Since the dawn of time, humans have found the habit of dominating each other. This type of domination is expressed from simple combat to more advanced systems like democracy. Democracy is a system of government by which the entire population is supplemented by elected officials. This advanced form of government was just beginning in ancient Greece. Between the 5th and 6th centuries of ancient Greece, Solon changed the world. The Athenian government had been established in 460 BCE and was ruled by tyranny. Despite this madness, the main lines of the development of democracy were established by Solon, Cleisthenes and Pericles. Solon was the first to greatly influence the government of Athenian society. In the 6th century BCE, social tensions arose and Athens shrank. Many citizens were reduced to the status of sharecroppers and some had sold their lives as slaves to compensate for their debts. In order to remedy the situation, Athens appointed Solon as a magistrate to serve as mediator and lawgiver in 594 BCE. While many citizens converted to slavery to work for the wealthy landowners, Solon decided that this needed to change, but also compensate the wealthy. The man once said, “The rich without wisdom and knowledge are but sheep with golden fleeces.” » Solon openly stated that uneducated rich people are simply useless, with money. With this quote, Solon canceled most debts and freed the enslaved Athenians, but refused to redistribute property or strip the aristocracy of most political power. This allowed debt-burdened citizens and powerful landlords to become content with the situation. As Solon helped the people, he was fundamentally aristocratic. When Solon entered...... middle of paper ......eb. May 15, 2014. “PERICLES”. PERICLES. Np, and Web. May 14, 2014. “Pericles.” Pericles. Np, and Web. May 14, 2014. “Solon the Lawgiver.” Birth of democracy:. Np, and Web. May 14, 2014. “The development of Athenian democracy.” The development of Athenian democracy. Np, and Web. May 15, 2014. "The Internet Classics Archive | Plutarch's Pericles." The Archive of Internet Classics | Plutarch's Pericles. Np, and Web. May 15, 2014. .WC: 1755