The era of tyrants and lawmakers
The settlement movements were not able to eliminate the problems existing in the Greek cities, which were represented in the distribution of lands, the abolition of debts, the equality between classes of the population, the elimination of social gaps, and of course when there is a revolt in Greek cities, it moves to the settlements, just as the settled classes of society started the internal conflict between them for control. On the reins of government, especially after the development of the military situation, which played an important role in the emergence of the tyranny regime.
Definition of a despot
The meaning of a tyrant in Greek (Tyranus), which is everyone who seizes the reins of power without any legal basis, and it is unlike the word king who controls all the powers and the evidence for this is that there are many tyrants such as (Pisistratus) in Athens and he was a ruler who put an end to the internal conflict and helped solve economic problems and improve Those situations in the cities of Athens, but with the passage of time this position became intended for good and the word tyrant has the same meaning and is transmitted from one generation to another due to the lack of a force working to control.
As for Sparta, the matter was different, because of the success of Sparta and its control over the two regions (Laconia and Messinia) and their subjugation under its control early in the ages of darkness, as well as subjugated their inhabitants under its control and made these peoples their slaves working in the vast areas of land under the name (Helots).
It also succeeded in establishing a military empire in the first place that lasted for a long time, far from the political and economic problems that the city-state experienced in Greece, and this was the reason for its legal system known as the laws of (Lucorgus), where scholars disagreed about its identity, date, and proportion.
The reasons for the emergence of lawmakers.
Society was transcending the primitive stage of the aristocratic families ’control of resources and laws, the emergence of corrupt judges, as he called them (Hesiodus). Therefore, the Greeks had the opportunity to draft legislation due to the progress made by Greeks in all fields in the early era, and this is what is known as innovation born of necessity and the emergence of famous legislators In Greece, the likes of Solon in the early sixth century BC, and less well-known, such as (Zalucus) and (Charoundas) in the West, who worked on developing laws to define constitutional, civil, religious and criminal laws.
(Solon)
In the year 594 BC, conflicts increased between the Athenian classes, so those classes gathered and agreed to choose Solon as ruler of Athens because of his wisdom, and Solon was from Yemen that justice comes from the machine, he did not call for himself any divine message, so he said: I gave the common people privileges that are sufficient for them either. Power and influence tried to prevent them from injustice, and therefore there is an apparent similarity in what Solon says and the laws of Hammurabi, who is a thousand years before him, and he is a Babylonian king who eliminates injustice and the wicked and he works in the name of God. As for Solon, this is a material dimension of Greek law.
Therefore, he left Athens for ten years in order to give the community the opportunity to try its democratic program and take the justice of this legislation. Solon failed partly because he did not succeed in solving the problems in Athens after one generation had passed. Despite this, the Greeks did not Solon and remained immortal in their memories.
Among the most important achievements of Solon are preventing slavery due to debts, giving the right to a third party to sue before the courts in favor of an individual who was wronged, and the right to appeal before the people's courts.
The required element between the three laws is the development of society by protecting the weak majority from the powerful powers of the rich, and these amendments were the first step to equality before the law among the Greeks in the classical era.
(Bezystratus)
His role was contrary to the idea of the tyrant and rule according to the law, and the Greek writers rose despite the hatred of the tyrant's system, and Aristotle (the Constitution of the Athenians) says that he used different methods from Solon and he walked Athens for a long time in the rule of democracy. As mentioned (Homer) was refusing to deal with discontent by the farmer aristocracy and among the most important achievements of his reign:
The conditions of farmers stabilized during his reign, a sense of security and stability, the provision of material aid, the elimination of internal conflicts, and the elimination of the monopoly of aristocratic families for political positions.
Although the nobles and aristocrats took control of the positions and became in the service of the citizens and the law, they did not have absolute power and the common people were free to protect them from the humiliation of slavery due to debt.
His eldest son (Hebias) took power after him, who led in 510 BC and its rule was stable for 30 years, and Athens became during their reign a power with its wealth and economic growth, but in 514 BC, the younger brother (Hippas) (Hyarkus) was killed due to a relationship A friendship with a young man, and after that, the rule of tyrants transformed into brutal despotism that led to his downfall, as the situation became after that a wealth that works to remove and appoint the tyrant.