• The 6 archons of Athens, known as the thesmothtai, were the layers down of law. By 621 B.C. the rest of the Athenians were no longer willing to accept arbitrary, oral rules of the upatrid thesmothetai and judges.
• Draco was appointed to write down the laws
• the codification of laws by Draco brought to public attention outrageous and archaic penalties in Athens
• the punishments were very harsh
• the death penalty was given for stealing even so much as a cabbage.
• If there were a worse penalty than death, Draco would have applied it to greater crimes.
• As a result of this strict, unforgiving code, the adjective based on the name Draco -- draconian -- refers to penalties considered excessively severe.
• As a result of the codification of laws by Draco, those in debt could be made slaves -- but only if they were members of the lower class.
• Another result of the codification of laws by Draco -- and the only part that remained part of the legal code -- was the introduction of the concept of intention to murder. Murder could be justifiable or accidental manslaughter or intentional homicide.
• With the new law code the city-state of Athens would intervene in what were formerly the family matter of blood-feuds.

• Around 600 BC many Athenians were losing their freedom, and were being enslaved through debt bondage. This movement of power continued for some time and wealthy families were gaining political power, as they grew richer. Had this trend continued, a rebellion would have been unavoidable.
• In 594 BC the Areopagus of Athens appointed a man named Solon as the archon and lawgiver of Athens. Solon realized the severity of the situation and passed laws that protected Athenians from being enslaved and arrested for debt, and also gave them more rights. For the first time the decisions of archons and officials could be challenged.
• As a result of Solon's political reforms, the population of Athens was divided into four political groups based on their agricultural output.
  1. Pentakosiomedimnoi: most powerful and productive. People who produced the greatest agricultural output and possessed the most power in the polis (state).
  2. Hippeis: archons and various other officials belonged to this group
  3. Zeugitai: not as powerful as the first two. Possessed some degree of political influence and members of this group usually held lower offices in the polis
  4. Thetes: who owned no land at all, and those who belonged to this group were generally poor and had very little influence in the polis. (slaves were below even the thetes)
• The three upper classes made up the Athenian army in time of war.
• Solon brought about many more changes in Athens, including changes in the polis, which enabled more people to participate in the government.
• He created the Council of 400, which consisted of a hundred members from each political class. The purpose of this council was to screen business going before the Assembly. Although the formation of the Council of 400 allowed for more participation, the protection of public order remained in the hands of the Areopagus, the council of aristocrats.
• Solon was also responsible for a new law, which permitted the lowest class to serve as jurors during trials. To justify and explain his actions he wrote:

• Solon was one of the founding fathers of democracy. He accomplished many things in a short period of time. Some of his reforms didn't last long, but others laid the foundations for democracy.
• A tyrant is a person who came into rule through independent means of force rather than election. It was the tyrant who gave himself absolute power. How fairly the tyrant used his new power depended on his character. Though tyrants were not bad leaders, the aristocrats whose power he took hated them
• In around 560 BC a man named Peisistratus tried to become tyrant of Athens. He failed that time but in 546 he tried again and succeeded. Both Aristotle and Herodotus thought he was a fairly good and honourable ruler, even if he was a tyrant. He died around 528 and his sons Hippias and Hipparchus became tyrants of Athens.
• Two young men named Harmodius and Aristogeiton had a quarrel with Hippias. In 514 BC they killed Hippias' younger brother Hipparchus. Harmodius died while killing Hipparchus. Hippias believed there was a larger conspiracy to take away his power and became paranoid. He had Aristogeiton tortured trying to find out who else was against him. He killed many people and became more and more unpopular.
• In 510 BC Sparta helped those who were against Hippias overthrow him. After some confusion, a man of the Alcmaeonid family named Cleisthenes took over Athens. From there the great experiment with democracy started in Athens.
• In 508 BC, Athens became one of the first societies in ancient times to establish democracy. Democracy came from the Greek words, demos, meaning people, and kratein, meaning to rule.
• This form of government was used at a meeting place which the Greeks called the Assembly. Here the citizens of Athens met monthly and discussed the affairs of state. There were no decisions made by government without first asking the Assembly.

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