There was one piece of statuary which Croesus presented to the oracle at Delphi, which was, in some respects, more extraordinary than any of the rest. It was called the bread-maker. It was an image representing a woman, a servant in the household of Croesus, whose business it was to bake the bread. The reason that induced Croesus to honor this bread-maker with a statue of gold was, that on one occasion during his childhood she had saved his life. The mother of Croesus died when he was young, and his father married a second time. The second wife wished to have some one of her children, instead of Croesus, succeed to her husband's throne. In order, therefore, to remove Croesus out of the way, she prepared some poison and gave it to the bread-maker, instructing her to put it into the bread which Croesus was to eat. The bread-maker received the poison and promised to obey. But, instead of doing so, she revealed the intended murder to Croesus, and gave the poison to the queen's own children. In gratitude for this fidelity to him, Croesus, when he came to the throne, caused this statue to be made, and now he placed it at Delphi, where he supposed it would forever remain. The memory of his faithful servant was indeed immortalized by the measure, though the statue itself, as well as all these other treasures, in process of time disappeared. In fact, statues of brass or of marble generally make far more durable monuments than statues of gold; and no structure or object of art is likely to be very permanent among mankind unless the workmanship is worth more than the material.
Croesus did not proceed himself to Delphi with these presents, but sent them by the hands of trusty messengers, who were instructed to perform the ceremonies required, to offer the gifts, and then to make inquiries of the oracle in the following terms.
"Croesus the sovereign of Lydia and of various other kingdoms, in return for the wisdom which has marked your former declarations, has sent you these gifts. He now furthermore desires to know whether it is safe for him to proceed against the Persians, and if so, whether it is best for him to seek the assistance of any allies."
"If Croesus crosses the Halys, and prosecutes a war with Persia, a mighty empire will be overthrown. It will be best for him to form an alliance with the most powerful states of Greece."