Peisistratus was a successful leader who rose to power by reaching out to those affected by most affected by Solon’s reforms, the disadvantaged of the city. He provided for the poor and sought to improve their position in the city. I will examine how he made changes to trade and cultural aspects of Athens as well as paying attention to his relationship with the poor and common members of Athenian citizens specifically the farmers whose position he greatly improved. The poor of the city had not been looked after by the likes of Magekles and Lykourgos, these were actually responsible in overthrowing Peisistratus previous to his successful spell as leader.

“While both Lykourgos and Megakles may have had adherents outside of their main area of support, where Peisistratos had the advantage was in being able to project himself as the leader not only of a certain region, but also of the poor and the discontented, and probably therefore of Athenians in general, whose support for him can be seen in the motion to award him a bodyguard.” Dillon M., and Garland, L., Ancient Greece: Social and Historical Documents from Archaic Times to the Death of Alexander the Great, London: Routledge, 2010. Page 319

As well as championing the downtrodden of society Peisistratus also sought to unite all regions under his control, these regions had previously been distinct from one another but in his efforts to create a more democratic Athens he sought to unite the disparate regions. His ability to unite the regions and empower the poor gained him great favour in the eyes of the citizens and as I will show below he took great effort in ensuring his position through different cultural and religious avenues as well as economic.