The article is devoted to the study of the relationship between the ancient Greeks and the Middle Eastern tribe of the Lydians in the 7–5th centuries BCE. The evidence of ancient authors analyzed in the article helps to understand the evolution of the Greeks' ideas about the Lydians and highlights the changes in the Hellenes' relationship to the Middle Eastern neighbors. The central question of the work is the analysis of the period in which the Hellenes begin to perceive the Lydians as barbarians, and what was associated with this attitude to the people. The article raises the question of what role Greco-Persian wars have played in the relationship between the Greeks and the Lydians.