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Solon and Aristocracy

In: Historical Events

Submitted By vsahadevan
Words 2915
Pages 12
In this paper, I intend to explore the conflicts that arose between those of the aristocratic society, and those who composed the vast number of peasants before, as well as after the life and times of Solon, and the effect and solutions that Solon’s rule had concerning these conflicts. Such major conflicts between peasants and aristocrats include, [but are not limited to] land and slavery (Trumbach). Though, these laws will be explored further later on in this essay. The ruler, Solon imposed a number of laws in order to rectify the problems that were arising between aristocrats and peasants, as well as to mold Athenian society in a much more citizen-oriented way of living (Trumbach). Such laws included relieving the prior debts that peasants owed to the aristocrats, as well as outlawing the creation of debts slaves (Plutarch: Solon, 57). Again, such laws will be explained further along in this essay.

This essay will consist of three sections. In the first section, this essay will attempt to explain the conflicts that arose between the aristocrats and the peasants on the basis of land and slavery. It will also attempt to describe how Solon’s laws impacted this conflict, as well as the situations that occurred before, and the situations that occurred after Solon. The second section of this essay will explore the conflicts that arose between aristocrats and peasants on the basis of political power, the views of both parties, as well as the reasoning both parties had for their views. The third section of this essay will explore the changes that Solon made to the constitution in order to unify the citizens in which it was written to govern, and the effects that it had on said people.

Most information found in this essay has been discovered through Plutarch’s explanation of the life and times of Solon in his “The Rise and Fall of Athens: Nine Greek

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