Solon's reforms did not lead to a radical break in Athens by the beginning of the VT c. BC. public relations. They only changed what threatened the state with death. Solon freed the demos from debt bondage and forever forbade the enslavement of Athenian citizens for debts. He returned to the peasants the land allotments taken from them by the nobility. All citizens were divided into classes according to their incomes; the political rights of a citizen no longer depended on his origin, but on his condition. Only the rich could be elected to the highest positions, but on the other hand, all citizens, without distinction of property status, now participated in the national assembly and in the jury created by Solon (see article “Ancient Greece”).
The reforms caused general bewilderment and irritation. Trying to explain to fellow citizens the meaning of the transformations, Solon again resorts to poetry. There are many bitter confessions in them: "... Having gathered all the courage to fight, I was like a wolf circling among a pack of dogs." And again: “Everyone once rejoiced, but now they always see me off with an evil look, as if I were their worst enemy.”
The attempt to achieve universal agreement failed. Not wanting to change anything in his laws, Solon leaves Athens and becomes a traveler again. He sails to Egypt, has conversations with the priests there, then goes to Cyprus and helps the local king to found a new city. Ancient authors wrote many stories about Solon's meetings with famous contemporaries. When visiting the capital of the Lydian kingdom - the city of Sardis - for example, he talked with the king Croesus, who went down in history, and taught him a lesson in Hellenic wisdom.
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