Page:Greece from the Coming of the Hellenes to AD. 14.djvu/93

Rh The poorness of the Attic soil made the importation of corn and timber a necessity from early times. Thus we find that before we have much definite information about the Athenians they had secured possession of Sigeium in the Troad, and had some connection with the Greek settlers in the Thracian Chersonese. They must, therefore, have early seen the necessity of keeping the Hellespont open for the passage of corn-ships. They did not, however, possess ships of war, and were still content with the harbour at Phalerum, which was neither as convenient nor as safe as that of the Piraeus. Nor had they in the seventh century shown signs of taking the intellectual primacy among the Greeks which was afterwards so conspicuous. The earliest literary activity after Homer was in other parts of Hellas. Attica, however, had within its borders a source of wealth which afterwards was of material assistance in strengthening her position. This was the district of Laurium, in the southern part of the country, the silver mines in which appear to have been known from very early times, but not to have been systematically worked until towards the end of the sixth century B.C.

The great constitutional changes in the direction of democracy were those introduced by Draco (circ. B.C. 621), by Solon (circ. B.C. 594), and by Cleisthenes (B.C. 507). Between the last two there was a period of unconstitutional government, or "tyranny," under Peisistratus and his sons (B.C. 560-510). The significance of the Draconian reform was chiefly that it was the beginning of written laws,