Rise of Athenian Democracy

1759 Words8 Pages
Introduction The system of power in a society is always the subject of societal unrest, and ancient Athens was no exception to this rule. Prior to the rule of Solon, Athens saw widespread discontent among its classes. There existed great economic disparity and bloody familial wars amongst the rich.To mediate, Solon was brought to power. Solon’s rule saw the introduction of several unprecedented laws and reformations, including, at the inception of his rule, the abolishment of personal and private debt (Seisachtheia) and the establishment of trial by jury. In this essay, I will explore the conflicts that prevailed between the Athenian aristocracy, citizens who controlled most of society’s land and therefore wealth, and its peasantry, those who owned no land and lacked social mobility; the proliferation of blood feuds between different aristocratic factions; and the impact of Solon’s reform on Athenian society. As a principle source, I will refer to Plutarch’s “The Rise and Fall of Athens: Nine Greek Lives.” Part I In this first part of the essay, I will examine the strife between the two primary classes in Athens during the time of Solon: aristocrats and peasants. As stated above, to be considered an aristocrat one had to be in possession of significant property, primarily land, and animals. There were two types of peasants: one owned some land (albeit this land tended to be unfertile), and the other peasant owned no land and grew crops on land lent to them in exchange for a sixth of their harvest. Peasants who did own their own lands did not have enough resources to keep some seed of their crop and continuously had to borrow seed from the rich, but without any property or material good they had to use their own freedom as collateral nd become debt slaves if they defaulted on their loans. The main conflicts between these two classes were on the basis of land
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