2.2 Candaules’s wife
Having introduced Croesus, Herodotus springs another surprise that sheds light on his way of writing historically. He takes another step back to explain how it was that Croesus’s family held power in Lydia in the first place (1.7.1). Croesus may have been ‘known’ to Herodotus’ reader, but now the author promises special insight by exploring the origins of his power. Incidentally, by doing this, Herodotus also demonstrates that the question of cause – or origins or blame: the Greek aitia (Herodotus 1.1.1) captures all of these senses – can always be pushed back further into the past. In this case Herodotus traces the question of why Croesus’ family held power in Lydia back to a certain Candaules.
Activity 9
Below are extracts from the beginning of Herodotus’ account of Candaules, who some five generations before Croesus was ruler of the kingdom of Lydia, whose capital city was Sardis. Read the following extracts from Herodotus at least once, and then answer the following questions:
- What background information to Candaules does Herodotus provide?
- What is the core feature of this account?
- What action does Candaules decide upon?
- In what ways does Herodotus get his reader to believe this account?
Herodotus 1.7.2, 4
Candaules, whom the Greeks call Myrsilos, was the ruler of Sardis and a descendant of Alkaios the son of Heracles....The descendants of Heracles, the Heraklidai, ruled for twenty-two generations or five hundred and five years, with the son receiving the rule from the father, until Candaules the son of Myrsos.
Herodotus 1.8.1–2
This Candaules was in love with his own wife, and, because he loved her, he thought that she was by far the most beautiful woman in the world. And, because he was thinking this, he kept praising his wife’s appearance to his favourite personal guard, Gyges the son of Daskylos. For it was with this Gyges that Candaules used to discuss his most important affairs. After a little while had passed (for things with Candaules were destined to end badly), he said to Gyges such things as these: ‘Gyges, I don’t think that you believe me when I tell you about my wife’s looks – and it’s true that people tend to believe their ears less than their eyes. So, you must find a way to see her naked.’
Discussion
As usual with reading Herodotus, there’s a lot going on! You may have jotted down the following points:
- Herodotus provides a genealogy going back to the Greek hero, Heracles, that establishes Candaules as the legitimate ruler of Sardis.
- Candaules thinks his wife is so beautiful that he wants his bodyguard, Gyges, to recognise her beauty too.
- Candaules decides that Gyges should spy on his wife.
- There are various ways in which Herodotus invites his reader to believe his account. He includes Candaules’s alternative Greek name, as if to demonstrate to his Greek reader his superior knowledge. Similarly, his very specific identification of the length of time is designed to gain trust. He also uses direct speech, as if he were there to record Candaules’s conversation!
This use of direct speech is another feature that Herodotus takes from Homeric epic, since he couldn’t possibly have known the precise words that were spoken. It allows him to bring the story to life, as if we were there eavesdropping on this intimate exchange. It also allows the character of individuals to be revealed through what they say and how they say it, rather than simply through a narrator’s description. But the use of direct speech additionally introduces other voices into the narrative: these aren’t the words of Herodotus (as the narrator) but of a figure in his narrative. Like our earlier observation on sources, this is another strategy for demanding that we read carefully and not simply accept what is being told to us.
You may also have noticed the rather odd-sounding expression with which Herodotus introduces the key idea motivating this episode: that ‘Candaules was in love with his own wife’. A clue to how to think about it comes in the next sentence when Herodotus writes that Candaules used to discuss his most important affairs with Gyges, especially his wife’s appearance. Candaules’ desire, even if it’s for his own wife, is a problem because it dominates his thinking: when he should be ruling, he’s instead singing her praises. This is a story about power. So much becomes clear as the episode continues. First, Candaules succeeds in forcing Gyges to spy on his wife. Then, because she notices him spying on her, she later confronts Gyges and gives him a stark choice: either he must kill Candaules, or be killed himself for seeing what he ought not have (Herodotus 1.11.2). Unsurprisingly, Gyges opts for the former and kills his master. Through this story we learn how the throne of Lydia came into the possession of the family of Croesus.
That is not all. This is also a story about Herodotus’ brand of history. At first glance, this episode, on which Herodotus leads on seems curiously trivial, even gossipy. Yet by taking us into the bedroom Herodotus promises insight into power dynamics that have repercussions for an entire kingdom and beyond. Much is at stake, and the switch to direct speech marks a key moment. Candaules’s description that ‘people tend to trust their ears less than their eyes’ (1.8.2) – or, as we might put it in English, seeing is believing – resonates strongly with Herodotus’ conception of history as enquiry, in which he actively hunts out eyewitnesses of an event or describes what he himself sees. But there is also a danger in taking a position from which to view events, as you will explore now.
In the passages below you’ll learn about what happens next and what’s important about it. Where before you’ve concentrated on reading in a way that captures the gist or identifies key features, with this activity you will be focusing on close reading.
Activity 10
Compare and contrast two passages: Candaules’s instructions to Gyges; and Herodotus’ narration of what actually happens. First, read each passage to get a sense of what is going on. Then re-read them, this time comparing them to each other, by:
- underlining at least three differences that you notice in the second text (the narration)
- providing a one-line summary that explains the differences that you’ve noted
- giving an example of the point that you have observed.
Herodotus 1.9.2–3 (Candaules instructs Gyges how he can spy on his wife without being seen)
I will stand you in the room in which we sleep, behind the open door. After I have entered, my wife will also be there for bed. There is a chair near the entrance. On this chair she will place her clothes as she slips them off, one by one, and you will be able to see her quite at ease. But, when she walks away from the chair to the bed, and you are behind her back, then take care that she doesn't see you as you go out the door.
Herodotus 1.10.1–2 (Herodotus narrates what actually happens when Gyges spies on Candaules's wife)
When he thought it was time for bed, Candaules led Gyges to the room, and directly afterwards his wife was there. Gyges saw her come in and set down her clothes. When he was behind the back of the woman as she was going to the bed, he withdrew, slipping out. But the woman saw him leaving.
Discussion
These are points of comparison that you may have noted:
- Candaules, when it was time for bed, led Gyges to the room, and quickly afterwards his wife entered. Gyges watched her come in and set down her clothes. When he was behind the back of the woman as she went towards the bed, he departed, slipping out. But the woman saw him going.
- Most of the differences result from the translation of a (first-person) speech into (third-person) narration.
- So, ‘Candaules’ replaces the ‘I’ in the first passage, and ‘Gyges’ the ‘you’.
In this translation of speech into narration, you may also have noted two other differences. First, the future tense verbs become past tense verbs when the episode is recounted: ‘I will stand you’ becomes ‘Candaules led Gyges’; ‘my wife will be there’ becomes ‘his wife was there’; and so on. Second, the speed of the narration varies. It’s quicker. In this way, even though Herodotus’ description essentially replays Candaules’ instructions – Gyges takes his place; the wife comes in; Gyges spies her; when she turns her back, he leaves – it’s not simple repetition. The narration feels different, more urgent somehow, and more tense.
It’s worth pondering what’s at stake in this shift. Candaules’ instructions map out the coordinates of his bedroom in some detail, mainly through the use of prepositions – behind, near to, on, away, towards, behind, through. Everything is neatly ordered, highly controlled. This is the master’s gaze. By contrast, in his narration of what happens, Herodotus homes in on a single idea: how Gyges gets in and gets out of the room. The description mirrors Gyges’ anxiety, as if we experience the scene through his eyes, and feel his desperation to leave, as if he’s the one under scrutiny.
And indeed he is, because the wife notices Gyges as he exits. This is the biggest difference between the two passages, and reveals the gap between expectation and outcome even in the best laid plans. Herodotus marks this concisely and effectively in the phrases that were italicised above: the wife ‘slips off’ her clothes; Gyges ‘slips out’ of the room – the same word (ekduō, in the Greek) is used in both cases. Where Candaules had emphasised the spectacle of Gyges seeing the wife ‘slipping out’ of her clothes, Herodotus highlights instead the critical moment when the wife sees Gyges ‘slipping out’.
