Solon lived circa 630 to circa 560 BC and was an archaic Athenian statesman, lawmaker, political philosopher and poet, one of the Seven Sages of Greece who is credited with laying the foundations for Athenian democracy. His constitutional reforms replaced most of the earlier laws of Draco and were aimed at legislating against political, economic and moral decline in Athens, including a program of debt relief that Athenians later celebrated as the seisachtheia, or shaking off of burdens. Aristotle, in the Athenian Constitution, described him as the first peoples champion, and Demosthenes credited his reforms with starting a golden age for the city. Modern knowledge of Solon is limited because his own works survive only in fragments, with later authors such as Herodotus and Plutarch, writing long after his death, serving as the main sources for his life.
Facts
Nationality / Jurisdiction Bornc. 630 BCE, the standard classical-scholarship estimate; no exact year is recorded. Diedc. 560 BCE, the standard classical-scholarship estimate; no exact year is recorded. Sources
1. Solon (Wikipedia)
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He was one of the Seven Sages of Greece and is credited with laying the foundations for Athenian democracy.
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