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Histories · Character

Solon

Athenian lawgiver who tours the great courts of the East and tells Croesus, to his face, that no man should be called happy while he lives.

supporting

Also known as Solon the Athenian

First appearance: book i clio

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Solon arrives at Sardis as a wandering sage, the man who gave Athens its laws and then left to see the world. Croesus shows him his treasuries and expects flattery; instead he gets the argument that fortune is a wheel…

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See Solon in book i clio

Character Web

11 connections

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CRCroesusTHThemistoclesCACambysesCYCyrusCLCleomenesSOSolon

Relationship types

  • Other

Character groups

  • Diverse figures from the Histories
  • Kings and commanders of the Greco-Persian Wars
  • Protagonist

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Narrative arc

Story tension across the book — this chapter sits in Exposition.

SetupEscalationBreaking pointClimax
  • Setup
  • Escalation
  • Breaking point
  • Closing

This passage marks the dramatic climax because it presents the emotional and psychological peak of the Hellene…

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