Solon continued the name of the assembly, but remodelled its constitution.

Anciently it had probably embraced all the Eupatrids.

Solon defined the claims of the aspirants to that official dignity, and ordained that no one should be admitted to the areopagus who had not filled the situation of archon--an ordeal which implied not only the necessity of the highest rank, but, as I shall presently note, of sober character and unblemished integrity.
The remotest traditions clothed the very name of this assembly with majesty and awe.

Holding their council on the sacred hill consecrated to Mars, fable asserted that the god of battle had himself been arraigned before its tribunal.

Solon exerted his imagination to sustain the grandeur of its associations.