This paper addresses an obscure aspect surrounding Solon’s activity, which occurred after his political and legislative activity and before his opposition to Pisistratus’ moves towards tyranny. It tackles, more specifically, the way in which Solon may have been indirectly involved (as a politician but also as a sophos) in a triangle of interests that would include, besides himself, two personalities associated with a period of stasis (Damasias) and with the status of sophos (Thales). In order to achieve this goal, the present study combines two different approaches: it first analyses the historical circumstances that marked Athens during the period immediately after Solon’s legislation, until the moment when Damasias held the archonship, and then clung to office for a further year and two months; it then discusses the testimony of Demetrius of Phalerum (quoted by Diogenes Laertius, 1.22), according to whom Thales was named for the first time sophos during the archonship of Damasias.
University of Coimbra, Portugal - ORCID: 0000-0002-8107-9165
Chapter Title
Damasias and Thales: stasis and sophia at the term of Solon’s apodemia
Authors
Delfim Ferreira Leão
Language
English
DOI
10.36253/978-88-5518-612-4.03
Peer Reviewed
Publication Year
2022
Copyright Information
© 2022 Author(s)
Content License
Metadata License
Book Title
Crises (Staseis) and Changes (Metabolai)
Book Subtitle
Athenian Democracy in the Making
Editors
Breno Battistin Sebastiani, Delfim Ferreira Leão
Peer Reviewed
Number of Pages
140
Publication Year
2022
Copyright Information
© 2022 Author(s)
Content License
Metadata License
Publisher Name
Firenze University Press
DOI
10.36253/978-88-5518-612-4
ISBN Print
978-88-5518-611-7
eISBN (pdf)
978-88-5518-612-4
eISBN (epub)
978-88-5518-613-1
eISBN (xml)
978-88-5518-614-8
Series Title
Studi e saggi
Series ISSN
2704-6478
Series E-ISSN
2704-5919