Solon

Solon himself also makes mention of this consolidation. In his elegies, namely, he addresses Philocyprus and says:—[*](Fragment 19 (Bergk).)

1. Now mayest thou long time be lord and master for the Solii here,
2. Dwelling in this city thyself, and thy family after thee;
3. But may I and my swift ship, as we leave this storied isle,
4. Be brought upon our way in safety by Cypris of the violet crown.
5. Upon this settlement of thine may she bestow favour and glory;
6. And upon me an auspicious return to my fatherland.

As for his interview with Croesus, some think to prove by chronology that it is fictitious. But when a story is so famous and so well-attested, and, what is more to the point, when it comports so well with the character of Solon, and is so worthy of his magnanimity and wisdom, I do not propose to reject it out of deference to any chronological canons, so called, which thousands are to this day revising, without being able to bring their contradictions into any general agreement.

So then, they say that Solon, on visiting Sardis at the invitation of Croesus,[*](Cf. Hdt. 1.30-33.) had much the same experience as an inland man who goes down for the first time to the sea. For just as such a man thinks each successive river that he sees to be the sea, so Solon, as he passed through the court and beheld many of the king’s retainers in costly apparel and moving proudly amid a throng of couriers and armed guards, thought each in turn to be Croesus, until he was brought to the king himself, who was decked out with everything in the way of precious stones, dyed raiment, and wrought gold that men deem remarkable, or extravagant, or enviable, in order that he might present a most august and gorgeous spectacle.

But when Solon, in this presence, neither showed any astonishment at what he saw, nor made any such comments upon it as Croesus had expected, but actually made it clear to all discerning eyes that he despised such vulgarity and pettiness, the king ordered his treasure chambers thrown open for the guest, and that he should be led about to behold the rest of his sumptuous equipments. Of this there was no need, for the man himself sufficed to give Solon an understanding of his character. However, when Solon had seen everything and had been conducted back again, Croesus asked him if he had ever known a happier man than he.