Land reform in Athens

Two major land reforms were attempted at ancient Athens in the 6th century BC.

Background

Already in the 8th century BC,

By the end of the 7th century and beginning of 6th century BC, land concentration occurred and most lands were held by the nobility. Athenians with small farms could not survive dry years, so they had to borrow from the rich and pay a yearly

Solon's reforms

By the end of the 7th century BC, embitterment among the poor had risen, and the rich had begun to fear an uprising which might lead to

• Free all land-owners from the obligation to pay 1/6 to their loaners;
• Cancel all debts;
• Forbid selling a debtor as a slave to pay the debt;
• Forbid selling Athenians to slavery abroad;
• Buy back all Athenians that were already sold;
• Revise and cancel most of the Draconian constitution.

To appease the rich, Solon divided the Athenians into four income groups, with civil rights increasing from the lower to the higher income.

Outcomes

No group in Athens were thoroughly satisfied:

• Athenians who had to sell their land to pay their debts did not get their land back and remained poor;
• Freed slaves had no land and could not support themselves;
• The poor did not win equal civil rights;
• The rich of course were not satisfied with the cancellation of debts.

However, they agreed to live by the new laws for about 100 years, and during this time, the poverty in Athens had been somewhat alleviated.

Pisistratus' reforms

At about 560 BC, continuing unrest led to the tyranny of Pisistratus. There are differing opinions regarding his land reforms:

• Some claim he really cared about the poor, so he confiscated lands from the rich and gave them to the landless, while also offering cheap loans to small farmers so that they wouldn't have to sell their lands in tough years.
• Others claim he confiscated only a small amount of land belonging mainly to his political foes.

Outcomes

The power of aristocracy in Athens was reduced, poverty was somewhat reduced, agriculture and other crafts were promoted.

See also

• Land reform in Sparta

References