About the Book
This book addresses the historical, social and political contexts within which Solon of Athens instituted wide-ranging reforms to the Athenian constitution (594-93 BCE), the impact of those reforms on the growing political self-awareness of the archaic Athenians themselves, and the developing ethical and political philosophies that drove reform. It also provides, for the first time in 90 years, a detailed and comprehensive commentary on each of the 43 extant fragments of Solon's poetry. In the light of modern scholarship, Ron Owens sets out the story of Solon's life, and examines the nature of the entrenched and threatening political and economic crisis which led to his appointment to high political office; he discusses the manner and consequences of his appointment; seeks to identify both the underlying causes of the crisis and the general outlines of the reform measures adopted by Solon; and explores both the philosophy and the concept of justice' that appears to have underpinned his reform agenda. The work fills a significant gap in archaic Greek scholarship, both nationally and in the wider academic world, in terms of historical analysis, political development and the beginnings of philosophy in the Greek archaic period generally, and at Athens in particular. Solon was an historical figure of great significance, quoted by some 115 classical and post-classical authors, yet in terms of recent scholarship no one since Woodhouse (1938) has written exclusively on him and not since Linforth (1919) has there been a commentary on each individual fragment of Solon's poetry. While recent scholarship has emphasised particular aspects of Solon's works, or particular developments at Athens in which Solon is said to have played a part, this book sets out in full his political and social achievements in the context of the philosophical underpinnings that appear to have privileged the socio-political changes initiated by Solon.
Table of Contents:
Introduction; Politics, Money & Justice; Political History; The Crisis; Early Life, Appointment & Commission; Poetry, Morality & Philosophy; Solon's Reforms; Indices; Greek Index; Name & Place Index; General Index.
About the Author :
Ron Owens has multi-faceted ministries that include teaching, preaching, and music, and he was associate to Henry Blackaby in the Office of Prayer and Spiritual Awakening at the North American Mission Board. His previous books include Manley Beasley: Man of Faith, Instrument of Revival and Return to Worship.
Review :
"The figure of Solon is central to all accounts of the very birth of western democracy. He was also an accomplished thinker and poet, important to any account of the birth of Greek intellectual life and culture. His life was complex, and his name legendary within a very short time. ... Politically, Solon was a figure to whose authority every Athenian democrat wanted to be able to appeal. The technique of making spurious reference to Solon's democratic thought became a part of the new political armory in late fifth century Athens, and is mocked by Aristophanes in the Clouds, when reintroducing Pheidippides after his sophistic studies. He is selected, alongside Lycurgus, at the high-point of Plato's Symposium as somebody who engendered laws far finer than any human progeny could. While there was considerable debate about how natural or artificial law of any kind might be, lawgiving was in any case highly thought of, often as a supremely rational or god-given activity. ... As a poet his early impact is attested again by Plato, when his character 'Critias' introduces the Atlantis story. Critias' grandfather had supposedly said that 'because they were new at that time many of us boys (scere at the feast of the Apaturia) recited the poems of Solon' (21b). Chronology remains hazy, as the identity of Plato's 'Critias' and the dramatic date of the dialogue itself remain hazy, but one message is still clear: the admiration for, and classic status of, Solon's poetry came early. As a result of this classic status, at least at Athens, he would become a central part of Athenian consciousness and cultural identity. A poet's status in ancient Greece was generally bound up with the perception that they had something valuable to say, either for the individual or for the community at large. Solon therefore played a part in moral and intellectual life for several generations. The artificial divisions that have separated him off from the Presocratic Philosophers have more to do with Aristotle than with any lack of perceived connection between moral principles and universal forces, either on Solon's part or on the part of the canonical Presocratics. Political and cosmic forces were repeatedly joined together in the same discourse, and in classical Athens neither were seen as beyond the reach of the common man. Hence, in spite of the much-discussed 'ancient quarrel between philosophy and poetry' Solon's poetry had a special part to play in the development of philosophy at Athens. ... Dr. Ron Owens has, for many years, persisted with the study of all aspects of this remarkable man, and his dedication has been rewarded by numerous and important insights that help one to read the poems through the history and the man through the poems. I am delighted, therefore, that this useful volume presents to us a biography in several chapters, an edition of the poems in Greek and English, and a wealth of additional material, including vocabulary, concordance, glossary of Greek terms, bibliography, and index. This makes it an exceptionally well-equipped piece of work, and shows the seriousness with which the task has been taken. I see a wide range of uses for this volume, and it deserves a correspondingly wide readership." --From the Foreword, Prof. Harold Tarrant, University of Newcastle, Australia
