Athens
The Athenian Life Experience
Education
For girls, girls stay home while their mothers teach them to spin, weave, and around-the-house chores. It is only wealthy families that get to teach girls how to read, write and play the lyre.
Government
Debt for Farmers
In 597 B.C. the nobles looked to a noble that both the nobles and Athens trusted: Solon. Solon agreed to cancel all the farmers debts, and freed all the captive slaves. He also gave males some new rights too. Males could now participate in the assembly and law courts. Solon did all of this to gain popularity.
After Solon
After Peisistratus finished reigning, Cleithenes took charge of Athens in 508 B.C. He reorganized the assembly to be in charge of the main part of governing. Now members of the assembly had new powers. They could debate openly and go to court cases.
The most important thing that Cleithenes did was that he made a ALL NEW council now obtaining 500 citizens to help the assembly carry out businesses. The people of Athens chose the members of the council using a lottery system because they believed this way of choosing the council was far more fair than an election where people might just vote on the rich because they are rich rather than choose their own personal choices. One thing that was still an issue was the citizen problem. Women, foreign-born men, and slaves were still not able to become citizens. None of the less, Cleithenes is known for making Athens a democracy.