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Solon (; BC) was an Athenian statesman, lawmaker, and poet. He is remembered particularly for his efforts to legislate against political, economic, and moral decline in archaic Athens.〔Aristotle ''Politics'' 1273b 35–1274a 21〕 His reforms failed in the short term, yet he is often credited with having laid the foundations for Athenian democracy.〔Stanton, G.R. ''Athenian Politics c800–500BC: A Sourcebook'', Routledge, London (1990), p. 76.〕〔Andrews, A. ''Greek Society'' (Penguin 1967) 197〕〔E. Harris, ''A New Solution to the Riddle of the Seisachtheia'', in 'The Development of the Polis in Archaic Greece', eds. L. Mitchell and P. Rhodes (Routledge 1997) 103〕 He wrote poetry for pleasure, as patriotic propaganda, and in defense of his constitutional reforms. Modern knowledge of Solon is limited by the fact that his works only survive in fragments and appear to feature interpolations by later authors, and by the general paucity of documentary and archaeological evidence covering Athens in the early 6th century BC.〔Stanton G.R. ''Athenian Politics c800–500 BC: A Sourcebook'', Routledge, London (1990), pp. 1–5.〕 Ancient authors such as Herodotus and Plutarch are the main source of information, yet they wrote about Solon long after his death, at a time when history was by no means an academic discipline. Fourth century orators, such as Aeschines, tended to attribute to Solon all the laws of their own, much later times.〔V. Ehrenberg, ''From Solon to Socrates: Greek History and Civilization'', Routledge (1973) 71〕〔 ==Biography== Solon was born in Athens around 638 B.C.〔(Solon: Biography of Solon )〕 His family was distinguished in Attica as they belonged to a noble or Eupatrid clan although only possessing moderate wealth.〔 Solon's father probably was Execestides. Solon's lineage, therefore, could be traced back to Codrus, the last King of Athens.〔"Solon" in Magill, Frank N. (ed)., ''The Ancient World: Dictionary of World Biography'' (Salem Press/Routledge, 1998), p. 1057.〕 According to Diogenes Laërtius, he had a brother named Dropides who was an ancestor (six generations removed) of Plato.〔Diogenes Laërtius, ''The Lives and Opinions of Famous Philosophers'', (Book 3 "Plato", chapter 1 ).〕 According to Plutarch, Solon was related to the tyrant Peisistratos for their mothers were cousins.〔Plutarch ''Solon'' 1 s:Lives (Dryden translation)/Solon#1.〕 Solon was eventually drawn into the unaristocratic pursuit of commerce.〔Plutarch, Life of Solon, ch.2〕 When Athens and Megara were contesting for the possession of the Salamis Island, Solon was given leadership of the Athenian forces. After repeated disasters, Solon was able to increase the morale and spirits of his body of troops on the strength of a poem he wrote about the islands.〔 Supported by Peisistratos, he defeated the Megarians either by means of a cunning trick〔 or more directly through heroic battle around 595 B.C.〔〔Plutarch ''Solon'' 9 s:Lives/Solon#9〕 The Megarians however refused to give up their claim to the island. The dispute was referred to the Spartans, who eventually awarded possession of the island to Athens on the strength of the case that Solon put to them.〔 According to Diogenes Laertius, in 594 B.C. Solon was chosen archon or chief magistrate.〔〔(SOLON of Athens )〕 As archon, Solon discussed his intended reforms with some friends. Knowing that he was about to cancel all debts, these friends took out loans and promptly bought some land. Suspected of complicity, Solon complied with his own law and released his own debtors, amounting to 5 talents (or 15 according to some sources). His friends never repaid their debts.〔Plutarch ''Solon'' 15 s:Lives (Dryden translation)/Solon#15〕 After he had finished his reforms, he travelled abroad for ten years, so that the Athenians could not induce him to repeal any of his laws.〔Herodotus, The Histories, (Hdt. 1.29 )〕 His first stop was Egypt. There, according to Herodotus he visited the Pharaoh of Egypt Amasis II.〔Herodotus, The Histories, (Hdt. 1.30 )〕 According to Plutarch, he spent some time and discussed philosophy with two Egyptian priests, Psenophis of Heliopolis and Sonchis of Sais.〔Plutarch ''Solon'' 26 s:Lives (Dryden translation)/Solon#26〕 According to Plato's dialogues Timaeus and Critias, he visited Neith's temple at Sais and received from the priests there an account of the history of Atlantis. Next Solon sailed to Cyprus, where he oversaw the construction of a new capital for a local king, in gratitude for which the king named it Soloi.〔 Solon's travels finally brought him to Sardis, capital of Lydia. According to Herodotus and Plutarch, he met with Croesus and gave the Lydian king advice, which however Croesus failed to appreciate until it was too late. Croesus had considered himself to be the happiest man alive and Solon had advised him, "Count no man happy until he be dead." The reasoning was that at any minute, fortune might turn on even the happiest man and make his life miserable. It was only after he had lost his kingdom to the Persian king Cyrus, while awaiting execution, that Croesus acknowledged the wisdom of Solon's advice.〔Herodotus 1.30.〕〔Plutarch ''Solon'' 28 s:Lives (Dryden translation)/Solon#28〕 After his return to Athens, Solon became a staunch opponent of Peisistratos. In protest and as an example to others, Solon stood outside his own home in full armour, urging all who passed to resist the machinations of the would-be tyrant. His efforts were in vain. Solon died shortly after Pisistratus usurped by force the autocratic power that Athens had once freely bestowed upon him.〔Plutarch ''Solon'' 32 s:Lives (Dryden translation)/Solon#32〕 He died in Cyprus at the age of 80〔 and, in accordance with his will, his ashes were scattered around Salamis, the island where he was born.〔Diogenes Laertius 1.62〕〔I. M. Linforth, ''Solon the Athenian'', University of California press (1919), p.308, (Google Books link )〕 The travel writer Pausanias listed Solon among the seven sages whose aphorisms adorned Apollo's temple in Delphi.〔Pausanias 10.24.1 (e.g. Jones and Omerod trans. ()).〕 Stobaeus in the Florilegium relates a story about a symposium, where Solon's young nephew was singing a poem of Sappho's; Solon, upon hearing the song, asked the boy to teach him to sing it. When someone asked, "Why should you waste your time on it?" Solon replied , "So that I may learn it then die."〔Stobaeus, III, 29, 58, taken from a lost work of Aelian.〕 Ammianus Marcellinus however told a similar story about Socrates and the poet Stesichorus, quoting the philosopher's rapture in almost identical terms: "ut aliquid sciens amplius e vita discedam",〔Ammianus Marcellinus 38.4〕 meaning "in order to go away knowing more out of life". 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Solon」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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