roles croesus , king of lydia ( tenor ) atis ( atys ) , his son ( sopranist ) halimacus , atis 's confidant ( countertenor ) orsanes , a member of croesus 's court ( baritone ) eliates , a member of croesus 's court ( tenor ) clerida , a member of croesus 's court ( soprano ) elmira , daughter of the exiled queen of the medes ( soprano ) cyrus the great , king of persia ( bass ) solon , a philosopher ( baritone ) elcius , a servant in croesus 's court ( tenor ) trigesta , elmira 's attendant ( soprano ) a persian captain ( baritone ) synopsis the story is loosely based on two incidents from herodotus .