http://agathe.gr/democracy/solon_the_lawgiver.html
Solon the Lawgiver By the early 6th century B.C. social tensions in Athens had become acute, pitting the poorer citizens against rich and powerful landowners. Many citizens were reduced to the status of ... This middle course pleased no one, as he himself tells us: Wherefore I stood at guard on every side, A wolf at bay among a pack of hounds. (Athenian Constitution 12.4).