Solon

Solon was an Athenian statesman and poet. In his time Athens was close to civil war: many poor farmers had fallen so deep into debt that they had to work for the rich, and some were sold into slavery for unpaid debts. Around 594 BC the Athenians chose Solon as archon, or chief magistrate, with power to reform the laws. He cancelled existing debts that were secured on people's own bodies, freed those enslaved for debt, and forbade such loans in the future, a measure called the shaking off of burdens. He replaced most of the very harsh laws of Draco, divided citizens into classes by wealth for holding office, and allowed any citizen to bring a case on behalf of someone wronged. His laws were written on wooden boards for all to see. Satisfying neither the rich nor the poor fully, he then left Athens for ten years so that he could not be pressed to change them. Ancient writers later counted him among the Seven Sages of Greece, and his poems explaining his reforms partly survive.

Faith: Faith not well documented. Source: Wikipedia

See also: Plutarch's Life of Solon