Solon · Cyrus the Great Were Solon and Cyrus the Great alive at the same time? Yes. Solon and Cyrus the Great were alive at the same time, from c. 600 BC to c. 560 BC. SolonAthenian legislatorBorn c. 630 BC · died c. 560 BCCyrus the GreatFounder of the Achaemenid EmpireBorn c. 600 BC · died 530 BC Nebuchadnezzar IISolonAesopAnaximanderCyrus the GreatXenophanesConfuciusDarius I Solon and Cyrus the Great in bold, with some of their best-known contemporaries. Drag across to see the age each reached in any year. Faded ends mark uncertain dates.