Croesus’ intentions behind
the building of
the temple were not only related to
the Goddess
Artemis herself, already known to the Anatolians as Cybele,
but also to strengthen ties between his Lydian kingdom and
the expanding Greek empire. Both countries were rich; Lydia from
the wealth of electrum in the Paktolas River and
the Silver laden Tarsus Mountains and Greece from the Laurian
Silver mines
on which the building of Athens was founded. Furthermore, under
the reign of Croesus the first coin, the Lydian Trite, used
as monetary exchange was introduced, an idea the king shared
with
the Greek Solon who later formed the weight standards for
the Athenian
silver drachmas.