GYANTSE, one of the large towns of Tibet. It lies S.E. of Shigatse, 130 m. from the Indian frontier and 145 m. from Lhasa. Its central position at the junction of the roads from India and Bhutan with those from Ladakh and Central Asia leading to Lhasa makes it a considerable distributing trade centre. Its market is the third largest in Tibet, coming after Lhasa and Shigatse, and is especially celebrated for its woollen cloth and carpet manufactures. Here caravans come from Ladakh, Nepal and upper Tibet, bringing gold, borax, salt, wool, musk and furs, to exchange for tea, tobacco, sugar, cotton goods, broadcloth and hardware. The town is compactly built of stone houses, with wooden balconies facing the main street, whence narrow lanes strike off into uninviting slums, and contains a fort and monastery. In the British expedition of 1904 Gyantse formed the first objective of the advance, and the force was besieged here in the mission post of Changlo for some time. The Tibetans made a night attack on the post, and were beaten off with some difficulty, but subsequently the British attacked and stormed the fort or jong. Under the treaty of 1904 a British trade agent is stationed at Gyantse.

GYGES, founder of the third or Mermnad dynasty of Lydian kings, he reigned 687-652 B.C. according to H. Geizer, 690-657 B.C. according to H. Winckler. The chronology of the Lydian kings given by Herodotus has been shown by the Assyrian inscriptions to be about twenty years in excess. Gyges was the son of Dascylus, who, when recalled from banishment in Cappadocia by the Lydian king Sadyattes—called Candaules “the Dog-strangler” (a title of the Lydian Hermes) by the Greeks—sent his son back to Lydia instead of himself. Gyges soon became a favourite of Sadyattes and was despatched by him to fetch Tudo, the daughter of Arnossus of Mysia, whom the Lydian king wished to make his queen. On the way Gyges fell in love with Tudo, who complained to Sadyattes of his conduct. Forewarned that the king intended to punish him with death, Gyges assassinated Sadyattes in the night and seized the throne with the help of Arselis of Mylasa, the captain of the Carian bodyguard, whom he had won over to his cause. Civil war ensued, which was finally ended by an appeal to the oracle of Delphi and the confirmation of the right of Gyges to the crown by the Delphian god. Further to secure his title he married Tudo. Many legends were told among the Greeks about his rise to power. That found in Herodotus, which may be traced to the poet Archilochus of Paros, described how “Candaules” insisted upon showing Gyges his wife when unrobed, which so enraged her that she gave Gyges the choice of murdering her husband and making himself king, or of being put to death himself. Plato made Gyges a shepherd, who discovered a magic ring by means of which he murdered his master and won the affection of his wife (Hdt. i. 8-14; Plato, Rep. 359; Justin i. 7;