Solon the Lawgiver: Inequality of Resources and Equality before the Law (original) (raw)

Solon of Athens: The man, the myth, the tyrant?

2013

I argue that, despite Solon's reputation as an enemy of tyranny, his approach to solving the political discord in Athens in 594 B.C. very closely resembles the way that archaic Greek tyrants succeeded at dealing with similar problems in other city-states. Because tyrants were often popular figures with widespread support, I suggest that Solon's anxiety to avoid the label of tyrant stemmed from the political unrest and bloodshed that arose from the attempted tyranny of Cylon in 632 BC, followed by the harsh and unsuccessful legislation of Drakon in 621. In the dissertation, I first establish that there are two traditions about Solon's motives and actions, indicated by many contradictions in our sources. In one version, Solon appears as a moderate politician who paved the way for the rise of democracy, in part because of his refusal to become a tyrant. In the other, Solon's actions were at times indistinguishable from those of contemporary tyrants, which later sources explain by referring to Solon's assertions in his own poetry to "prove" that these stories were false. I then analyze Solon's poetry, noting that Solon both linguistically distances himself from the concept of tyranny and emphasizes that he does, in fact, possess autocratic powers. The result is a kind of verbal dance, wherein he reminds people: "I am not, nor do1 I wish to be a tyrant; but I could be, and if I were...." Finally, I examine various tyrants who, like Solon, had reputations as legislators. I consider Solon's agricultural reforms, known as the seisachtheia, concentrating in particular on the abolition of debt-slavery, the cancellation of debt, and Solon's refusal to redistribute land. I find that debt cancellation in particular is one of the most common measures used by tyrants as a means of gathering political support from the demos. I also proffer the notion that doing away with debt-slavery may have done more damage than good, concluding that, despite his protests to the contrary, Solon was a tyrant in all but name.

The Rule of Law in the Athenian Demokratia:Origins, History, and Oratory

2008

Having followed a deliberate path of studying a wide range of topics while at university, I recognise that Classics resonates through almost every aspect of academia. I also recognise the benefit of two important influences on my education. First, "fortune" has delivered me to the right places and people, and at the right time. Second, my determination to recognise opportunities and persist has allowed me to pursue opportunities when they arose. I would like to thank the staff, both academic and administrative, at the VUW Classics Department for making opportunities available for me to pursue, and for allowing me to pursue them. In particular, Dr David Rosenbloom, my supervisor, has been a source of huge support and learning. Any persistent problems within this thesis are not through lack of trying on his part. It has been both an honour and a privilege to have his guidance through my postgraduate years. In addition, Dr Matthew Trundle throughout the years has consistently been supportive of me both as a student and as a person. I would also like to thank my friends and family, especially Trina, for all the support throughout my education, in as much as it is complete.

Solon’s Telê and the Socio-economic identity of the citizen of Classical Athens

The four Solonian classes formed the basis of the official socio-economic identification of Athenian citizens at least till the time of Aristotle. All the more puzzling are the conundrums surrounding the functioning of the system of property classes, starting with numerous problems of criteria of belonging to a particular class and ending with the fact that in self-consciously democratic Athens described by the Aristotelian Athenaion Politeia no candidate for an allotted office would admit his being a thês, if asked. In my paper I try to establish the following arguments: a) Membership in a particular Solon's telos could have never been more than approximately defined through property requirements. The system based on the Solonian classes could be more or less efficient only as long and in so far as the rights to which the members of each telos were entitled were balanced by the concomitant duties. As this correspondence was gradually and increasingly blurred in the Classical period, the importance of the formally defined property classes as a means of identification of one's socio-economic and political status was being diminished. In this sense democratic Athens was approaching a status-less society, though only as far as the citizens were concerned, of course. It may be said that we have here a case of divergence between the official socio-economic identification, still based on Solon's telê, and real socio-economic identity, both subjective and objective, increasingly defined through other categories. b) Epigraphical and literary sources suggest that in the most documented period of ancient Greek history, viz. the last hundred years of Athenian democracy, the majority of Athenian citizens did not regard themselves as thêtes. Accordingly, a poor Athenian had not to lie claiming membership in one of the three upper Solonian classes.