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Candaules

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Candaules, King of Lydia, Shews his Wife by Stealth to Gyges, One of his Ministers, as She Goes to Bed by William Etty. This image illustrates Herodotus's version of the tale of Gyges.

Candaules (died c.687 BC; Template:Lang-el, Kandaulēs), also known as Myrsilos (Μυρσίλος),[1] was a king of the ancient Kingdom of Lydia in the early years of the 7th century BC. According to Herodotus, he succeeded his father Meles as the 22nd and last king of Lydia's Heraclid dynasty. He was assassinated and succeeded by Gyges.[1][2]

Based on an ambiguous line in the work of the Greek poet Hipponax, it was traditionally assumed that the name of Candaules meant "hound-choker" among the Lydians.[3] J. B. Bury and Russell Meiggs (1975) say that Candaules is a Maeonian name meaning "hound-choker" and that Aryan conquerors (the Heraclids in Greek tradition) had occupied the Lydian throne for centuries.[2] More recently, however, it has been suggested that the name or title Kandaules is cognate with the Luwian hantawatt(i)– ("king") and probably has Carian origin.[4] The name or title Candaules is the origin of the term candaulism, for a sexual practice attributed to him by legend.[5]

Several stories of how the Heraclid dynasty of Candaules ended and the Mermnad dynasty of Gyges began have been related by different authors throughout history, mostly in a mythical sense. In Plato's Republic, Gyges used a magical ring to become invisible and usurp the throne, a plot device which reappeared in numerous myths and works of fiction throughout history.[citation needed] The earliest story, related by Herodotus in the 5th century BC, has Candaules betrayed and executed by his wife, Nyssia, in a cautionary tale against pride and possession.[6]

Herodotus' tale of Candaules, his wife and Gyges

Jacob Jordaens. Candaules showing Gyges his wife Nyssia. This image illustrates Herodotus' tale of Candaules and Gyges.

According to Herodotus in The Histories, Candaules believed his wife to be the most beautiful woman on Earth. Herodotus does not name the wife but later artists and writers have called her Nyssia.[7]

(to be reviewed and revised)

He bragged of his wife's incredible beauty to his favorite bodyguard, Gyges. "It appears you don't believe me when I tell you how lovely my wife is," said the King. "A man always believes his eyes better than his ears; so do as I tell you—contrive to see her naked".

Gyges initially refused; he did not wish to dishonor Nyssia, the Queen, by seeing her nude body.[8] He also feared what the King might do to him if he did accept.

Candaules was insistent, and Gyges had no choice but to obey. The King detailed a plan by which Gyges would hide behind a door in the royal bedroom to observe Nyssia disrobing before bed. Gyges would then leave the room while the Queen's back was turned.

That night, the plan was executed. However, the Queen saw Gyges as he left the room, and recognized immediately that she had been betrayed and shamed by her own husband. She silently swore to have her revenge, and began to arrange her own plan.

The next day, the Queen summoned Gyges to her chamber. Although Gyges thought nothing of the routine request, she confronted him immediately with her knowledge of his misdeed and her husband's. "One of you must die," Nyssia declared. "Either my husband, the author of this wicked plot; or you, who have outraged propriety by seeing me naked."

Gyges pleaded with the Queen not to force him to make this choice. She was relentless, and eventually he chose to betray the King so that he should live.

The Queen prepared for Gyges to kill Candaules by the same manner in which she was shamed. Gyges hid behind the door of the bedroom chamber with a knife provided by the Queen, and killed him in his sleep. Gyges married the Queen and became King, and father to the Mermnad dynasty.

The subtext is that in Lydia, right of kingship is based upon possession of the queen, who bestows legitimacy.

Modern view of the story

The story is rejected by Bury and Meiggs who assert that the family of Candaules, though descended from Heracles himself, had become degenerate. As a result, Candaules was assassinated c.687 by Gyges who ushered in a new era for Lydia ruled by his own Mermnadae clan.[2]

See also

Notes

  1. ^ a b Herodotus & de Sélincourt 1954, p. 43
  2. ^ a b c Bury & Meiggs 1975, p. 82
  3. ^ Liddell, Henry George; Scott, Robert. "A Greek-English Lexicon ("Κανδαύλης")". Perseus Digital Library. Clarendon Press. Retrieved 3 July 2018.
  4. ^ Szemerényi, Oswald, “Etyma Latina II (7-18)”, Studi Linguistici in onore di Vittore Pisani. Brescia: Paideia. V. 2, 1969, pp. 963–994; Yakubovich, Ilya, Sociolinguistics of the Luwian Language, Leiden: Brill, 2010, pp. 94-95.
  5. ^ Richard von Krafft-Ebing in his book: Psychopathia sexualis. Eine klinisch-forensische Studie (Stuttgart: Enke 1886).
  6. ^ Herodotus & de Sélincourt 1954, pp. 43–45
  7. ^ Gautier, Théophile (1844), Le roi Candaule. This work, a novella, is one example of Nyssia being the wife's name.
  8. ^ It should be stated that, although it would be taken more harshly when a queen was involved rather than an ordinary woman, seeing any one naked would be considered a shameful thing to do in all cases, as Herodotus states in 1.10.3: "For with the Lydians, and almost all Persians likewise, already seeing a man naked brings about great shame."

Sources

Preceded by King of Lydia
?–c.687 BC 		Succeeded by
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