polis

Examples of polis in the following topics:

• Archaic Greece

  • The Archaic Period saw the increasing urbanization of Greek communities, and the development of the concept of the polis.
  • The period began with a massive increase in the Greek population and a structural revolution that established the Greek city-states, or polis.
  • The Archaic period saw significant urbanization and the development of the concept of the polis as it was used in classical Greece.
  • However, the polis did not become the dominant form of sociopolitical organization throughout Greece during the Archaic period, and in the north and west of the country it did not become dominant until later in the classical period.
  • The increase in population, and evolution of the polis as a sociopolitical structure, necessitated a new form of political organization.

• The Rise of Classical Greece

  • The term "city-state," which is English in origin, does not fully translate the Greek term for these same entities, polis.
  • Basic elements of a polis often included the following:
  • Polis were established and expanded by synoecism, or the absorption of nearby villages and tribes.
  • Territory was a less helpful means of thinking about the shape of a polis than regions of shared religious and political associations.
  • Dwellers of a polis were typically divided into four separate social classes, with an individual’s status usually being determined at birth.