Rings of Invisibility
“Perhaps the most famous of these rings is the ring of Gyges, the shepherd King of Lydia, described by Plato and Herodotus. When the stone was turned inwards the wearer was rendered invisible. By its aid Gyges assassinated King Candaules and seized his wife and children. It is related that Otnit, King of Lombardy, wore a ring given him by his mother, which had power similar to the ring of Gyges, as well as the special virtue of preventing the wearer from losing his way. Nizami, the poet of Persia in the early 13th century, tells the story of a shepherd, a story similar to that of King Gyges. Another ring of invisibility is the ring of Eluned or Sunet in the old romance of Ywaine and Gawaine. “


















