Herodotus Story of Candaules, King of Lydia,Turkey

Herodotus Story of Candaules, King of Lydia,Turkey

Candaules was a king of Lydia, Turkey. He had a beautiful wife named Nyssia. He worshipped her beauty and often boasted of it with great pride. He had a bodyguard named Gyges. Candaules once tells Gyges that he is going to prove to him that there is no one comparable in beauty to his wife(maybe Gyges didnt believe his claims or the king just wanted to show off..).

So the king puts together a plan and tells it to Gyges in confidence. He tells Gyges that every night the queen has a habit of getting undressed in their room before getting into bed. So he asks Gyges to stand near a door in their room and watch secretly her as she is undressing.

Gyges stands near the door in darkness and waits for the queen to come into the room. Candaules pretends to be asleep and waits for the queen to come. So Nyssia comes into the room, goes to a desk and removing her clothes one by one puts them on the desk. Gyges gets mesmerized watching her naked. As he makes a movement to get out of the room,he makes a noise and the queen lifts her head and looks straight at him(maybe he deliberately did this to attract her attention or it was an honest mistake..). She seems startled and about to scream but holds her temper in check. She doesnt utter a word about this to the king or anyone else.

The next day Nyssia calls for Gyges and makes him an offer. She tells him that because he has seen her naked and no one is allowed to do that other than her husband, either he must die or kill her husband and marry her. So Gyges kills his friend Candaules, marries Nyssia and rules Lydia for over 25 years. 

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