Solon
Solon (
Greek: Σόλων, ca.
638 BC–
558 BC. Pronounced sŏ'lōn) was a famous
Athenian lawmaker and
Lyric poet.
He was the son of
Execestides. He first worked as a foreign trader, and his abilities as a
poet had him lauded as one of the
Seven Sages of Greece.
In the mid-
590s BC he worked to promote renewed conflict against
Megara over
Salamis. In
594 BC he was made eponymous
archon of
Attica, in order to subdue the civil disorder that was rampant there. He introduced a set of ordinances,
seisachtheia, that did much to improve conditions. His ordinances were such a success that he was given the task of rewriting the
constitution, creating what was later called the
Solonian Constitution, which incorporated the first elements of formalised
civil democracy in world history.
He repealed most of the laws of
Draco and introduced a
timokratia, an
oligarchy with a sliding scale of
rights determined by
property and productive capacity, dividing the population into four
classes:
Pentakosiomedimnoi ("500-bushel men", i.e., those who produced 500 bushels of produce per year),
Hippeis (
knights, i.e., those who could equip themselves and one cavalry horse for war, valued at 300 bushels per year),
Zeugitai (tillers, i.e., owners of at least one pair of beasts of burden, valued at 200 bushels per year) and
Thetes (manual laborers);
N.G.L. Hammond supposes that he instituted a graduated
tax upon these upper classes at a rate of 6:3:1, with the lowest class of
thetes paying nothing in taxes but being ineligible for elected office.
Solon wrote the laws as a compromise between
oligarchy and
democracy, tailored to what the ordinary people and the elites would both accept. After having his constitution accepted, Solon exacted the promise of the city that his constitution would not change unless he were to change it himself, and then he left Athens for over ten years, travelling to
Egypt,
Cyprus and
Lydia. This way he assured his work would have a fair chance to show its worth. During his trip to
Egypt he visited the temple of
Neith in the district of
Sais. The priests of Neith gave him information on their old history records, which Solon wrote down in
manuscript. It was this manuscript that
Plato used in his dialogues
Timaios and
Critias.
He is also presented by historian
Herodotus of
Halicarnassus in his historical accounts as a comment on the human condition. When in Lydia, he offended
Croesus when asked, "Who is the happiest man you have ever seen?" by answering, "I can speak of no one as happy until they are dead," instead of with a compliment, as Croesus was accustomed to.
[Herodotus, The Histories, 1.30] It was recalling this story which, again according to Herodotus, saved Croesus from execution when his kingdom was overcome by Cyrus' invading
Persians.
Solon returned to Athens in the
550s BC during the reign of the
tyrant Pisistratus. The tyrant retained some of the constitution and showed Solon considerable respect, either out of respect for the older man's wisdom, or out of regard for their former love.
[Aelian, Varia Historia, 8.16] Solon died soon afterwards.
Politics
He introduced the
trial by jury; military obligations were codified based on class; the
Council of the Four Hundred (or
Boule) and the
Areopagus were established as the main consultative and administrative bodies; he introduced many new laws, especially those covering
debt and
taxation; he remodelled the
calendar; he created a court for the lowest classes called the
Heliaia and allowed it to audit those passing from the office of
archon for each year; and he regulated
weights and measures.
Solon also encouraged a growth in industry by offering citizenship to skilled foreign labourers and created a law which ensured Fathers, unless Farmers, passed on the skills of their profession to their sons. His laws were written onto special wooden cylinders and placed in the
Acropolis.
Pederasty
He is also credited with being the founder of the
pederastic educational tradition in Athens. He composed poetry praising the love of boys (see "Quotes" below) and instituted legislation to control abuses against freeborn boys. Specifically, he excluded slaves from the wrestling halls and from pederasty.
[Aeschines, Against Timarchus, 138f] His
eromenos was the future tyrant,
Peisistratus.
[Plutarch, The Lives, "Solon"]In 594 BCE, the Athenian government asked an aristocrat named Solon to rewrite laws for the city-state. This rewrite was named "Solon's Reform." Solon's main concern while writing the laws was to limit the power of the wealthy elites, because he suspected that if the wealthy gained too much power, then the poorer would get jealous and fight the rich. He instead wanted to protect the poor and the weak from being harmed or mistreated by the elites. He believed that was the most important aspect for a government to focus on. In order to carry out his idea of justice, Solon made a law that would allow people in debt to be sold into slavery illegal. He also made several other laws illegal as well. His laws led to the development of democracy, justice and individual accomplishments.
*"Humans are the creatures of pure chance."
*". . . while one loves boys among the lovely flowers of youth, desiring their thighs and sweet mouth."
[Thomas K. Hubbard, Homosexuality in Greece and Rome, California, 2003; 1.28]*I grow old learning something new every day.
*In giving advice seek to help, not to please, your friend.
*Let no man be called happy before his death. Till then, he is not happy, only lucky.
*No man is happy; he is at best fortunate.
*Put more trust in nobility of character than in an oath.
*Rich people without wisdom and learning are but sheep with golden fleeces.
*Society is well governed when its people obey the magistrates, and the magistrates obey the law.
*Speech is the mirror of action.
*
Zweisprchige Textauswahl zu den griechischen Lyrikern mit zusätzlichen Hilfen*
Re-examining Solon's ideas on sortition for safeguarding democracy
