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The Lydians, speakers of an ancient Indo-European language,
dominated Western Asia Minor under the Mermnad dynasty in the 7th
and 6th centuries BC. The final Mermnad king of Lydia, Croesus,
is still cited today as the epitome of incredible riches. Apart
from the figure of Croesus, the Lydians are well known because
they are famously credited with the invention of coinage, and
because of the prominence of Lydian tales in Graeco-Roman
literature, in particular in the writings of the Greek historian
Herodotus. These, in turn, inspired many later accounts and
artistic representations, including Friedrich Hebbel’s tragedy
‘Gyges und sein Ring’ and Alexander Zemlinky’s opera ‘King
Candaules’.
First-hand information on the Lydians stems mainly from
archaeological research, as the available corpus of native Lydian
texts is limited in size and genre, while later sources may show
bias and distance to events recorded. This volume combines
current historical, linguistic, and archaeological research to
discuss the following topics: Lydian history and archaeology;
language and writing; money, religion, and burial customs;
concluding with the perception of Lydia throughout history. The
book offers an up-to-date introduction to the Lydians, with
extensive bibliographical references for further study. It is
aimed at a wide audience, including general readers and scholars.
A particular focus lies on the re-interpretation of the available
text sources, taking into account recent advances made in
neighboring academic fields in the study of ancient Anatolian
civilizations.