The Ancient Lydians

The History and Legacy of the Iron Age Kingdom of Lydia

By: Charles River Editors

Narrated by: Scott Clem

"When all these nations had been added to the Lydian empire, and Sardis was at the height of her wealth and prosperity, all the great Greek teachers of that epoch, one after another, paid visits to the capital." - Herodotus

Of all the empires and kingdoms in the ancient world, few could compare with the Lydians in terms of wealth and opulence. From the early seventh century BCE until the middle of the sixth century BCE, the Lydians played an important role in the history of the eastern Mediterranean region as they took on the role of middleman between the empires of the Near East and the emerging Hellenic civilization in Greece. From their capital in Sardis, the Lydian kings traded and made alliances and war with numerous kings, tyrants, and generals, which ultimately cemented their role as a brief but historically important people and kingdom in the ancient world. An examination of the Lydian people and their kingdom reveals that their power did not materialize overnight, but was instead a long process, dependent upon several factors. The primary factor contributing to Lydia's success was its wealth. The Lydians were fortunate enough to possess large deposits of precious metals within in their territory, but how they exploited and utilized those resources is what truly made them successful. They were the first people to invent a currency which not only allowed them to create a thriving economy within their own territory, but gave them tool with which to influence both their friends and enemies abroad. The wealth of Lydia impressed non-Lydians to the point that even the most sublime Greek philosophers, who generally eschewed wealth, praised the high culture of Lydia and the Lydian people in general and the greatness of their capital city.

©2016 Charles River Editors (P)2016 Charles River Editors

Great for First Time exposure to subject

I listened to this book after I had already listened to Herodotus' The Histories. I was interested in learning more about ancient Lydia. Most of the material in this book is really directly from Herodotus. There was some good stuff about the Hittites being the predecessors of the Lydians, but it seemed the text was mainly dependent upon Herodotus. Also, they spend a bit more time with the conflict between Greece and Persia simply because it partly happens in Lydia and partly because it was sourced from Herodotus.

I wish that more had been given about Sardis and about the Goddess Cybele and her temple. The associated religion would have been quite interesting. If there isn't a lot of information, the book could have at least told us why.

The narrator, Scott Clem, has a great voice. Unfortunately, he murders the proper names of people and places one after the other. Some of the mistakes are worse than dreadful. For example, he mentions the gods Apollo and Artemis along with a god I had never heard of before called ZEEE-uhs. Then, I realized he meant the god Zeus. But he pronounced it as two syllables. He makes quite a few other errors, including saying HeroDOtus, instead of the standard HeRODotus. It made the listening experience unpleasant. He could have spent a little time to learn the pronunciation or at least the producer of this audio book could have done some QA and required him to pronounce names correctly.

All in all, it makes me think that not a lot of effort went into the production of this book or at least not the top-notch care that should have. If you know little about the Lydians, you can benefit from this book. If you've already read Herodotus, then this book will only give you a bit more about the Hittite association.