The emergence of novel ideas and concepts requires individuals to think outside the box. Often, the circumstances that lead to the question serve as the motivations to put forward these proposals. Immediate success do not appear right away – it may need the work and efforts of a few generations to reach an ultimate endpoint. Nevertheless, we should not forget the forward-thinkers who have the courage to reform the status quo in the first place. Athens of Classical Greece was among the earliest example of a primitive form of democracy in the Western world, and that originated from the work of an intelligent man – Solon.
The legacy of Solon leads to the birth of the English word 'solon', which means a wise lawmaker. Solon, like his contemporary Thales, was acclaimed as a member of the 'Seven Wise Men of Ancient Greece'. Though he was born an aristocrat, he was a forward-thinking man and appreciated the needs for a change. Through his various attempts on the political reform at Athens, he has provided the foundation for the politicians of his next century, like Cleisthenes, Ephialtes and Pericles to develop a mature form of Athenian democracy, a milestone of Classical Greece.
A significant point for the development of the Greek civilization was the formations of polis (city-states) around the 7th century BC. These city-states were autonomous from each other and they each had their own type of governing bodies. Many of these city-states were under one-man rule (tyranny) or rule by a few individuals (oligarchy), and some, like Sparta, actually adopted a militant stance regarding their politics. Our focus is on Athens, which has unified to become a polis at the peninsula of Attica around the 7th century BC.
The precipitating factors that led to Solon's reforms were apparent even before he was born. At the time the relations between the different social classes were not in good terms to begin with. With an oligarchic political structure, the political power was firmly grasped among the few aristocratic individuals. Not only controlling much of the politics, they also controlled the land and properties. It is fair to say that the economic issues were destabilizing the conditions of Athens and it could likely spiral into severe political turmoil. The class of peasants, which had to rely on the rich class for the loans of land, ended up having troubles to repay the debts. In the past, the 'old school' approach to settle this type of dispute was to enslave the debtors, and that resulted in a lot of discontent for the working class. Things heated up even more with the emergence of a politician known as Draco. He made attempts to stabilize the social condition by setting up new laws, which led to severe punishment for the offenders. That only further sustained the conflict between the rich and the poor. Indeed the word 'draconian', which is used to describe excessively harsh laws, was originated from this man.
In 594 BC, Solon was already a statesman at Athens. Observing a combination of problems, he knew that he had to act fast and made some drastic changes. Solon started by drafting a new constitution for Athens. Being a poet besides his political engagements, Solon intended to achieve eunomia – which was the title of one of his poems. The term can be translated as 'governance according to good laws'. The general direction of Solonian constitution was to strike a more healthy balance between the two conflicting social classes. That was done by an apparent increase in stakes for the peasant class in the society.
Solon passed new laws that was committed to seisachtheia, the abolishment of the existing debts. He outlawed all the slavery due to debts, thus freeing the enslaved peasants from the rich landowners and now the lower class did not bear any legal obligations to be forced into work by the landowners. He has built up a four-level, wealth-based hierarchy for the assembly. While the top three levels were mostly constituted of aristocrats and rich individuals who held public office, the citizens of bottom level had the right to vote, and hence they could influence the decision of political issues. Solon also carried out some legal reforms important for later eras : all the citizens of Athens could bring charges against wrongdoers, and he also alleviated and amended some of the harsh Draconian laws before him.
Solon has emphasized that his concepts were based on a commitment to justice for the people in Athens. Yet his moderation turned out to be unsatisfactory for many people. Because Solon did not transfer the land rights to the lower class, the peasants did not think he has done enough to achieve social justice. The aristocrats were not happy, neither – because they felt Solon was taking away the land rights and properties from them, and that was eroding their rights on their private property. Solon might be quite idealistic about changing his world, yet he was too simplistic when understanding the implications of the problem. He did not counteract the issue that the aristocratic class might bypass the laws by some indirect means – such as through the influences of the clans and tribes – to restore their power and again exert control on the peasants. That pinpointed why Solon's refusal to give lands to the peasant class could be an obstacle to a successful reform in the first place.
By the end of his political career, Solon was not able to achieve popularity as the time when he stepped in to the political arena. The Athenians had some first tastes of reform and democracy, yet it could take a century's time for the polis at Attica to achieve a more sophisticated from of democracy, after passing through and enduring a few different forms of governance. Solon may not have the last laugh in his life, yet no one will doubt his courage and his contributions to the eventual prosperity of the Athenian empire – the dawn of dēmokratiā (dēmos: people; kratos: rule).
by Ed Law
Conatus Classics
