Kleobis and Biton

Croesus, concerned about his legacy over the kingdom, takes the time to ask Solon who he found to be the happiest person in the world.

[4] In the story, Solon tells of how these Argive brothers took their mother named Cydippe, a priestess at the temple of Hera, to a festival for the goddess to be held in town.

When the prayers and the sacrifice were over, Kleobis and Biton fell asleep in the temple and never woke up, which was the gift Hera bestowed on the boys: Allowing them to die peacefully in their prime.

In the context of Herodotus' narrative, Solon is communicating to Croesus that "Happiness" translates the ancient Greek word eudaimonia, which does not have to do with emotion but rather with the good fortune that a person has in life overall.

[5] The Delphi Archaeological Museum displays two identical Archaic kouroi under the names of Cleobis and Biton, although other archaeologists who have studied the statues, see in them the twin sons of Zeus, the Dioscouri, worship of whom was quite widespread in the Peloponnese.

Inscriptions on the base of the statues identify them as ϜΑΝΑΚΩΝ (wanakōn), i.e. the "princes", an attribute usually given to Castor and Pollux in Argos, a fact which supported the identification with the Dioscuri.

They are stocky in build, with broad shoulders and faces, and they are naked except for boots — which could be a sign of the god Apollo or could indicate that they were travelers.

"[5] The town of Argos was not known for depicting kouroi, but the statues of these two brothers were built by the enthusiastic Argives as a message to other city-states.

The extent of their muscular depiction is emphasized to characterize them as to represent the brute strength of the Argive style, found in the High Archaic period.