the disaster did not occur as a destruction of the city, but as a raid.
7 The leadership, having belonged to the Heraclidae descendants of Heracles, thus passed to the family of Croesus, who are called the Mermnadae. There was Candaules, whom the Greeks call Myrsilus, tyrant of Sardis and a descendant of Alcaeus, son of Heracles. Agron, the son of Ninus, son of Belus, son of Alcaeus, was the first of the Heraclidae to be king of Sardis, and Candaules, son of Myrsus, was the last. Those who reigned over this land before Agron were descendants of Lydus, son of Atys, from whom the whole of this people was named Lydian, having previously been called Maeonians. Entrusted by these people, the Heraclidae held power based on an oracle, having descended from a slave girl of Iardanus and Heracles. They ruled for twenty-two generations of men, spanning five hundred and five years, with son succeeding father in the command, 8 down to Candaules, son of Myrsus.
This Candaules fell in love with his own wife, and because he was in love, he believed she was by far the most beautiful of all women. Holding this belief, and since Gyges, son of Dascylus, was the one of his bodyguards who was most pleasing to him—Candaules used to entrust the most serious matters to this Gyges, and indeed, he even praised the beauty of his wife excessively. After no long time had passed (for it was destined that things should go poorly for Candaules), he spoke to Gyges as follows: "Gyges, I do not think you believe me when I speak about the beauty of my wife (for men's ears are less trustworthy than their eyes), so act in such a way that you see her naked."
But he, crying out, said, "Master, what sort of unsound suggestion is this, ordering me to look upon my mistress naked? A woman sheds her modesty together with her garments. Long ago, fine things were discovered by men, from which one ought to learn; among these is this one: that one should mind one's own affairs. As for me, I am convinced that she is the most beautiful of all women, and I beg of you not to demand lawless things."
9 He, then, spoke such things and fought against it, fearing that some evil might come to him from these actions, but the other replied with these words: "Take heart, Gyges, and do not fear that I am saying this to test you, nor fear my wife, so that any harm might come to you from her."