| Solon was an Athenian poet and lawgiver who is | | | | made laws that would create more equal balance of |
| credited with bringing a certain amount of stability to | | | | power between the rich and poor and the powerful |
| Athens during the late 7th century BC (c.630-600BC). | | | | and the ordinary people. Solon tightened up laws |
| Athens during the later years of the 7th century BC | | | | about property, making it clear that if a man made a |
| suffered much instability. Kylon was a great Athenian | | | | will it would be made void if he was senile, drunk, |
| Olympic victor who believed he had the potential to | | | | imprisoned or under the influence of a woman. Other |
| become the new tyrant of Athens. There was a | | | | laws were made too. A maximum of three items of |
| power vacuum left by the end of Athenian monarchy | | | | clothing could be buried with the deceased, an |
| and the rise of powerful aristocratic families such as | | | | adulterer could be killed on the spot if he was sleeping |
| the Alkmaeonids. Kylon and a number of his | | | | with the punisher’s daughter, wife, mother, sister or |
| followers tried to take Athens, but failed. Kylon then | | | | concubine kept for procreating purposes. If an girl |
| sat in the acropolis boundary (the sacred area of | | | | became the heiress of a family fortune, the next of kin |
| Athens) and made himself a supplicant to the gods. | | | | (normally the girl’s uncle) was by law obliged to |
| By doing this, Kylon was ensuring that he would remain | | | | marry her so that the property would be kept within |
| safe from any violence from angry Athenian rivals. | | | | the family. |
| Kylon was wrong. Ancient sources point to | | | | Solon saw the social hierarchy of Athens as based on |
| members of the Alkmaeonid family carrying out their | | | | how much property a man owned. He was |
| own punishment against Kylon, murdering him after the | | | | however concerned with one particular group of men |
| Athenian magistrates had ruled that no punishment | | | | in the social hierarchy. These men were known as |
| should include death. | | | | the hektemoiroi, men who rented land and gave one |
| Solon’s background was as an advisor to king | | | | sixth of the produce of that land to the owner. Solon |
| Kroisos of Lydia. Solon would come to Athens as a | | | | moved away land boundary markers (which were |
| lawgiver and moral reformer. Solon identified that the | | | | placed to record the sixth of the produce which was |
| power held by a few could cause internal strife, which | | | | to be given to the land owner) and gave these men |
| meant there was a lack of good leadership. Selfish | | | | their masters’ land. Finally a large portion of the |
| self interests over the needs of the community led to | | | | Athenian population was free and led to Athens |
| dysnomia (bad laws) rather than eunomia (good | | | | becoming a city of small farmers. The freeing of the |
| laws). The idea of fairness was important to Solon | | | | hektmoiroi would led to the democratic reforms of the |
| and he believed that everyone should get what they | | | | later 5th century and the first ever fully developed |
| deserve. | | | | democracy. |
| Solon was elected as Archon in 594/3 or 592/1. He | | | | |