What was the heliaia in Solon’s legal reforms?

In Solon’s legal reforms, the heliaia (or hēliaia) was established as a popular law court that introduced the right of appeal against the decisions of magistrates.12

While the exact composition of this body remains a subject of scholarly debate, the most widely accepted view is that the heliaia represented the Assembly acting in its judicial capacity. By allowing citizens to appeal to this body, Solon provided a measure of control over the verdicts of officials, which was a significant step toward ensuring greater accountability in the Athenian legal system.21

In later periods, this right of appeal to the people was viewed as a foundational element of democracy, though historians caution against projecting later democratic practices back onto Solon’s time, as the heliaia functioned differently before the introduction of paid juries in the 460s BCE.23