Why were both rich and poor Athenians dissatisfied with Solon’s reforms?

Solon’s reforms were intended to mediate the severe social and economic crises in Athens, but his moderate approach ultimately left both the aristocracy and the peasantry dissatisfied.12

The poor were disappointed because they had hoped for a radical transformation of the social order. Specifically, they expected Solon to redistribute all land in equal shares and were frustrated when he refused to do so. Many also desired for him to seize power as a tyrant to enforce such a redistribution, a role he rejected because he was not an egalitarian and lacked interest in autocratic rule.2

Conversely, the nobles were dissatisfied because they had expected only marginal changes to the existing system. Solon’s reforms, which included the "shaking off of burdens" (the cancellation of debts and freeing of enslaved citizens), directly challenged the traditional power and economic interests of the landed aristocracy. By replacing the monopoly of the eupatridae with a system based on wealth rather than birth, Solon fundamentally altered the political landscape, alienating those who wished to maintain their ancestral privileges.2314