The End of Solon

The people were not picky about how many club men Pisistratus had, and he got an army! He took over, and Solon chided them for giving up so easily, and than gave up because they would not listen. I think that was right; how can you help someone who won't listen? He wrote poems that chided the Athenians. Pisistratus did not kill Solon, but honored him and kept many of Solon's laws. Plutarch does not say how or when Solon died.

The End
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Solon

When Solon was gone, the citizens began to quarrel.One man was perfect on the outside, but horrid on the inside. The people loved him. Solon saw this before anyone else, and warned the man to quit being ambitious. Then the man got hurt, and the people said to give him bodyguards, and this does not sound good, because he can get more and more.

more later
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Solon

Solon talked with Coerces, a king that was very rich. Solon did not like that, and when Coerces asked Solon who was the happiest man Solon had known, Solon said other people every time, and said that these people had done something good for someone else. Some time after, Coerces was captured and was to be killed by a another king. Then Coerces called out the name of Solon, and the other king asked him why. Coerces told him about the instruction Solon had given him, and the other king let Coerces go.

I think Solon had the right definition of happiness. We are always happy when we do something for someone else, and it makes us sometimes the happiest.

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More Laws (Solon)

Solon said that women could not have dowries, but only three suits of clothes, a bit of household stuff, and that was all, so no one would marry for money. Also no man could speak evil of the dead, and is good to respect them, and also no man could speak evil of the living in the temples, the courts of justice, the public offices, or at the games, or else to pay 3 drachmas to the person and 2 to the public. For men must learn to control their tempers at least part of the time. Wills could now be made, and friends could be given some of it. Also women had laws which said they could not be immodest, or have in public more than 3 articles of dress. There were others too. There were others about funerals. I think the laws were wise.

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New Laws (Solon)

 Solon made lots of new laws; here are some of them: There were lots of foreigners, and they were to be farmers, and the legal people were to be traders and such. Another law was that is there was not a public well within 4 furlongs, dig your own, and if 10 fathoms had been dug, and there was no water, you could get 4 and a 1/2 gallons from your neighbors a day. You could not plant some trees within 9 feet of a neighbor's. All these laws were to help uncrowd Athens. I think they were good.

more later,
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