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There is evidence for several different dates. The first is 594/3, the year in which Solon was the Eponymous archon in Athens. This argument has several claims to its defense but also many arguments against it. Another major date proposed is not so much a specific date as it is a span of time in which he may have started and/or completed his nomothesia. The span of time proposed is between ca. 580 - 570 B.C. The date of 580 - 570 B.C. is by far the more likely date for him to have completed his legislation. The arguments for this case are far more convincing than those arguing that he completed his legislation in his archonship during 594/3. The first is that it would be very difficult to complete a project so large as to write an entire law code in one year. The next is that it was recorded by Aristotle that Solon travelled for a ten year peiod and on his journeys, viewed the laws of other lands. It makes sense that he would then have written his laws after that. Another major argument in favour of the later date is that there was much trouble in Athens in the 590's and 80's. This was probably the trouble which spurred the people of Athens to have Solon create new laws, on the other hand if the situation in Athens was as bad as Aristotle would have us believe then why would Solon wait to lay down the law, it would have made more sense to do it quickly. The final argument for the 594/3 theory is that according to Aristotle, Solon was given special powers in the government which may have meant the power to pass laws on hos own authority. While it is conceivable that Solon may have done his work during his archonship in 594/3, most of this evidence would seem to point to that fact that Solon probably wrote, or finished his nomethesia after his archonship, possible as much as thirty years later. The first point that would support Solon having written his nomothesia in the years following his archonship is that it would be very difficult to write something so large as a low code and have it accepted and passed by the governing body all in the span of about one year. To write the laws for an entire state would take quite some time to accomplish and that doesn't even include the process of having the laws instituted. "Bit it is difficult to believe that the task of writing down the law comprehensively could be complete within one year It is far more likely that Solon was given a special commission, which lasted more than one year." The duties of archonship would also most likely have prevented Solon from completeing his legislation during his term. The responsibilities of being archon would probably have consumed most of his time leaving little time for creating an entirely new law code for Athens. This would clearly support the case that Solon was given a special commission for more than one year and did not complete his legislation in his year of archonship but rather in a subsequent year. In addition to the length of time that it would take to complete such a project, it has been recorded and generally accepted that Solon travelled for a ten year period during which time one of the places that he visited was Egypt. While in Egypt he was said to have taken one of their laws and instituted it in his own law code. "Solon the Athenian got his law from Egypt and established it among his people " This is a law that pertains to every citizen declaring his means of income to his leader which was said to have been gotten from Egypt. If he got this law from Egypt then that would certainly seem to point to the fact that he wrote his legislation after 594/3. It is not possible for him to have done this travelling before his archonship because he would have been very young and he would have had no reason to bring a law back with him. Another important point to take notice of is that there was trouble in Athens after Solon's archonship. There were several instances of anarchia or anarchy in the years following 594/3. There was anarchia in 590/89 and again in 586/5. There was also a period of confusion following two years when either one person named Damaisas held the position of archon for slightly more than two years or two people named Damasias help the position and then the second one was forced out of office. If Solon's legislation came down during his archonship then it didn't seem to solve many problems since there was several years of confusion in Athens after his achronship. What may be more likely is that this trouble is what prompted the people of Athens to give Solon absolute power to remake their laws. Sealey says "Admittedly it is conceivable that these troubles followed the work of Solon, but surely it is more likely that his efforts at reconciliation and harmony were not a complete failure." If Solon's work had been a failure, it would seem more likely that his laws would not have lasted as long as they did and the citizens would have repealed his law. On the other hand, there is a different account of Solon's travels which points to a different conclusion about the date of his work. It was recorded by Herodotus that Solon did his travelling after he laid down the law. " Solon the Athenian, who, after making laws for the Athenians at their request, went abroad for ten years, sailing forth to see the world, he said. This he did so as not to be compelled to repeal any of the laws he had made "3 and "and wishing to be wholly rid of these perplexities and to escape from the captiousness and censoriousness of the citizens he made his ownership of a vessel an excuse for foreign travel, and set sail, after obtaining from the Athenians leave of absence for ten years."4 This would point to another version of events which would have seen Solon creating his legislation during his archonship and then travelling. If Herodotus' account on the travels of Solon can be trusted then this would seem surely to point to that fact that he laid down his laws during his archonship and ten travelled abroad for ten years to escape the people of Athens for a time. A strong argument for the fact that he may have done it during his archonship is that if the situation was as bad as. Aristotle says " and the many being enslaved to the few, the people rose against the notables. [2] The party struggle being violent and the parties remaining arrayed in opposition to one another for a long time "5 If the situation was actually so bad in Athens that they were this close to open rebellion by the lower classes then when Solon was given power to create new laws, he would have no reason to wait any length of time. Aristotle however, wrote quite some time after the fact and his evidence on this can be called into question. In another document he claims that Solon visited Croesus and this is not accepted as historical fact at all showing that Aristotle can be somewhat confused on certain events and one would certainly look to apply that to him here as well. There is one argument that would give the victory to those who propose that he wrote during his term as archon; however, it cannot be proved one way or another since the evidence has been lost. Aristotle says " they jointly chose Solon as arbitrator and Archon, and entrusted the government to him "6 It is unclear whether the phrase "entrusted the government to him" means simply that they gave him power to create laws that they may adopt or to create laws and institute them in his own power. Some historians propose that the laws of Solon were issued on his own authority and did not require passing in the senate or any sort of vote by any group of people to become law. It would seem more likely though that they would not give complete law making power to one man, he could do anything and they couldn't stop him. Any evidence to prove this one way or another though has long since been lost and nobody at this point can know for sure. It would seem from examining the evidence both for and against argument that Solon completed his work after his archonship, that it would be more likely that it was indeed the later date that is the more plausible theory. First of all there is the fact that writing something as long and complex as a law code would be quite difficult to accomplish all in one year unless he was given special powers to write the laws and then institute them on his own power, bypassing any governing body in Athens. The second would seem less likely though. It would be extremely dangerous for the people of Athens to have given just one man the power to create and institute laws on his own authority. It would also seem from reading Herodotus that Solon wrote his laws after his travels since one of his laws, according to Herodotus, comes from Egypt. This would certainly support Solon having written his laws after his travels. The final argument presented here for Solon writing at a leter date is that there is much trouble recorded in Athens after 594/3 and if Solon write in this year then it would seem that much of his work was a failure and in which case why would his laws have lasted so long. There are several arguments supporting the other side as well though. Herodotus also records that Solon went on his journey after he wrote his nomothesia to escape the pressure of citizens who wanted him to retract some laws and add others. Herodotus records two different versions of when Solon travelled and it is hard ot know which one is more accurate. The final two arguments for the writing of his laws during his archonship are the conditions in Athens when he was archon and the powers given to Solon. The first, the conditions of Athens at the time would seem to point to him having written it very quickly to resolve the situation before it became an open rebellion. The second goes with this but it is unprovable due to lost records. Aristotle records that the people of Athens gave him special powers. This could mean they gave him power to bypass the senate. There is no way to know. In the end it would seem that the argument for his writing during the time after he was archon seem to be more convincing. Bibliography: Bibliography 1. Aristotle., The Athenian Constitution. London, (1984) 2. Plutarch., The Rise and Fall of Athens: Nine Greek Lives. London, (1960) 3. Sealey, Raphael., A History of the Greek City States. London, (1976) Word Count: 1912
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