Cypselus was a member of the Corinthian aristocracy during the seventh century BCE. He was also immensely popular with the common people of Corinth and utilized this popularity to overthrow the oligarchy of Corinth and replace it with his own tyrannical government. Cypselus was, however, a benevolent tyrant and he ruled with the love of the people. His son, Periander, would also rule Corinth as a tyrant, but eventually he lost favor with the common people and the government was overthrown shortly after his death.

Solon was a legal reformer who was given near-absolute power by the Athenians in the early sixth century BCE. He reorganized the Athenian political system to take power away from the aristocracy and redistribute some of it to the poorest members of society. Nonetheless, Solon continued to group individuals according to their income; with the poorest members of society ineligible for public office. Still, Solon’s system allowed for social mobility and many of the poorest people eventually earned enough to be welcomed into the political class.

Solon was a legal reformer who was given absolute power in Athens in 594 BCE. He was chosen because the Athenians believed his wisdom and legal expertise might avert a civil war between the rich and poor in Athenian society. Whilst Solon’s reforms did prevent an immediate civil war, they did not completely solve class tensions in Athenian society. In the following century, Athens would briefly flirt with tyranny under the rule of Pisistratus and, his son, Hippias. However, these individuals were eventually overthrown and democratic institutions were fully embraced under the rule of Cleisthenes.

Solon was granted absolute power by the Athenian people in 594 BCE. Athenian society, at the time, was on the brink of civil war. Tensions between the poor and the elite had reached a breaking point and the terrified Athenians turned to Solon to reform their laws before it was too late. Solon enacted a series of measures which overhauled Athenian society. Most notably he partially redistributed land, made the judicial system more inclusive and fair, and opened up political participation to most male members of society. These reforms prevented a civil war and laid the foundation for the emergence of Athenian democracy.

All of these statements about helots (communally owned slaves) in Spartan society are accurate. Helots (like almost all slaves in the Greek world) were allowed to own some possessions and allowed to practice their religion. They were also encouraged to have families of their own (to keep up the numbers). But, they were subject to harsh and horrific treatment at the hand of the Spartan rulers. Most notably, helots were forced to always wear distinctive clothes and to practice debauched behavior so as to emphasize their “otherness” from Spartans.

Corinth and Athens both developed flourishing industries around the sale of clay pots during the Archaic Era. These pots were exported widely across the Mediterranean and can be found in large numbers at archaeological sites in Italy, Spain, North Africa, Anatolia, and Egypt. It is not known whether these pots were primarily valued for their appearance or what was perhaps contained inside them (wine, olive oil).

During the Mycenaean Age and the Greek Dark Ages, most of the fighting was carried out by wealthy, elite bands of warriors and noblemen. Beginning in the Archaic Era, however, more and more common people began to form military units. Hoplites and militiamen formed the backbone of most Greek armies by the sixth century BCE. The emergence of these lower class fighting forces is primarily a result of the growing availability and affordability of iron during this time period.

The city-state of Corinth was situated at an extremely important strategic location. It was nestled in the isthmus that connects northern and southern Greece. Many merchants chose to move their goods through Corinth, rather than sail around the dangerous southern shores of Greece. This caused Corinth to grow very wealthy and made Corinth the biggest exporter in Greek society until the spectacular rise of Athens during the Classical Era.

The experience of slaves living in ancient Greece varied dramatically. Some might be beloved and valuable members of households, who cared for the children and assisted the family in all manner of ways. Others might work extreme hours in the fields or, worse still, be forced into the backbreaking labor of gold and silver mining. Mining has long been a dirty and dangerous profession, not one that many people would do willingly, and slaves died by the scores to bring gold and silver to the Greek people.

Draco was a 7th c. BCE law reformer of Athens, not a tyrant. His claim to fame is his law on homicide that replaced eye-for-an-eye revenge. Cypselus and Periander were tyrants of Corinth. Pittacus was the general of Mytilene. Peisistratus was a sixth c. BCE tyrant of Athens.