Siphnos, a Cycladic island, was known for its gold and silver mines which were extremely profitable and productive (supposedly, except for Francis) up until the Pelopenesian War. These resources brought great wealth to the Siphnians which was reflected in the opulent decoration of their treasury at Delphi. When Herodotus mentions the Siphnians in his Histories, he says:

"So wealthy were they that the treasury dedicated by them at Delphi, which is as rich as any there, was made from the tenth part of their revenues; and they made a distribution for themselves of each year's revenue" (Herodotus, X. 57).

The reference that Heroditus makes here to one tenth of the Siphnians wealth being contributed to the Herodotus made note of Siphnos and its presence at Delphi solely because of its known wealth. The Delphic oracle itself plays into the history of Siphnos for they consulted the oracle to inquire whether or not their prosperity would last and could not decipher its response: "When there are white prytaneia and a white agora in Siphnos, then there should be an observant man to notice a wooden company and a red herald" (Fontenrose, 307). The fulfillment of this fateful oracle came true when the Siphnians, greedy with their enormous wealth, refused to lend some money to the Samians and the