70 HISTORICAL TALES.

given out that he had gone mad; and in pretended
insanity he rushed into the public square, mounted
the herald’s stone, and repeated a poem he had com-
posed for the occasion, recalling vividly to the people
the disgrace of their late defeat. His stirring appeal
so wrought upon their feelings that the law was re-
pealed, war was declared, and Solon was placed in
command of the army.

Megara sent out a ship to watch the proceedings,
but this was seized by Solon’s fleet and manned by
part of his force. The remainder of his men were
landed and marched towards the city of Salamis,
on which they made an assault. While this was
going on, Solon sailed up with the ship he had cap-
tured. The Megarians, thinking it to be their own
ship, permitted it to enter the port, and the city
was taken by surprise. Salamis, thus won, con-
tinued to belong to Athens till those late days when
Philip of Macedon conquered Greece.

To Solon, now acknowledged to be the wisest and
most famous of the Athenians, the tyrants who had
long misruled Athens turned, when they found the
people in rebellion against their authority. In the
year 594 B.c. he was chosen archon, or ruler of the
state, and was given full power to take such meas-
ures as were needed to put an end to the disorders.
Probably these autocrats supposed that he would
help them to continue in power; but, if so, they did
not know the man with whom they had to deal.

Solon might easily have made himself a despot,
if he had chosen,—all the states of Greece being
then under the rule of despots or of tyrannical aris-