The poetry of the historical Solon plays an important role in Herodotus’ portrayal of the Athenian in the Histories. Herodotus adapts prominent themes from Solon’s poetry to reflect issues of historical, ethnographical, and historiographical interest. Like his poetic predecessor, the Herodotean Solon redefines the nature of prosperity, but in a new context (his visit to Croesus’ Lydian court) that highlights a significant ethnographical difference between Eastern and Western values, and anticipates the recurrent historical scenario whereby more luxurious “soft” peoples tend to be overthrown by more primitive “hard” peoples. The unpredictable outcome of human endeavors is another poetic theme that Herodotus mines for its historical and metahistorical resonance: Croesus’ inability to foresee the end of his prosperity results in the expansion of Persian rule throughout Asia, while the Solonian admonition to “look to the end” informs Herodotus’ own choice of the recent past as the subject of his inquiry.