Solon of Athens c 640 – c 558 BC: Irreverent Savoir-Faire?

The past week has been nothing short of extraordinary in the sense of witnessing a convergence of past and present. From Rodney King’s trite plea, “Can’t we all get along?” in the 90s, to the presently “vilsacked” (vilified and sacked, credit Lawrence O'Donnell for that pithy observation) Shirley Sherrod’s, “Let’s work together.” From the savings & loan bailout in the 90’s, to President Obama’s signing of the financial reform bill this week, and the almost unnoticed disburdening of Haiti’s staggering national debt by the IMF. If anyone has wondered as to the efficacy of our current visitation with sages past, just read these highlights from the life and contributions of Solon of Athens.

 A Call of Destiny

Accounts of the life of Solon of Athens appear scant and anecdotal. What little is known is that Solon was born into nobility in Athens circa 640 B.C. to parents Excecestides and his mother a cousin of Pisistratus’ mother. His early career was in import/export trade; however, it was his expression of patriotic philosophy through poetry that catapulted him onto the stage at a critical moment in Athenian history. He was a contemporary of Thales, but no match for the shrewd nerd as he, being one of those who chided Thales’ reclusive lifestyle, found himself at the end of a poignant lesson. Solon devoted his life to morality and politics.

Geo-politics: Hill, Plain, or Shore
The necessity of Solon’s career as Chief Magistrate (Legislator) was due to the financial and social crisis among Athens’ three constituent factions: hill, plain, and shore. The three factions were comprised of those who favored a democratic government of the people (Hill), those who favored small government (Plain), and those independent folks who kept the aforementioned factions in check, favoring a hybrid ruling body (Shore.)

The crux of dissension among the three factions was in the inequitable laws that favored the rich and resulted in death sentences for the poor, and a damning problem of loans backed by a contractual obligation to slavery. These “mortgages on bodies” cleverly structured by the aristocracy to increase their own wealth were sharecropping arrangements that often resulted in the poor being dispossessed and sold in trade.

In his “The Constitutional Order by Solon of Athens,” Solon defined the axis of civil discord as unchecked greed, unmitigated cruelty, and flagrant injustice. He advocated principles before expediency. Civic harmony, he envisioned as adherence to social justice and impeccable ethics.

Solon having the privilege of noble birth to win the respect of the wealthy, and a reputation of frank, fair-dealing businessman among the common people, was chosen for his ideas of social responsibility and jurisprudence. He was given unparallel power to legislate and reform the policies of Athenian government as he saw fit.

Road to Democracy

Solon’s idea to restructure the three factions into four classes based on wealth rather than birth and to grant access to the administrative assembly to all the classes introduced a new definition of citizenship. He advocated a democratic view that the responsibility of achieving the good of the city-state resided with all Athenians. However, the great priority of his appointment to govern was to adjudicate the issue of debt between the classes which he did by immediately dismissing all outstanding debts and outlawing the practice of "mortgages on bodies." The disburdening ordinance was not completely satisfactory to either parties but was accepted as a reasonable settlement.

Solon was revered as an advocate of the poor if not in politics as in justice. His constitution introduced the dual consultative and administrative governing bodies; the trial by jury; assignment of military obligations. He adopted what may have been Thales’ 365 day calendar given their association, regulated weights and measures, and taxation according to class.

Solon’s moral reformations were far-reaching including family and child protection laws.

Irreverent Savoir-Faire?
A drama of Solon’s voluntary exile is given in some accounts of his life, but did not seem borne out in the various sources. Solon remained in his appointment as Chief Magistrate long enough to explain and enforce the rules and reformations he enacted. Having sufficiently established the new constitution of Athenian life and culture, Solon apparently took to traveling and learning abroad for a period of 10 years because he believed that it was ultimately up to the people of Athens to make the constitution work.

To the people I have given such honor as is sufficient,
neither taking away nor granting them more.

For those who had power and were great in riches,
I greatly cared that they should suffer nothing wrong.
Thus I stood, holding my strong shield over both,
and I did not allow either side to prevail against justice.

I did those things with my power,
bringing into harmony force and justice,

and I finished them as I promised;

and I made the laws equal for the poor man and the powerful

fitting impartial justice on each.

Some conjectured that Solon’s departure was due to disagreement with the usurping tyrant Pisistratus, but that, again, does not bear scrutiny. For one thing, Pisistratus was among Solon’s maternal genealogy. It is also said that they were fond of each other, and that Pisistratus respected Solon’s wisdom and upheld his legislation, even though Solon did not agree with Pisistratus’ “ambitions.” Further, Pisistratus made his coup for power during Solon’s travels, and it was not until Solon’s return to Athens that he began to decry Pisistratus’ regime.

Account of Solon’s irreverent frankness is singularly highlighted in his cautionary counsel of Croesus vain-gloriousness. Of the encounter, Solon reflects, “one must never approach (great kings) unless one gives them always the best possible counsel and tells them only the truth.”

Formula For The Fortunate
Solon died in the year of the 55th Olympiad. For his accomplishments he is revered as one of the Sophoi, and his words are immortalized among those at the Oracle at Delphi, “One must keep to the happy medium in all things.”

So what are your thoughts on the parallel between the events of the week and the problems and resolutions addressed by Solon? Has this been useful in adding perspective to the issues in our present society?

Thales of Miletus (c640 - c562 B.C.): “The Impractical Scholar”

Hello Dish-friends,
I’ve been away, tending to some pressing concerns, but I hope I have not lost your interest in our discussion blog. In the meanwhile, I made it possible for you to post your comments on any topics, and left you the freedom to register as a reader or not. Just in case you had any thoughts on our offerings (and it would be nice to know who you are).

During this hiatus I’ve kept an eye out for interesting topics to blog for discussion, we will get to those in good time, because for right now I am using the expediency of directed research to share some of what I’ve been working on. It is a means to an end, the completion of something started and shelved at another point in time not unlike present circumstances. Nevertheless, I truly appreciate your understanding and support, and will resume the commitment to a weekly discussion.

The next several blog posts for discussion relates to some notable originators of modern theory and thought. This will not be linear in effort but it may present some surprising insights and “food for thought.” And as we mean to dish on these offerings, there will be opinions expressed. If Guy Kawasaki’s Holy Kaw is a “practical blog for impractical people” then we are in reverse, “an impractical blog for practical people,” neither aimless nor uninformative, but nonetheless aside from daily matters, a mental break that will keep you out of the pharmacy. However, like Mr. K’s diverse interests we aim to provide an enriching diversion from the normal course of things that might prompt you to say, “hmm, that’s interesting.”

Without much ado, meet or reacquaint yourself with Mr. Thales of Miletus, viewed by some in his time and successors as an “impractical scholar.” Hint: you’re in good company.

Thales of Miletus (c640 - c562 B.C.): “The Impractical Scholar”

Know thyself
and you will know the Universe and the gods!

Impractical Scholar or Shrewd Nerd?

Thales of Miletus, one for the seven great sages of Greece was born circa 640 BC to parents Examyes and Cleobuline in Milesia, now in Turkish region. In his career he was a merchant, magistrate, engineer, political strategist, and statesman, and is credited for his contributions to physics, math, navigation, astronomy, and philosophy. Thales founded a school of philosophy in Ionia where he taught philosophy, mathematics, and astronomy. He basically advocated a love of learning and practical, scientific methodology over supernatural explanations for observable, actionable phenomena.

Had he not made some significant contributions to math, physics, philosophy, and astronomy, the ‘impractical scholar' jest by Socrates might have been earned. Rather, this is a man to whom many philosophers, geometers, and scientists credit as the originator of their work, so the slight, if indeed it was one, merely pokes fun at could have been a humorous accident. Regarding the incident, it is reported of Thales of Miletus being so engrossed with his passions that he did hardly noticed a ditch or well in his path until he had fallen in. Whether the hole was real or metaphor matters little to history now, but the anecdote defines Thales as being passionate about his pursuits not so much as careless in his responsibilities.

Absorbing interests aside, Thales proved that he was indeed a shrewd and practical nerd as he demurred compensation from his noble students and asked only that he was given credit as the author of the precepts taught. “That will be for you praiseworthy modesty and for me a very precious reward.” He was also wise in not leaving traceable documents that his successors and detractors might have used to unnecessarily refute and diminish his work. Hence he took and built upon what he learned from the Egyptian and Chaldean mystery schools where he is believed to have studied. One should see no fault in that as it is the role of an education to develop the mind to seek and make its own discoveries.

Further to his credit for shrewdness and pragmatism, Thales may have used his knowledge of the solstices and lunar phases to develop a farmer’s almanac for his region as he might have learned from the Egyptians. Thus, he cornered the market in anticipation of a particularly bountiful olive season through acquisition of all the presses in his locale, then renting them at a profitable rate. It is believed that his gains afforded him the wealth to travel and study abroad in Egypt, Babylonia, and Chaldea. Thales’ reproach to those who regarded him as an ‘impractical scholar’ was that as easy as it could be for the wise, albeit scholarly men, to attain wealth, they did not place great value on amassing tangible riches but rather, preferred the enrichment of the mind.

Reclusive Scholar/Man of the People

The role of a philosopher/teacher is to initiate discovery through inquiry which Thales appeared to do in challenging assumptions as to the origin of the wind, the cause of lightning and thunder, the substance of thunderbolts, the size, shape, and support of the earth, the cause of earthquakes, the dates of the solstices, and the size of the sun and moon. Thus, Thales is credited for the understanding of the phases of the moon by which he set the monthly calendar, and the length of the year to 365 days as we know it. His method had its origins in his Egyptian studies. Thales also established the theoretical foundation of physics with the 5 theorems of elementary geometry and utilized his formulations to calculate the distance of ships from shore, and the height of monumental objects based on how the length of its shadow coincides with its true height.

Thales appeared to be as much a man of the people as he was a reclusive scholar through the practical contributions he made to their everyday lives, livelihood, and matters of the state. As an astronomer he developed navigational guides used by seafarers and fishermen based on his revelation of the stellar constellation of the Little Bear. (It was on one of his star-gazing expeditions that he is purported to have fallen into that ditch! Comical, and endearing.) As a political strategist and statesman he seems to have contributed much to military strategy first in using the unprecedented prediction of a solar eclipse as a tactical advantage to sway the superstitions of an opponent into negotiating conditions of peace. He also used his engineering skills to re-channel a river flow in order to allow the Lydian king, Croesus’ army to cross without having to build a bridge or commission boats. Yet, Thales is revered for having exercised diplomacy in that war by advising against an alliance with Croesus’s regime, who by historical account did not have the respect of the statesmen of his time, and merely delivered him to defeat at the hand of the Persians. As might be deduced by the aforementioned aphorism, the great Sages leaned on the side of humility.

A bridge between myth and mind

Socrates regarded laconic brevity—“the ability to utter such [brief and terse] remarks” as the hallmark of “a perfectly educated man.” (In light of some of my paragraphical sentences this might seem self-indicting, but I stand my ground.) And it is in such a manner that Thales and his contemporaries endeavored to express their thoughts. In certain writings there appears to be some misunderstanding of the language and precepts of metaphysics which in turn may have led to inaccurate interpretations and references to some esoteric aspects of Thales philosophical reasonings.

For example Thales’ gnosis that “All things have souls or are animated by the divine” is regarded as pantheistic. Yet today, quantum physics holds the view that all things emanate from and are sustained by the same self-sustaining, all-sufficient, self-operative principle and force-- apeiron, and that this substance may be found everywhere in the universe. Thales’ belief that the world is arranged by unboundless, infinite intelligent design also supports that view.

As well, the primacy of water to life and nature may have led Thales to deduce that water is the first element to emanate from the Ether and is, therefore, the first principle of all things. He also observed that as all things are perpetually changing from one elemental state to another, some more gradually than others, then, everything eventually returned to the Ether or source of Creation.

Students in Thales’ Ionia School of Philosophy would have proposed answers to and discussed ideas like these:


 1. What is the largest thing in the world?

 2. What is the strongest?

 3. What is the fastest thing known to man?

 4. What is the most difficult thing to do?

 5. What is the easiest thing to do?

 6. Who /What is God?

 7. What is the most virtuous thing to do?

 8. What/who is the wisest thing/one in the world?

 9. What is the most agreeable thing in life?

10. How does one gain good fortune?


Please share your answers in the comments here or on my Twitter page. I will post the answers in my Twitter Favorites as your responses come in, hash tag #ThalesofMiletus, and do follow me for future topics and discussions. I am a moderate tweeter; my tweets between blog posts are usually about music, food, my daily workouts, retweets of ideas or from people that fascinate me, and inspirational quotes from poetry, scripture, metaphysics, psychology, and philosophy.


A Fortunate Life

Thales is well established in history as a Sophoi, one of the Seven Sages of Greece, and in modernity as the originator of Western Philosophy. “The most outstanding aspects of Thales’s heritage are: The search for knowledge for its own sake; the development of the scientific method; the adoption of practical methods and their development into general principles; his curiosity and conjectural approach to the questions of natural phenomena – In the sixth century BCE Thales asked the question, ‘What is the basic material of the cosmos?’ The answer is yet to be discovered.”(Patricia O’Grady, Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy)

Thales died around 78 years old from heat exhaustion and old age while watching the 58th Olympiad from the view of his terrace. He was much beloved by the Greek; his death was observed with great pomp and circumstance.

That was good wasn't it? Let me know what you think, and thank you for reading. Make it great for the rest of the week.



Photo credit: The bust shown above is in the Capitoline Museum in Rome but is not contemporary with Thales.