SO'LON (Lat., from Gk. 1:6Nwv) (c.639-559 n.c.). An Athenian law-giver and patriot. son of Execestides, and descendant from the noble line of the C'odrids. In his earlier years Solon engaged in trade and in the course of his com mercial undertakings probably visited the East ern .,Egeau, where he learned much from pro gressive Ionia. He acquainted himself with the Ionic literature, and trained himself to write verse in the tonic dialect : indeed, he was the first Athenian to win renown by his poetry. Solon's life fell in the time of great social and economic change in Greece. As a result of the growing importance of commerce, capital was be coming concentrated in the hands of a few, while the small farmers and agricultural laborers were crushed beneath the increasing weight of debt. The small proprietors were deprived of their lands, and many free Athenians who could not pay what they owed were sold into slavery. The law favored the rich and powerful. and a revo lution seemed imminent. when, in the year 594-3 (or 5921 ), Solon was elected archon. probably by the more moderate of both parties. and given full power to reform the oppressive conditions. He began with two radical measures: lie forbade the borrowing. of money on the person of the debtor, and also annulled all mortgages and debts in which the person of the debtor had been pledged. Probably he reduced debts in general and lowered t rate of interest. This great reform was called the Scisachtheia (cetaaxecia) and was celebrated by a public festival. He then restored by general amnesty all who had lost civil rights before his archonship, with the exception of those who had been punished for murder or attempted tyranny. The next remedial measure which he adopted was to forbid the export of all products with the exception of oil, thereby securing a sufficient sup ply of grain for Athens at a moderate price. He seems also to have limited the amount of land which might be held by a single person. Of great importance was the substitution of a stand ard of coinage closely resembling the Euluean for the prevailing .Eginetan standard. Seventy of the new drachnue equaled one hundred of the old.
This secured to the poor great relief, and emanci pated Athens from her rivals, •Egina and Me gara, and gave her the advantage of trade with the colonies in Sicily and Italy. Solon abol
ished Draco's laws with the exception of that portion of his ordinances which referred to mur der. In place of the old four classes, which had been based on the amount of capital pos sessed, he divided the citizens into four classes on the basis of income. The political offices were open only to the members of the first three classes; the treasury and archons were reserved for the first. The fourth class had simply the right to take part in the assembly CEKKNnaicoand the public law courts. But the gaining of this privilege was a most important step in the direc tion of the democracy, for before the popular courts every magistrate might be accused when he laid down his office, and in this way the people had a control over the administration. For the selection of officials Solon introduced a peculiar combination of choice and lot. The Senate (BocX7)) was composed of 400 members, 100 from each tribe. This body and the popular assembly un doubtedly received many of the rights formerly pos,lessed by the Areopagus, which now retained jurisdiction only in murder eases, together with general censorial power over the guardianship of the laws. Tradition +-ays that after his year of office Solon bound his fellow citizens by an oath to keep the laws and withdrew from Athens for a period of ten years. Although many details of his reforms are obscure and disputed, it is un doubted that Solon emancipated the individual and took the first decisive step toward complete democracy. It is true that after his year of office internal disorder broke out within the State. and Solon lived to see, thirty years later, a tyranny established at Athens by one of his own kinsmen. (See PISISTEATES. ) Consult the Greek histories by Grote. Busolt, Beloch, Abbott. and Eduard Meyer: also Schfimann. Grieehisehe Altertiimer (4th ed., Berlin, 1897) ; Hermann, Oriechische Stnatsa1tertiimer (0th ed., Freiburg, S89) ; Grieehische Staatsaltertiimer (Leipzig, 1893; English trans. London. 1895) ; Busolt,. Griechische Staats- and Reehtsaltertiimer (Mu nich, 1892).