Seisachtheia ({{Lang-el, σεισάχθεια, from σείειν ''seiein'', to shake, and ἄχθος ''achthos'', burden, i.e. the relief of burdens) was a set of laws instituted by the Athenian lawmaker
Solon (c. 638 BC–558 BC) in order to rectify the widespread
serfdom and
slavery that had run rampant in
Athens by the 6th century BCE, by
debt relief.
Debt in Athenian society
Under the pre-existing legal status, according to the account of the ''
Constitution of the Athenians'' attributed to
Aristotle, debtors unable to repay their creditors would surrender their land to them, then becoming ''hektemoroi'', i.e.
serf
Serfdom was the status of many peasants under feudalism, specifically relating to manorialism, and similar systems. It was a condition of debt bondage and indentured servitude with similarities to and differences from slavery, which developed ...
s who cultivated what used to be their own land and gave one sixth of produce to their creditors.
Should the debt exceed the perceived value of debtor's total assets, then the debtor and his family would become the creditor's slaves as well. The same would result if a man
default
Default may refer to:
Law
* Default (law), the failure to do something required by law
** Default (finance), failure to satisfy the terms of a loan obligation or failure to pay back a loan
** Default judgment, a binding judgment in favor of ei ...
ed on a
debt whose
collateral
Collateral may refer to:
Business and finance
* Collateral (finance), a borrower's pledge of specific property to a lender, to secure repayment of a loan
* Marketing collateral, in marketing and sales
Arts, entertainment, and media
* ''Collate ...
was the debtor's personal freedom.
Seisachtheia reforms
The ''seisachtheia'' laws immediately cancelled all outstanding debts, retroactively emancipated all previously enslaved debtors, reinstated all confiscated serf property to the ''hektemoroi'', and forbade the use of personal freedom as collateral in all future debts. The laws instituted a ceiling to maximum property size – regardless of the legality of its acquisition (i.e. by
marriage), meant to prevent excessive accumulation of land by powerful families.
See also
*
Slavery in ancient Greece
*
Jubilee (biblical)
The Jubilee ( he, יובל ''yōḇel;'' Yiddish: ''yoyvl'') is the year at the end of seven cycles of ''shmita'' (Sabbatical years) and, according to biblical regulations, had a special impact on the ownership and management of land in the Land ...
References
* Project Gutenberg's The Great Events by Famous Historians, Vol. 1, Editor: Rossiter Johnson, Charles Horne and John Rudd; Release Date July 24, 2005
Book #16352Copyright, 1905 by The National Alumni – Solon's Early Greek Legislation B.C. 594 by George Grote (See: Location 3949 et. seq.)
Debt bondage
Archaic Athens
Legal codes
Slavery in ancient Greece