Were the Athenians really free?

Before Solon began to rule in Athens, that is, until the end of the 6th century BC, debt slavery existed in Athens. Initially, the land belonged to all the Athenians. But some plots were less fertile, and in order to avoid famine, the poor peasant borrowed from the rich. At the same time, a stone was installed on the debtor’s land, on which the amount of the debt and the repayment period were written. If the peasant did not pay the debt, then his land, he himself and his children passed into the possession of a rich peasant. Debt stones were ubiquitous, many Athenians turned into slaves, they were sold overseas. Solon abolished this law, henceforth no Athenian was to be a slave.