Before the reign of Croesus , all Greeks were free: for the Cimmerian host which invaded Ionia (region (general)), Europe Ionia before his time did not subjugate the cities, but raided and robbed
 them. Now the sovereign power that belonged to the
 descendants of Heracles Descendants of Heracles seems to mean descended from the Asiatic sun god identified with Heracles by the Greeks . fell
 to the family of Croesus , called the Mermnadae , in the following way. Candaules , whom the Greeks call Myrsilus , was the ruler of
 Sardis [28.0167,38.475]
 (Perseus) Sardis ; he was descended from Alcaeus , son of
 Heracles ; Agron son of
 Ninus , son of Belus ,
 son of Alcaeus , was the first Heraclid king of Sardis [28.0167,38.475] (Perseus) Sardis and Candaules son of Myrsus was the last. The kings of this country before Agron were
 descendants of Lydus , son of Atys , from whom this whole Lydian 
 district got its name; before that it was called the land of the Meii . The Heraclidae , descendants of Heracles and a female slave of Iardanus ,
 received the sovereignty from these and held it, because of an oracle; and
 they ruled for twenty-two generations, or five hundred and five years, son
 succeeding father, down to Candaules son of Myrsus .