Reforms of Solon and Cleisthenes - Essay Example

Additionally, Solon divided society into four classes—each of which was based on wealth. The two highest classes were allowed to serve on the Areopagus, which was the highest council of Athens. The third class was permitted to serve on elected councils, and the lowest class was able to take part in the assembly, which brought affairs to the elected council.

On the other hand, Cleisthenes developed a constitution in order to make Athens a democracy. Cleisthenes is commonly referred to as the founder of democracy in Athens for this very reason. This constitution was loosely based on the ideas of Solon, but Cleisthenes expanded on them. As part of the new constitution, all men aged 18 years and older were registered as Athenian citizens and became members of their village. This was a significant step in the evolution of Athenian society because these new citizens were each allowed to vote, thus giving them power over elected officials. At that time women were not considered citizens of Athenian society, and because of this, they did not have any voting powers. The council that was established worked as the chief arm of the government and had full executive and administrative power. Any citizen aged over 30 was qualified to be part of this council. Each year the members of the council were picked at random. The Assembly had the power to veto any of the council’s decisions.