Project continued

Valerie Friar

Ellie Hollin

Sofia Morello

Madison Remeto

The Greek Leaders

Draco (621 BCE)

Draco was an Athenian lawgiver who punished simple crimes with things as harsh as death. He was the first recorded legislator of Athens in Ancient Greece. Instead of using the system of oral laws, he used a written code that could only be enforced by a court. The citizens of Athens thought it would be a great idea to give someone the position of a law giver, but they were unaware of the harsh laws Draco would be establishing. His laws included things such as, murder and involuntary homicide, and debt slavery as a way to repay debts. After much debate, the Athenians decided to revise the laws, in 409 BC. Draco’s law code was later regarded as intolerably harsh, especially in regards to punishing trivial crimes with death.

Solon (594 BCE)

The second leader of Greece that began to make significant reforms in Greek society is Solon. Solon was born in Athens some time around 638 BCE. His family moderately wealthy and he a brother named Dropides. He came into power in 594 BCE as the archon of Greece. Solon was the beginning of reform of  the government in Greece. Solon made it so that no citizen could own another. He also outlawed debt slavery, meaning that if a citizen owed money to another, they could not be enslaved to that person. Solon made a social class system according to the wealth of citizens. The lowest class could not hold positions in political office. But, they could partake in assembly. The other three classes could hold positions in the government. Solon also made it so that any citizen could press charges against someone who had committed a wrongdoing against them. Many people did not agree with the reforms Solon had made. He made a law that no one could repeal his laws

Cleisthenes (508 BCE)

Isagoras ostracized Cleisthenes while he was still in power.  The citizens and Cleisthenes supporters were fed up with Isagoras tyrannical rule.  For the first time in “government history” there was a revolt against the head of government.  Cleisthenes was a member of the aristocratic society.  He was very wealthy and rich but lead as a crafty politician.   His reign over Greece brought a new reign in politics because he saw the potential of other classes other than just the rich and well off.  In his government all CITIZENS could participate in the government.  The criteria of becoming a citizen meant you must be: male, an adult, not enslaved (free), and a property owner.  This was a big step in their society but still only included one-fifth of the population.  This was called a direct democracy because the people directly affected the society

Modern bust of Cleisthenes, known as "the father of Athenian democracy", on view at the Ohio Statehouse, Columbus, Ohio.

Hippias of Athens  (527 BCE)

Hippias was a tyrant of Athens around 527 to 510 BCE. His brother, who may have ruled together with him, was murdered. After Hippias executed  his brother’s murderer, he became a cruel ruler. He executed a large amount of citizens and imposed harsh taxes on the citizens of Athens. Hippias’ cruelty made most of Athen’s citizens feel unsafe. When he began to lose his government control, he formed an alliance with the Persian king, King Darius I by making his daughter marry the Persian king’s son. This relationship gave Hippias access to Darius’ court. Many people did not like Hippias’ relationship with Persia’s court. The Alcmaeonidae family of Athens was concerned the most about the relationship and planned an invasion to dispose of Hippias. In 510 BCE, Cleomenes I of Sparta invaded Athens and trapped Hippias on the acropolis. The Spartans forced Hippias to leave Athens and flee to Persia. The Persians threatened to attack Athens if they did not accept Hippias back and be a tyrant again. The Athenians preferred to remain democratic and ignored Persia’s warnings. The Persians encouraged king Darius to attack Athens and Hippias came along and suggested that Marathon should be the place where the Persian fleet invaded first. When Hippias and the Persians arrived, one of Hippias’ teeth fell out and landed on to the beach. He thought it was an omen and meant that he could only reclaim the beach as his land.

Bust of Hippias the Tyrant

Summary:

Leader:	Characteristics of Ruler:	Time of Reign:	Reforms:
Draco of Athens		621 BC-594 BCE	Laws included, any debtor whose status was lower t
Solon of Athens	bruh	594 BCE- mid 5th century BCE	No citizen could be owned by another, outlawed debt slavery,  organized citizens into four social classes based off wealth
Hippias of Athens	At first, Hippias was a good ruler, but after the death of his brother, he turned into a very cruel leader and proved to be unloyal to his country by invaded his own country with Persia.	Ruled from 527-510 BCE	At first, he was a patron of poets and craftsmen, and under his rule Athens prospered. After his brother’s death, he turned into a cruel ruler and ordered mass executions on people and taxed his people harshly.
Cleisthenes of Athens	He was remembered for being the first open minded leader of Greece.	Ruled from 502-490 BCE	He let ALL CITIZENS perform in the government duties.  Although the criteria for being citizen was rather specific this was a big change from the previously aristocracy dominated government.