Pittacus of Mytilene
Whatever you do, do it well.
(b. c 640 BC) Governed Mytilene (the Greek island of Lesbos in the Aegean Sea) along with Myrsilus. He strived to weaken the powers of the nobility and was supported by the popular classes.
Solon of Athens
Men keep agreements when it is to the advantage of neither to break them.
(b. c 638 BC) legislator and reformer in Athens.
Periander of Corinth
Be farsighted with everything.
(b. c 627 BC) Tyrant of Corinth responsible for the Corinthian golden age and a period of great stability.
Thales of Miletus
Know thyself.
(b. c 624 BC) Mathematician, the father of deductive reasoning.
Chilon of Sparta
Do not desire the impossible.
(b. 620 BC) Spartan politician.
Cleobulus of Lindos
Moderation is best.
(b. c 600 BC) Governed as tyrant on the island of Rhodes.
Bias of Priene
Do not speak fast, for that shows folly.
(b. c 570 BC) Greek politician and legislator, considered the wisest and kindest of all seven.
The Seven Sages
Chilon of Sparta
With the exception of Thales the first men to be called philosophers were political leaders, lawmakers and statesmen, and the first to craft the idea of a democracy.
