But the evil was temporary, the good permanent. It
put an end to much injustice, and no such condition as had prevailed
ever again arose in Athens. The government of the aristocracy came to an
end under Solon's laws. From that time forward Athens grew more and more
a government of the people.

The old assembly of the people existed then, but all its power had been
taken from it. Solon gave back to it the right of voting and of passing
laws. But he established a council of four hundred men, elected annually
by the people, whose duty it was to consider the business upon which the
assembly was to act. And the assembly could only deal with business that
was brought before it by this council.

The assemblies of the people took place on the Pnyx, a hill that
overlooked the city, and from which could be seen the distant sea. At
its right stood the Acropolis, that famous hill on which the noblest of
temples were afterwards built. Between these two hills rose the
Areopagus, on which the Athenian supreme court held its sessions. The
Athenians loved to do their business in the open air, and, while
discussing questions of law and justice, delighted in the broad view
before them of the temples, the streets, and the crowded marts of trade
of the city, and the shining sea, with its white-sailed craft, afar in
the sunny distance.

Solon's laws went further than we have said. He divided the people into
four ranks or divisions, according to their wealth in land. The richer
men were, the more power they were given in the state. But at the same
time they had to pay heavier taxes, so that their greater authority was
not an unmixed blessing. The lowest class, composed of the poorest
citizens, had no taxes at all to pay, and no power in the state, other
than the right to vote in the assembly. When called out as soldiers arms
were furnished them, while the other classes had to buy their own arms.

Various other laws were made by Solon. The old law against crime,
established long before by Draco, had made death the penalty for every
crime, from murder to petty theft. This severe law was repealed, and the
punishment made to agree with the crime. Minor laws were these: The
living could not speak evil of the dead. No person could draw more than
a fixed quantity of water daily from the public wells. People who raised
bees must not have their hives too near those of their neighbors. It was
fixed how women should dress, and they were forbidden to