person
Gyges
also: Gyges, Gygi, Gyges the Lydian
A shepherd of Lydia who, in Plato's Republic, found a ring that made him invisible and used it to seize the throne by adultery and murder. Cicero uses the tale to test whether a wise man would do wrong if certain of impunity.
Reading notes
- On Duties §3.38 the story of Gyges
From Plato's Republic (book 2): the Lydian shepherd Gyges finds a ring that makes him invisible and uses it to murder the king and seize the throne. Plato and Cicero use it to ask whether anyone would be just if guaranteed impunity.