ABSTRACT
Solon was elected archon with full powers in 594 to cope with the social, political, and economic crisis in Athens. He was said to be the first champion of the people by the author of the Ath. Pol.,1 and from the late fifth century he was labelled the ‘father of democracy’.2 While Solon is no longer viewed as being consciously democratic, most modern commentators agree that his political agenda was intended to upset the old social and political order and to create a new order in which all had some access to the political processes.
