Athenian Democracy - Solon

Which 3 sources tell us about Solon?

Herodotus’ Histories, Aristotle’s Constitution of Athenas, Pultarch’s Life of Solon

Polis

A Greek word translated to mean city-state, a city and all the land it controlled

What was the larger area called that Athens controlled?

Attica

Who ruled Athens c600BC?

A small group of powerful families called the eupatridae

Archon

Athenian magistrate, only members of the eupatridae could be archons.

archon basileus

the archon responsible for religious matters performed by a king

polemarch

the archon in charge of the Athenian army

eponymous archon

created after the first 2, he held responsibility for a large number of administrative duties.

thesmothetai

the six archons responsible for legal matters added after the first 3 at a later date.

How long did archons originally rule for and what did this change to?

10 years and then changed to only 1

Council of the Areopagus

the aristocratic council of ex-archons, responsible for selecting and supervising archons and acting as a court of law.

turannos

Tyranny, used to describe one man rule, a sole ruler who had taken power unconstitutionally.

Tyrant

a disillusioned member of the aristocracy who seized power in his polis unconstitutionally with the support of a section of the common people.

What did a tyrant do after taking control?

Seek to bolster support by developing the economy and public works, so could be marked as an improvement.

When is the first written evidence of laws in Athens?

621

Why was writing laws significant?

Gave the legal system some transparency, free Athenians could check what it said and that judges were acting fairly

Who was credited with writing laws down?

Draco

What is the only surviving law from Draco?

That those found guilty of unintentional murder would be exiled.

hektemorio

tenet farmers who had to pay their landlords dues of the produce from the land they farmed, either 1/6 or 5/6

What would happen to farmers who could not pay their dues?

They would have to take out take loans or even be enslaved by landowners along side their family.

When was Solon appointed archon?

594/3

What was the most important of Solon’s economic reforms?

He outlawed the enslavement of anyone unable to repay debts and anyone that had previously been enslaved was freed and those who had been enslaved and sold abroad were free to return to Attica.

seisachtheia

the ‘shaking off of burdens’ - Solon’s cancelation of debts

What economic reform did Solon make in terms of landowning?

He limited the amount of land that a single person could own, but left the land of the aristocrats in tact, not redistributing it, so remaining popular with the aristocrats

What were Solon’s economic reforms?

seisachtheia, no Athenian citizen could be enslaved, limiting the amount of land one man could own, set down standard weights and measures, encouraged the export of olive oil and pottery, forbidding any export of agricultural products aside from olive oil to avoid famine.

What were Solon’s political reforms?

dividing the male citizens into four classes depending on wealth, creating/ expanding on the boule, a council of 400 men, created a new assembly the Ecclesia,

medimnos

a unit of measure roughly equivalent to 55 litres used to measure the produce land yield in a year to measure a mans wealth.

pentakosiomedimnio

the top econmic class who produced 500 medimnoi or more in a year. They could be menbers of the Archonship, council, state treasurers and members of the assembly

Hippies

the ‘knights’ who could afford to maintain a horse and produce 300-500 medimnio. They could be archons, on the council, lesser offices of state and members of the assembly.

zeugitai

‘yoke-men’ who could afford to yoke together two oxen and made 200-300 medimnoi. They could hold lesser offices of state and be members of the assembly

thetes

the ‘menial workers’, societies poor, did not own lad but worked as hired labourers making less than 200 medimnoi. They could be members of assembly

What reforms did Solon make to the legal system?

New legislation, Right of appeal, public lawsuits.

What did Solon’s new legislation mean?

Updated and built upon the laws of Draco. He had the new laws inscribed on kyrbies placed int he agora. He legislated about inheritance, funerals, public wells and planting of trees

kyrbeis

rotating panels in the agora which displayed Solon’s new laws.

agora

the marketplace int he centre of a city were economic, political and religious events took place.

What did Solon’s Reform about Right of Appeal mean?

He gave citizens the right to appeal to a jury of citizens in a court called the Heliaia. It meant that all people had a right to vote in courts, controlling the constitution according to Aristotle.

Heliaia

the name given to the people’s court instigated by Solon.

What did Solon’s reform to Public Lawsuits mean?

any citizen could prosecute an offence, to encourage citizens to identity with the rights of others.