Essay About Main Purpose And Man Of The Peasant Family

Conflicts in Ancient Athens
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Conflicts in Ancient Athens
Throughout the history of ancient Athens, many conflicts existed amongst its citizens.
Most tension occurred between those in the two different social classes while they also
emerged between those of the same social class. The first section of this paper will deal
with the conflicts between the peasants and the aristocrats while explaining the
conflicts between aristocrats over political power. The third section of this paper
will cover the political changes that occurred under the rule of Solon. Finally, the fourth
and last section of this paper will be an assessment of all these major conflicts as a
whole. The primary source for these investigations is The Rise and Fall of Athens: Nine
Greek Lives by Plutarch while solely using the life of Solon.
In ancient Athens, land was the primary source of wealth. This was due to the fact
that the land in Athens was not extremely arable and therefore, much was required in
order to produce an acceptable amount of vegetation. Those who had land were
considered aristocrats while those who had no land were considered to be peasants.
Peasants made their living from subsistence farming. The man of the peasant family
would only work to feed himself, his wife, and his children. Therefore, peasants lived in
a world of “limited good” (Trumbach).
Peasants farmed on the land of the aristocrats by paying a form of rent. They had to
give one-third of their produce to the aristocrats in exchange for use of their land. They
could also borrow “currency” from the aristocrats by promising collateral if not repaid. If
the peasants failed to pay aristocrats back, they or their children would possibly become
slaves. There was no social mobility in ancient Athens. No peasant could become an
aristocrat even if they gained wealth. “If a peasant managed to become rich, he would
become a rich peasant.” (Trumbach) This inspired the peasants desire to revolt in favor
of a redistribution of land. This was opposed by the aristocrats who wished to keep their
land and refused to give it to the peasants.
An aristocrat was someone who came from a wealthy land owning family and
participated in politics as well as the military. This class of aristocrats only made up
about two percent of the Athens population. However, there was much tension between
aristocratic families due to competition for political power. Because of this, loyalty to
ones immediate family was extremely important. Almost all disputes were settled
through blood feuds which involved many pointless and irrational murders. This was
motivated by the belief in honor and desire for revenge.
Conflicts dealing with women were also present in ancient Athens. Men were
superior to women and could control every aspect of their lives. Women were the
possessions of men and were therefore treated like them. They could be used for political
alliance through marriage, and sold as slaves. Theyre main purpose was to marry,
procreate, and to take care of the household. If a woman was caught in the
act of adultery, the husband would kill the man she was sleeping with and divorce the
wife. However, a woman could not divorce her husband without consent from him. A
man would also sell his daughter as a slave if he was displeased with her in any way.
These are prime examples of how women were viewed and treated by the men of ancient
Athens.
Inheritance was always passed down to the oldest son in the family. If there were no
male family members, the inheritance was passed down to a friend of the deceased
person. When a man married his daughter off, he gave his son-in-law a gift of land, or a
dowry. This was an instrument used to make sure that not only was the mans daughter
taken care of, but also that he had a supporter in his political endeavors. By giving
dowries, one was promoting family alliances. Solon did not agree with dowries because
he felt that marriage should not be a “profit-making institution” (Plutarch, 63). He also
felt that concentrating on alliances would take away from the concern for the Athenian
society and its citizens.