Seven Wise Men (or "sages") helped Greece to rise up out of one of the darkest periods of its history. They helped the Greeks learn how to think.
There have been, from time to time, men and women in the world of remarkable ability and knowledge. Those who took action where action was required. Those who conquered, or those who merely spoke the right words, exactly when such things were necessary. These are the figures who have become legends in history; people like Julius Caesar, Alexander the Great, Confucius and Shakespeare. Gigures who were just what the world seemed to need at a given time.
Not generally part of this list (though they should be) are the Seven Wise Men of Greece.
Historical Context
While the title these men acquired is, for the most part, self-explanatory, it can be assumed that most people have never heard much of these men, nor do most people know anything at all about the time in which these seven had their shining moments in the sun; between 620 and 550 B.C.
These were remarkable times in Greece, as the Bronze Age under the rule of the Mycenaeans (that Greek warrior culture which had been the setting of Homer's Epics, The Illiad and The Odyssey) had passed away nearly four hundred years earlier (fading away somewhere around 1100 B.C.), leaving Greece in somewhat of a “dark age,” socially, which lasted for nearly three hundred years, until the rise of Greece once again as a collection of city-states (where individual cities possessed their own forms of governments and ruled themselves for the most part).
The period in which the Seven Wise Men emerged was one of rebellion amongst the people of Greece, who were mostly illiterate workers who greatly despised the scholars and thinkers of the day, even going so far as to assassinate those who were thought to be members of the Pythagorean school. It was a time of great social change, when the common man wanted to rise up against the upper class (those familiar with history can’t help but be reminded of the French Revolution).
A Revolution of Wisdom
The historical context only emphasizes the importance of the Seven Wise Men (or the Seven Sages as they were often known).
They were all trusted members of that Greek upper class, and yet, the wise words that they spoke (usually in the form of oracles – messages, so they claimed, from gods such as Apollo) were of such pith and simplicity that they could be readily understood by even the simplest of peasants (which perhaps saved them from death). They spoke not more than a few words to each person who sought out their advice, but somehow this was all that was needed. It was like a breath of fresh air into an asphyxiated society.
The seven wise men were, in alphabetical order according to the region in which they issued their oracles were: Solon (of Athens), Periander (of Corinth), Cleobulus (of Lindos), Thales (of Miletus), Pittacus (of Mitylene), Bias (of Priene) and Chilon (of Sparta). Of course, even here history is uncertain, for different sources often list different names in listing the sages (though a few, such as Solon, Thales and Bias seem to remain constant).
These men issued such unforgettably blunt oracles as, “Avoid injustice”, “Instruct thy children (that's right, Cleobulus said this even before Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young)”, “Love prudence”, “Obey the laws”, “Restrain anger”, and “All men are wicked.”
These seven men, all rising up through the ranks to achieve their various places within Greek culture, from what historians have been able to decipher from the limited resources available, instituted the kinds of reforms that allowed Greece to begin to build itself up as a world power. The institution of democracy, solving ethical dilemmas, forming some of the first coherent philosophies… the importance of these seven men is hard to overstate.
But perhaps what they are best remembered for was their direct, to the point, pithy sayings, many more of which were etched into the walls of the Temple of Apollo at the most famous oracle-site in Greece, Delphi.
Key to Becoming a Sage?
No one really knows exactly what one had to do to be considered an official “sage,” though there are some clever theories on certain tests that they may have had to take in order to prove that they were truly wise.
There is evidence to suggest that these men may simply been remarkably talented at what they did – after all, Solon seemed to have an affinity for political theory, Thales is said to have been the founder of Greek philosophy, and others have been credited with some of the first scientific inquiries. All of this more than a hundred years before the time of Socrates and the “golden age” of Greek thought.
But no matter how these men may have achieved their sagacity, or the specific reforms they may have enacted, the point is that these Seven Wise Men truly affected their culture at a time when such a thing was greatly needed.
References:
Mulder, Henry. “Aristotle and the Seven Sages.”
“The Seven Sages: Greek Mythology.”
