Alcmaeon, son of Megacles

Alcmaeon, son of Megacles

Alcmaeon (Gr. polytonic|Ἀλκμαίων), son of the Megacles who was guilty of sacrilege with respect to the fol­lowers of Cimon, was invited by Croesus, king of Lydia, to Sardis in consequence of the services he had rendered to an embassy sent by Croesus to consult the Delphic oracle.cite encyclopedia | last = Smith | first = Philip | authorlink = | title = Alcmaeon (2) | editor = William Smith | encyclopedia = Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology | volume = 1 | pages = 104 | publisher = Little, Brown and Company | location = Boston | year = 1867 | url = http://www.ancientlibrary.com/smith-bio/0113.html ] On his arrival at Sardis, Croesus made him a present of as much gold as he could carry out of the treasury. Alcmaeon took the king at his word, by putting on a most capacious dress, the folds of which (as well as the vacant space of a pair of very wide boots, also provided for the occasion) he stuffed with gold, and then filled his mouth and hair with gold dust. Croesus laughed at the trick, and presented him with as much again. This was supposed to have taken place around 590 BC). The wealth thus acquired is said to have contributed greatly to the subsequent pros­perity of the Alcmaeonidae.Herodotus, vi. 125]

Alcmaeon was a breeder of horses for chariot races, and on one occasion gained the prize in a chariot-race at Olympia. [Isocrates, "de Bigis.", c. 10. p. 351] According to Plutarch, he commanded the Athenians in the Cirrhaean War, which began in 596 BC. [Plutarch, "Solon" c. 11]

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