In about 594 BC the Athenian statesman and poet Solon was appointed archon to resolve a crisis in which poor farmers were being enslaved for debt. He cancelled debts, freed those who had been enslaved, banned borrowing on the security of the person, and divided citizens into four classes by wealth, giving even the poorest the right to vote in the Assembly and to sit on juries. He also reformed laws and weights and measures. These changes laid the groundwork for Athenian democracy, although Solon's compromise did not prevent a tyranny by Peisistratos a generation later.
Before and after
- from 600 BCE to 500 BCEArchaic Greece
- 600 BCEFounding of Milan
- 600 BCEBirth of Cyrus the Great
- from 16 March 597 BCE to 1 January 538 BCEBabylonian captivity
- c. 595 BCESolon reforms Athens
- from 589 BCE to 587 BCESiege of Jerusalem
- 587 BCENebuchadnezzar destroys Jerusalem and the First Temple
- 575 BCEIshtar Gate
- 564 BCEDeath of Aesop
More in Wars, politics & history
- c. 3,101 BCENarmer unifies Egypt
- c. 509 BCECleisthenes lays the foundations of Athenian democracy
- from 264 BCE to 146 BCEPunic Wars
- 147 BCERome destroys Carthage
- 2 September 31 BCEOctavian defeats Antony and Cleopatra at Actium
- August 70 CEThe Romans destroy the Temple in Jerusalem
The era
This moment belongs to the Ancient civilizations (3,200 BCE to 500 CE), writing, cities and empires. You can also browse everything in the 6th century BCE.