Croesus and Solon at Marxists orgReferences edit Leo Tolstoy 1911 Master and man and other parables and tales Medzhibovskaya 2008 p 318 Taleb 2001 Part I Solon s Warning Page 3 Black s Readers Service Company 1928 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Croesus and Fate amp oldid 1209126574, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
