light made solid

If you browse around our religious stained glass gallery, one of the items you'll see is a depiction of the Old Testament figure, King Solomon.

The second son of David and Bathsheba, Solomon became king around 1037 BCE, displacing several older brothers who David had had with other women. Solomon's rule lasted some forty years, under which his kingdom prospered greatly. Solomon's history is recorded in 1 Kings 1 and 2 Chronicles 1. He was renowned for his great wisdom and is commonly credited with having written the Biblical books of Proverbs, Ecclesiastes and Song of Solomon - though this is historically debateable.

Solomon was also responsible for the building of the Temple in Jerusalem as a permanent housing for the Ark of the Covenant. He built the temple thanks to his alliance with Hiram of Tyre (who is an important figure in Freemasonic legend).

Solomon's success was also his undoing however. In addition to ammassing an enormous fortune, he is said to have had some 700 wives and 300 concubines. He's also generally thought to have devolved away from worship of the one true God into idol worship; some claim this was on account of his many many foreign wives. Because of his misdeeds, a prophet visits Solomon who tells him that his son will suffer on account of his sins, and that his kingdom will be split into two: Israel and Judah. Solomon also appears in the Qur'an, whererin he is called Sulayman.