Solon, son of Execestides, was a man who stood between abyss and precipice… and chose, instead of falling, to build a bridge. To know the man, one must first grasp the burden of the lineage he bore, yet ultimately transcended.
His family, the Medontidae, traced their nobility to the dawn of Athenian kingship. His father, Execestides, was a man of fading fortune but impeccable pedigree. Through him, Solon's ancestry reached back to the last semi-mythical king of Athens, Codrus.
The legend told that when the Dorians invaded, the oracle proclaimed Athens could only be spared if its king were slain by the enemy. Codrus disguised himself as a commoner, provoked a fight, and was killed… saving his city through his own blood. Codrus was Solon's great-grandfather.
