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IN the beginning； all the Greeks had been equally rich and
equally poor。 Every man had owned a certain number of
cows and sheep。 His mud…hut had been his castle。 He had
been free to come and go as he wished。 Whenever it was necessary
to discuss matters of public importance； all the citizens
had gathered in the market…place。 One of the older men of the
village was elected chairman and it was his duty to see that
everybody had a chance to express his views。 In case of war；
a particularly energetic and self…confident villager was chosen
commander…in…chief； but the same people who had voluntarily
given this man the right to be their leader； claimed an equal
right to deprive him of his job； once the danger had been
averted。
But gradually the village had grown into a city。 Some
people had worked hard and others had been lazy。 A few
had been unlucky and still others had been just plain dishonest
in dealing with their neighbours and had gathered wealth。
As a result； the city no longer consisted of a number of men
who were equally well…off。 On the contrary it was inhabited
by a small class of very rich people and a large class of very
poor ones。
There had been another change。 The old commander…in…
chief who had been willingly recognised as ‘‘headman'' or
‘‘King'' because he knew how to lead his men to victory； had
disappeared from the scene。 His place had been taken by the
noblesa class of rich people who during the course of time
had got hold of an undue share of the farms and estates。
These nobles enjoyed many advantages over the common
crowd of freemen。 They were able to buy the best weapons
which were to be found on the market of the eastern Mediterranean。
They had much spare time in which they could prac…
tise the art of fighting。 They lived in strongly built houses
and they could hire soldiers to fight for them。 They were
constantly quarrelling among each other to decide who should
rule the city。 The victorious nobleman then assumed a sort of
Kingship over all his neighbours and governed the town until
he in turn was killed or driven away by still another ambitious
nobleman。
Such a King； by the grace of his soldiers； was called a
‘‘Tyrant'' and during the seventh and sixth centuries before
our era every Greek city was for a time ruled by such Tyrants；
many of whom； by the way； happened to be exceedingly capa…
ble men。 But in the long run； this state of affairs became
unbearable。 Then attempts were made to bring about reforms
and out of these reforms grew the first democratic government
of which the world has a record。
It was early in the seventh century that the people of
Athens decided to do some housecleaning and give the large
number of freemen once more a voice in the government as
they were supposed to have had in the days of their Achaean
ancestors。 They asked a man by the name of Draco to provide
them with a set of laws that would protect the poor against
the aggressions of the rich。 Draco set to work。 Unfortunately
he was a professional lawyer and very much out of touch
with ordinary life。 In his eyes a crime was a crime and when
he had finished his code； the people of Athens discovered that
these Draconian laws were so severe that they could not
possibly be put into effect。 There would not have been rope
enough to hang all the criminals under their new system of
jurisprudence which made the stealing of an apple a capital
offence。
The Athenians looked about for a more humane reformer。
At last they found some one who could do that sort of thing
better than anybody else。 His name was Solon。 He belonged
to a noble family and he had travelled all over the world and
had studied the forms of government of many other countries。
After a careful study of the subject； Solon gave Athens a set
of laws which bore testimony to that wonderful principle of
moderation which was part of the Greek character。 He tried
to improve the condition of the peasant without however destroying
the prosperity of the nobles who were （or rather who
could be） of such great service to the state as soldiers。 To protect
the poorer classes against abuse on the part of the judges
（who were always elected from the class of the nobles because
they received no salary） Solon made a provision whereby a
citizen with a grievance had the right to state his case before
a jury of thirty of his fellow Athenians。
Most important of all； Solon forced the average freeman
to take a direct and personal interest in the affairs of the city。
No longer could he stay at home and say ‘‘oh； I am too busy
today'' or ‘‘it is raining and I had better stay indoors。'' He
was expected to do his share； to be at the meeting of the town
council； and carry part of the responsibility for the safety and
the prosperity of the state。
This government by the ‘‘demos；'' the people； was often far
from successful。 There was too much idle talk。 There were
too many hateful and spiteful scenes between rivals for official
honor。 But it taught the Greek people to be independent and
to rely upon themselves for their salvation and that was a very
good thing。
GREEK LIFE
HOW THE GREEKS LIVED
BUT how； you will ask； did the ancient Greeks have time
to look after their families and their business if they were
forever running to the market…place to discuss affairs of state？
In this chapter I shall tell you。
In all matters of government； the Greek democracy recognised
only one class of citizensthe freemen。 Every Greek
city was composed of a small number of free born citizens； a
large number of slaves and a sprinkling of foreigners。
At rare intervals （usually during a war； when men were
needed for the army） the Greeks showed themselves willing to
confer the rights of citizenship upon the ‘‘barbarians'' as they
called the foreigners。 But this was an exception。 Citizenship
was a matter of birth。 You were an Athenian because your
father and your grandfather had been Athenians before you。
But however great your merits as a trader or a soldier； if you
were born of non…Athenian parents； you remained a ‘‘foreigner''
until the end of time。
The Greek city； therefore； whenever it was not ruled by a
king or a tyrant； was run by and for the freemen； and this
would not have been possible without a large army of slaves
who outnumbered the free citizens at the rate of six or five
to one and who performed those tasks to which we modern
people must devote most of our time and energy if we wish to
provide for our families and pay the rent of our apartments。
The slaves did all the cooking and baking and candlestick
making of the entire city。 They were the tailors and the carpenters
and the jewelers and the school…teachers and the bookkeepers
and they tended the store and looked after the factory
while the master went to the public meeting to discuss questions
of war and peace or visited the theatre to see t