If the legends are to be believed, he was wild and barbaric while ruling a vast nomadic empire that stretched from the Caspian Sea to the Baltic Sea. A fearless general who successfully attacked both the Western Roman Empire and then the Eastern Roman Empire. Perhaps it is for all these reasons that the epithet “”Whip of God”” stuck to King Attila the Hun. It is difficult to decide how much of the legends are true, but it is certain that he was a defining figure of his time (he is even featured in the Niebelung song) and that is the image of him that lives on today, just think of the animated film Mulan.
The Greek orator Priscus gave a much more restrained description of the ruler, who visited Attila’s court in 448 as a member of a diplomatic delegation.
Mór Than the Hungarian painter also followed his description when he created the mural of Vigadó in Budapest in the 1860s, on which he immortalized the image of an enlightened, civilized ruler. Although the original mural was destroyed in World War 2, the oil painting made as a sketch faithfully shows Than’s work and reflects Priscus’ impression of Attila, King of the Huns.