Society is well governed when its people obey the magistrates, and the magistrates obey the law.

Athens like other Greek city states in the 7th Century BC was faced with increasing population pressures and by about 525 BC it was able to feed itself only in 'good years'. Accounts of Solon's laws by 4th Century orators like Aeschines however are considered unreliable for a number of reasons;

Attic pleaders did not hesitate to attribute to him (Solon) any law which suited their case and later writers had no criterion by which to distinguish earlier from later works. The top three classes were eligible for a variety of lesser posts and only the Thetes were excluded from all public office.

Solon (pron. Solon and his times can appear particularly interesting to students of history as a test of the limits and nature of historical argument. Knowledge of Solon is limited by the lack of documentary and archeological evidence covering Athens in the early 6th century BC.