Fortune, as if determined upon his destruction, ordained that
the jewel should be swallowed by a fish, which was soon after
caught and brought to the monarch's kitchen ; consequently
the ring was restored to him. His royal confederate, fearing
he himself might become involved in the destruction sure to
overtake Polycrates, withdrew from the league — just in time
to secure his own safety, for, soon after, the Samian king was
taken captive by the satrap of Sardis and crucified.
The story has, undoubtedly, some foundation in fact, since
Herodotus refers to the emerald ring of Polycrates, engraved
by Theodorus of Samos. This jewel has given rise to some
speculation about its identity ; the one deposited in the Temple
of Concord at Rome was claimed to be the famous ring, but
that was made of sardonyx and not engraved, which does not
answer to the description of the Greek historian. An emerald
found in Aricia, Italy, a few years ago, of large size, and engraved with the figures of a lyre and cicada, an insect known
for its musical powers, has been thought to be the identical
emerald of Polycrates, but it is highly improbable that a gem
dating back more than twenty-three centuries, should ever be
recovered and identified.
The Dresden Museum contains more than sixty rings, many
of them historical, set with different gems — diamonds, rubies,
emeralds, opals, sapphires, hyacinths, garnets, carnelians, and
other precious stones. One of the collection, with a sapphire
d'eau, was given to a knight by the Elector John Frederick
when the latter was taken prisoner at the battle of Mühlberg,
1547 ; two others formerly belonged to Martin Luther, and one
to Melanchthon.
During the mediaeval period of art, rings were set with gems
engraved with classical subjects, made to represent Scripture
characters ; as Isis personated the Virgin ; Jupiter, the Apostle
