The Histories · 1.55

And having made presents to the men of Delphi, Croesus consulted the Oracle the third time; for from the time when he learnt the truth of the Oracle, he made abundant use of it. And consulting the Oracle he inquired whether his monarchy would endure for a long time. And the Pythian prophetess answered him thus: "But when it cometh to pass that a mule of the Medes shall be monarch Then by the pebbly Hermos, O Lydian delicate-footed, Flee and stay not, and be not ashamed to be callèd a coward."

Herodotus of Halicarnassus · trans. G. C. Macaulay, 1890
Source edition
Passage preview. Read in context for the complete text, notes and references.