Solon (638 BC – 558 BC) was an Athenian poet, reformer and legislator, one of the seven sages of Greece. He ruled in a time of serious social conflicts resulting from an extreme concentration of wealth and political power in the hands of the eupatriates , noble landowners from the Attica region.
He was named archon he with full powers in 594 BC and together with the Council and the Assembly govern Athens after the disappearance of royalty. Despite being an aristocrat, he was involved in a large number of reforms aimed at alleviating the situation of the peasantry besieged by poverty, debts (which sometimes led to slavery) and a seigniorial regime that tied them to their lord's land. or led him to misery. In this field he took two very important steps:
- he Forbade loans made with the guarantee of the freedom of the debtor and his family. From now on, the new law exclusively protected remuneration through assets.
- he Canceled the debts contracted by the peasants according to the previous laws ( seisachteia or "load suppression"). Outstanding debts were forgiven and the lands seized by this type of debt were recovered by the peasants. This measure, which in principle benefited the peasants, was also beneficial to a small group of aristocrats... Solón's friends . Whether due to overconfidence or for other more earthly and perverse reasons, the fact is that Solón told his most trusted intimates that he was not going to make a new distribution of land but that he was going to cancel the debts contracted on the guarantee of the lands.
His friends borrowed money and bought large plots of land that were left unencumbered after the seisachteia.
Source:Banquets and battles – Javier Murcia Ortuño