Alcmaeon, son of Megacles

Who is Alcmaeon, son of Megacles?

Alcmaeon, son of the Megacles who was guilty of sacrilege with respect to the followers of Cylon, was invited by Croesus, king of Lydia, to Sardis in consequence of the services he had rendered to an embassy sent by Croesus to consult the Delphic oracle. On his arrival at Sardis, Croesus made him a present of so much gold that he couldn't carry it all out of the treasury. Alcmaeon took the king at his word by putting on a most capacious dress, the folds of which he stuffed with gold, and then filled his mouth and hair with gold dust. Croesus laughed at the trick, and presented him with as much again. This was supposed to have taken place around 590 BC. The wealth thus acquired is said to have contributed greatly to the subsequent prosperity of the Alcmaeonidae.

Alcmaeon was a breeder of horses for chariot races, and on one occasion gained the prize in a chariot-race at Olympia. According to Plutarch, he commanded the Athenians in the First Sacred War, which began in 596 BC.