In 561 BCE, a year before Solon’s death, wealthy Athenian statesman and general Peisistratus seized power in a coup and established a tyranny where he ruled as a benevolent despot. Today, every democratic constitution incorporates the concepts of the executive, judicial, and legislative arms that were birthed by Solon’s reforms. The introduction of these three branches of the Athenian state laid the foundations for democracy. This novel government consisted of the Council of Four Hundred, which decided upon legislation the Council of the Areopagus, which acted as a supreme court and a Popular Assembly through which all citizens were eligible to participate in the legislative process. What most contributed to the progress of democratic politics, however, was Solon’s inauguration of a new constitution.
