23. The Reforms That Established the Foundations for Ancient Athenian Democracy
While ancient Athens’ rich stewed over Solon’s reforms, the poor also had some bones to pick. They were upset because Solon’s laws did not return the lands that had been seized by the aristocrats, refused to break up the big estates and redistribute the land, and he reserved all posts in the Athenian government for the wealthy. Despite the widespread discontent, the Athenians kept their promise to accept Solon’s decision. That done, and in order to avoid the need to constantly have to defend and explain the reforms, he left the Athenians to work out the kinks in his new system.
Solon hit the road to travel around the ancient world and informed his fellow citizens that he would be gone for at least ten years. His reforms alleviated the immediate crisis and averted civil war. However, they did not resolve many of the deeper tensions that would continue to plague Athens for years to come. Solon made all citizens equal before the law and reduced the power of the aristocracy, which was a significant step towards democracy. However, it still took generations of reformers to build upon and fine-tune what he had created before Athenian democracy was established.
