The Reforms of Solon
But history takes strange turnssometimes. Recognizing the danger of the situation, in 594 BC, the Areopagus and
the people of Athens agreed to hand over all political power to a single
individual, Solon. In effect a tyrant, Solon's mission was to reform the
government to stem the tide of privation and exploitation and set up a system to
guarantee that Athens didn't slip into such a situation
again.
Solon immediately dismissed all outstanding
debts, and he freed as many Athenians as he could from the slavery they had sold
themselves into. He banned any loans that are secured by a promise to enter into
slavery if the loan is defaulted, and he tried to bring people who had been sold
into slavery abroad back to Athens. In addition, he encouraged the development
of olive and wine production, so that by the end of the century, most of
Athenian land was dedicated to these lucrative
crops.
As far as government is concerned, he divided
Athenian society into four classes based on wealth. The two wealthiest classes
were allowed to serve on the Areopagus. The third class were allowed to serve on
an elected council of four hundred people. This council was organized according
to the four tribes making up the Athenian people; each tribe was allowed to
elect one hundred representatives from this third class. This council of four
hundred served as a kind of balance or check to the power of the Areopagus. The
fourth class, the poorest class, was allowed to participate in an assembly; this
assembly voted on affairs brought to it by the council of four hundred, and even
elected local magistrates. This class also participated in a new judicial court
that gradually drew civil and military cases out of the hands of the wealthiest
people, the Areopagus.
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