SOLON

one of the seven wise men of Greece and great legislators of Athens, was born about B.C. 640. He acquired wide knowledge of the world in commerce and travel. He stirred the A then i ans to recover Salamis, after which he was chosen chief archon (B.C. 594), and invested with unlimited powers. He established a new constitution, divided the citizens according to their wealth, added to the powers of the popular a embly, and abolished the law which gave a creditor power to make a slave of his debtor. When his laws were completed he bound the A then i ans by an oath not to change his code for ten years, and then left the country. He found the old di ensions on his return, but Pis i stratus soon succeeded him. Still his laws were effective.