Death of Atys #ancienthistory #historydocumentary #aicinematic #history #herodotus #croesus

Added: 2026-05-29

[00:00:00]to Sardis with [music] the terrible news. Upon reaching the city, he told Croesus of the hunt and of his son's [music] fate.

[00:00:07]The king was completely shattered by his death.

[00:00:11]Yet, what grieved him most bitterly was that his own son had been slain by the very man he himself had purified from bloodshed. Soon afterward, the Lydians arrived bearing the body with the slayer walking behind them.

[00:00:26]Adrastus stood before the corpse, stretched out his hands, [music] and surrendered himself to Croesus.

[00:00:33]"Take my life," he said, "over the body of your son.

[00:00:38]I am already stained by one earlier misfortune, and now I have destroyed the man who cleansed me of it. Life holds no more value for me."

[00:00:48]Though his own heart was broken by such overwhelming sorrow, Croesus took pity on Adrastus and answered, "Guest, I ask nothing more of you. You have already condemned yourself to death, and that is satisfaction enough. The true cause of this evil was [music] not you, at least not of your own will, but some god, I believe, who long ago warned me of what was to come."

[00:01:12]Croesus buried his son [music] with all the honors due to him.

[00:01:16]But Adrastus, son of Gordias and [music] grandson of King Midas, the man who had slain his own brother and now the son of the king who had purified him, waited [music] until the mourners fell silent around the tomb.

[00:01:31]Recognizing that no man on earth bore a heavier burden of misfortune [music] than he, he took his own life upon the grave.