Editing Solon (section)

===Economic===
The real motives behind Solon's economic reforms are as questionable as his real motives for constitutional reform. Were the poor being forced to serve the needs of a changing economy, was the economy being reformed to serve the needs of the poor, or were Solon's policies the manifestation of a struggle taking place between poorer citizens and the aristocrats?

Solon's economic reforms need to be understood in the context of the primitive, subsistence economy that prevailed both before and after his time. Most Athenians were still living in rural settlements right up to the [[Peloponnesian War]].<ref name="Thucydides 2.14–16" /> Opportunities for trade even within the Athenian borders were limited. The typical farming family, even in classical times, barely produced enough to satisfy its own needs.<ref>Gallant, T. ''Risk and Survival in Ancient Greece'', Stanford (1991), cited by Morris I. in [http://www.princeton.edu/~pswpc/pdfs/morris/120509.pdf "The Growth of City States in the First Millennium BC"], Stanford (2005), p. 7. {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220708003358/http://www.princeton.edu/~pswpc/pdfs/morris/120509.pdf|date=8 July 2022}}</ref> Opportunities for international trade were minimal. It has been estimated that, even in Roman times, goods rose 40% in value for every 100 miles they were carried over land, but only 1.3% for the same distance were they carried by ship<ref>Laurence R. ''Land Transport in Rural Italy'', Parkins and Smith (1998), cited by Morris I. in ''The Growth of City States in the First Millennium BC'', Stanford (2005).</ref> and yet there is no evidence that Athens possessed any merchant ships until around 525 BC.<ref>Morris I. ''The Growth of City States in the First Millennium BC'', Stanford (2005), p. 12.</ref> Until then, the narrow warship doubled as a cargo vessel. Athens, like other Greek city states in the 7th century BC, was faced with increasing population pressures<ref>Snodgrass A. ''Archaic Greece'', London (1980), cited by Morris I. in ''The Growth of City States in the First Millennium BC'', Stanford (2005), p. 11.</ref> and by about 525 BC it was able to feed itself only in good years.<ref>Garnsey P. ''Famine and Food Supply in Graeco-Roman World'', Cambridge (1988), p. 104, cited by Morris I. in ''The Growth of City States in the First Millennium BC'', Stanford (2005).</ref>

[[File:BMC 06.jpg|thumb|right|The [[Croeseid]], one of the earliest known coins. It was minted in the early 6th century BC in [[Lydia]]. Coins such as this might have made their way to Athens in Solon's time but it is unlikely that Athens had its own coinage at this period.]]Solon's reforms can thus be seen to have taken place at a crucial period of economic transition, when a subsistence rural economy increasingly required the support of a nascent commercial sector. The specific economic reforms credited to Solon are these:[[File:ATTICA, Athens. Circa 545-525-15 BC.jpg|thumb|The earliest coinage of [[Athens]], {{circa|545–515 BC}}]]

*Fathers were encouraged to find trades for their sons; if they did not, there would be no legal requirement for sons to maintain their fathers in old age.<ref>Plutarch, ''Solon'' [[s:Lives (Dryden translation)/Solon#22|22.1]].</ref>
*Foreign tradesmen were encouraged to settle in Athens; those who did would be granted citizenship, provided they brought their families with them.<ref>Plutarch, ''Solon'' [[s:Lives (Dryden translation)/Solon#24|24.4]].</ref>
*Cultivation of olives was encouraged; the export of all other fruits was prohibited.<ref>Plutarch, ''Solon'' [[s:Lives (Dryden translation)/Solon#24|24.1]].</ref>
*Competitiveness of Athenian commerce was promoted through revision of weights and measures, possibly based on successful standards already in use elsewhere, such as [[Aegina]] or [[Euboia]]<ref>V. Ehrenberg, ''From Solon to Socrates: Greek History and Civilization'', Routledge (1973), p. 73 f.</ref><ref>Stanton, G. R. ''Athenian Politics c. 800–500 BC: A Sourcebook'', Routledge, London (1990), pp. 60–63.</ref> or, according to the ancient account but unsupported by modern scholarship, [[Argos, Peloponnese|Argos]].<ref name="autogenerated1">''Athenaion Politeia'' [[s:Athenian Constitution#10|10]].</ref>

==== Coinage ====
It is generally assumed, on the authority of ancient commentators,<ref name="autogenerated1"/><ref>Plutarch (quoting Androtion), ''Solon'' [[s:Lives (Dryden translation)/Solon#15|15.2–5]].</ref> that Solon also reformed the Athenian [[coin#History|coinage]]. However, recent numismatic studies now lead to the conclusion that Athens probably had no coinage until around 560 BC, well after Solon's reforms.<ref>Stanton, G. R. ''Athenian Politics c. 800–500 BC: A Sourcebook'', Routledge, London (1990), p. 61, n. 4.</ref> Nevertheless, there are now reasons to suggest<ref>{{ill|Eberhard Ruschenbusch|de}} 1966, ''Solonos Nomoi'' [Solon's laws].</ref> that [[monetization]] had already begun before Solon's reforms. By the early sixth century the Athenians were using silver in the form of a variety of [[bullion]] silver pieces for monetary payments.<ref>Kroll, 1998, 2001, 2008.</ref> [[Dram (unit)#Ancient unit of mass|Drachma]] and [[Obol (coin)#Weight|obol]] as a term of bullion value had already been adopted, although the corresponding standard weights were probably unstable.<ref>William Metcalf, 
''The Oxford Handbook of Greek and Roman Coinage'', [https://books.google.com/books?id=BsUdJPnmmpgC&q=Monetazation+began+before+the+first+coin+was+struck+in+Athens.+ p. 88].</ref>

==== Foreign trade ====
[[File:Amphora olive-gathering BM B226.jpg|thumb|right|This 6th century Athenian black-figure urn, in the [[British Museum]], depicts the olive harvest. Many farmers, enslaved for debt, would have worked on large estates for their creditors.]]

Solon's economic reforms succeeded in stimulating foreign trade. Athenian [[black-figure pottery]] was exported in increasing quantities and good quality throughout the Aegean between 600 BC and 560 BC, a success story that coincided with a decline in trade in Corinthian pottery.<ref name="Stanton, G. R. 1990 p. 76" /> The ban on the export of grain might be understood as a relief measure for the benefit of the poor. However, the encouragement of olive production for export could actually have led to increased hardship for many Athenians to the extent that it led to a reduction in the amount of land dedicated to grain. Moreover, an olive tree produces no fruit for the first six years<ref>Stanton, G. R. ''Athenian Politics c. 800–500 BC: A Sourcebook'', Routledge, London (1991), p. 65, n. 1.</ref> (but farmers' difficulty of lasting until payback may also give rise to a [[Mercantilism#Great Britain|mercantilist]] argument in favour of supporting them through that, since the British case illustrates that "One domestic policy that had a lasting impact was the conversion of 'waste lands' to agricultural use. Mercantilists felt that to maximize a nation's power all land and resources had to be used to their utmost").