Early in the 6th century B.C., the Areopagos -faced with a serious social and economic crisis and extensive popular unrest, in the aftermath of the imposition of the harsh Draconian laws- decided to hand over all political power to a single individual, Solon.

Solon was a nobleman, who had traveled all over the world and had studied the various forms of government. The mission assigned to him by the Areopagos was to initiate political, social and economic reforms, which would not only address current problems, but also guarantee that similar crises may not happen again. Solon immediately dismissed all outstanding debts, by introducing a unique measure -sisahthia- and freed as many Athenians as he could from the slavery they had sold themselves into, as they were not able to pay their loans to others. In addition he encouraged the development of olive and wine production and it is thanks to him that, for centuries afterwards, most of Attica's land was dedicated to those lucrative crops. Solon, a man concerned for equal justice to all citizens proclaimed: "Laws I wrote, alike for nobleman and commoner, awarding straight justice to everybody".

Athenian society was divided into four classes based on wealth. The two wealthiest classes were allowed to serve on the Areopagos. The third class had the right to serve on an elected council of four hundred people (rouli). The council was organized according to the four tribes making up the Athenian people; each tribe would elect one hundred representatives from this third class. The "Vouli" served as a kind of balance or check to the power of the Areopagos. Solon's reforms gave all Athenians, from all classes, representation and participation in public affairs. Alas, like so many men of moderation, Solon soon became a target of all sides. He had to step down in the verge of another economic crisis -but his laws and institutions survived him.

For some time, feuds among noble families and political instability reigned supreme. Then Peisistratos, a military hero, whipped up popular support and became tyrant of Athens. Twice he was thrown out by his political enemies and twice he made a comeback and managed to remain in power until his death. Under Peisistratos Athens flourished. Grandiose buildings, the beautiful black pottery from Athenian workshops, the poets and the remodelled Great Panathenaic festival, all testified to the increasing self-confidence of the Athenians of that period.

Peisistratos' successor, his son Hippias, was a disaster. Not only was he incompetent but he also became truly tyrannical, especially after his brother Hipparchos' assassination by two aristocratic lovers, Harmodios and Aristogeiton. Exiled aristocratic families attempted to overthrow him and they finally succeeded-with the help of the Spartans. Naturally the Spartans wanted to have influence over the Athenian government (and did so for a while) but they lost their grip, when Kleisthenes came to power. Kleisthenes was a nobleman who had once served as archon under Peisistratos, but joined forces with other aristocratic families against Hippias' regime. He embarked on a series of drastic political reforms, which gained the support of both the nobility and the people. He created ten new artificial phylai (tribes) which cut across the boundaries of the four old kinship-based ones and probably enabled men who had previously been refused citizenship to be enrolled. Each tribe was composed of groups of communities (demoi), scattered over Attica. Those demoi had their own local political set-up and became the focus of the citizen's loyalties and attention. They gave the ordinary Athenian a new sense of participation and a new feeling of self-confidence. He gave the ecclesia (assembly) a new sense of power with which it could come to expect and eventually demand that all matters of significance be submitted to it for discussion and then decision. This opened the way for the advanced form of democracy of the Periclean age.

It is fair to say that if Solon was the grandfather of the democracy, Kleisthenes was its father.