Solon 630 BC – 560 BC
Solon (630 BC – 560 BC) was a Greek philosopher of the Ancient era, associated with Ancient Greek Philosophy.
Solon was an Athenian statesman, lawmaker, and poet, traditionally counted as one of the Seven Sages of Greece. Appointed archon during a period of severe social and economic crisis, he abolished debt slavery, restructured the Athenian constitution to give a measure of political voice to all classes of citizens, and laid the legal foundations on which classical Athenian democracy would later be built. After completing his reforms he is said to have left Athens for ten years to let his laws take effect. His surviving fragments of elegiac poetry are among the earliest expressions of Greek ethical and political reflection.
Solon was born around 630 BC in Athens, of a Eupatrid family of moderate means; ancient sources, beginning with his own elegiac verse, describe him as having traveled in his youth as a merchant and as having distinguished himself in the war with Megara over the island of Salamis. By the early sixth century he was the most prominent voice of moderation in an Athens torn between a heavily indebted peasantry and an entrenched aristocracy.
Elected eponymous archon for 594-593 BC and given extraordinary powers as reconciler, Solon enacted a sweeping reform: the seisachtheia, or 'shaking-off of burdens', which canceled debts and abolished debt-slavery; a reorganization of the Athenian citizen body into four property classes with graduated political rights; the establishment of a popular court (the Heliaea) and, by tradition, of the Council of Four Hundred; and a new code that replaced the harsh laws of Draco. His own elegies, partially preserved, defend these measures and reflect on civic justice.
After his archonship he obtained from the Athenians an oath to abide by his laws for ten years and went into voluntary exile, traveling, according to the famous Herodotean stories, to Egypt, Cyprus, and the court of Croesus in Lydia. Counted among the Seven Sages, he is remembered as the founder of the legal and political tradition that would lead, through Cleisthenes, to Athenian democracy. He died around 560 BC.
Key facts
- Nationality
- Greek
- Era
- Ancient
- Movements
- Ancient Greek Philosophy
Selected quotes
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Attributed to Solon:
“Call no man happy until he is dead.”
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Attributed to Solon:
“I grow old learning many things every day.”
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Attributed to Solon:
“He who has learned how to obey will know how to command.”
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Attributed to Solon:
“Speech is the mirror of action.”
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“Many bad men are rich, and good men poor; but we will not exchange virtue for wealth.”
πολλοὶ γὰρ πλουτέουσι κακοί, ἀγαθοὶ δὲ πένονται· ἀλλ᾿ ἡμεῖς τούτοις οὐ διαμειψόμεθα τῆς ἀρετῆς τὸν πλοῦτον, ἐπεὶ τὸ μὲν ἔμπεδον αἰεί, χρήματα δ᾿ ἀνθρώπων ἄλλοτε ἄλλος ἔχει.
Solon by topic
Frequently asked about Solon
- When did Solon live?
- Solon was born in 630 BC and died in 560 BC.
- Where was Solon from?
- Solon was a Greek philosopher of the Ancient era.
- What philosophical movements is Solon associated with?
- Solon was associated with Ancient Greek Philosophy.
- What was Solon known for?
- Solon was an Athenian statesman, lawmaker, and poet, traditionally counted as one of the Seven Sages of Greece.
- How many quotes are attributed to Solon?
- There are 16 attributed quotations from Solon in the 1001Philosophers collection, organized by topic.
Quotes that are not actually from Solon
These lines are widely circulated as Solon, but they do not appear in Solon's works. Each entry below identifies the actual source.
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“Laws are like spider's webs: If some poor weak creature comes up against them, it is caught; but a big one can break through and get away.”
This quote is commonly attributed to philosophers but its actual source is uncertain or unverified in the standard reference works. Wikiquote's note on this attribution: Commonly misattributed to Solon. Actually reported as said by Anacharsis to Solon. Plutarch, Solon , 5.4: τὸν οὖν Ἀνάχαρσιν πυθόμενον, καταγελᾶν τῆς πραγματείας τοῦ Σόλωνος, οἰομένου γράμμασιν ἐφέξειν τὰς ἀδικίας καὶ πλεονεξίας τῶν πολιτῶν, ἃ μηδὲν τῶν ἀραχνίων διαφέρειν, ἀλλ᾿ ὡς ἐκεῖνα τοὺς μὲν ἀσθ
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“Commonly misattributed to Solon. Actually reported as said by Anacharsis to Solon. Plutarch, Solon , 5.4:”
τὸν οὖν Ἀνάχαρσιν πυθόμενον, καταγελᾶν τῆς πραγματείας τοῦ Σόλωνος, οἰομένου γράμμασιν ἐφέξειν τὰς ἀδικίας καὶ πλεονεξίας τῶν πολιτῶν, ἃ μηδὲν τῶν ἀραχνίων διαφέρειν, ἀλλ᾿ ὡς ἐκεῖνα τοὺς μὲν ἀσθενεῖς καὶ λεπτοὺς τῶν ἁλισκομένων καθέξειν, ὑπὸ δὲ τῶν δυνατῶν καὶ πλουσίων διαρραγήσεσθαι. Anacharsis, accordingly, on learning what Solon was about, laughed at him for thinking that he could check the injustice and rapacity of the citizens by written laws, which were just like spiders' webs; they would hold the weak and delicate who might be caught in their meshes, but would be torn in pieces by the rich and powerful. (tr. B. Perrin, 1914 )