Solon of Athens

Solon of Athens

Sometime during the period of 594/3 to 570 B.C., the citizens of Athens gave one of their foremost statesmen, Solon, the task of creating new laws for them because of troubles that had been plaguing them. There are several theories as to when Solon's work was completed. The date of Solon's legislation has always been in question and a date that everyone agrees with has never been proposed. There is evidence for several different dates. The first is 594/3, the year in which Solon was the Eponymous archon in Athens. This argument has several claims to its defense but also many arguments against it. Another major date proposed is not so much a specific date as it is a span of time in which he may have started and/or completed his nomothesia. The span of time proposed is between ca. 580 - 570 B.C. The date of 580 - 570 B.C. is by far the more likely date for him to have completed his legislation. The arguments for this case are far more convincing than those arguing that he completed his legislation in his archonship during 594/3. The first is that it would be very difficult to complete a project so large as to write an entire law code in one year. The next is that it was recorded by Aristotle that Solon travelled for a ten year peiod and on his journeys, viewed the laws of other lands. It makes sense that he would then have written his laws after that. Another major argument in favour of the later date is that there was much trouble in Athens in the 590's and 80's. This was probably the trouble which spurred the people of Athens to have Solon create new laws, on the other hand if the situation in Athens was as bad as Aristotle would have us believe then why would Solon wait to lay down the law, it would have m...

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...hip are the conditions in Athens when he was archon and the powers given to Solon. The first, the conditions of Athens at the time would seem to point to him having written it very quickly to resolve the situation before it became an open rebellion. The second goes with this but it is unprovable due to lost records. Aristotle records that the people of Athens gave him special powers. This could mean they gave him power to bypass the senate. There is no way to know. In the end it would seem that the argument for his writing during the time after he was archon seem to be more convincing.

Bibliography:

Bibliography

1. Aristotle., The Athenian Constitution. London, (1984)

2. Plutarch., The Rise and Fall of Athens: Nine Greek Lives. London, (1960)

3. Sealey, Raphael., A History of the Greek City States. London, (1976)