I say nothing of the fact that you are accustomed to give most people perplexed and ambiguous responses, not making it at all clear whether the man who crosses the Halys will cause the loss of his own kingdom or that of Cyrus; for the oracle can be taken in either sense.It ran: If Croesus doth the Halys crossHe'll cause a mighty kingdom’s loss.

Apollo had some reason for being angry at Croesus because he had tested him by stewing lamb and turtle together.Wishing to test the Greek oracles before consulting them about invading Persia, Croesus sent representatives to some of the most famous with instructions to ask them all simultaneously, at a specified. time; “What is Croesus doing now”? Apollo divined that he was stewing lamb and turtle together in a copper cauldron with a lid of copper (Herodotus, i. 46 ff.).

He should not have been angry, being a god. However, the very deception of the Lydian was predetermined, I suppose, and in general our lack of definite information about the future is due to the spindle of Destiny; so even your soothsaying is in her province.