Sadyattes, son of Ardys, was King of Lydia from 624 BC to 610 BC. He was succeeded by his son Alyattes II. The Greeks nicknamed him Candaules, 'the dog-strangler', after a name of the Lydian god Hermes. Herodotus wrote (in Inquiries) that he fought with Cyaxares, the descendant of Deioces, and with the Medes, drove out the Cimmerians from Asia, took Smyrna, which had been founded by colonists from Colophon, and invaded Clazomenae and Miletus. After ruling for twelve years he was assassinated by his former friend Gyges, who succeeded him on the throne of Lydia.
