Cleobis, along with his brother Biton, became legendary exemplars of filial piety when they yoked themselves to their
mother's wagon and pulled it miles to Hera's temple at Argos so she could attend the
festival after their oxen failed to arrive. Their mother, a priestess of Hera, prayed that the goddess grant her sons the best
reward for mortals. That night, the brothers died peacefully in their sleep—the goddess's answer demonstrating that
death in youth, at the peak of
honor, constitutes the best fate for mortals. Herodotus tells this story through Solon, who uses it to illustrate to Croesus that none should be called happy until their life is complete. For students analyzing Greek attitudes toward death and happiness, Cleobis and Biton represent the paradoxical conclusion that early death can be preferable to long life, particularly when it preserves honor and prevents future suffering. This counterintuitive wisdom reflects Greek tragic sensibility and appeared in proverbial form.