Polis
Ancient Greek city-state that was the native land of its citizens.
The polis (plural: poleis) was any Ancient Greek city-state, a socio-political entity that demanded the supreme loyalty of its citizens and served as their native land, distinct from the modern concept of a city within a country. Poleis were not confined to modern Greece but formed a network of micro-states spread from the Caucasus to Southern Spain and from Southern Russia to Northern Egypt, with about 1,500 such settlements classified by the Copenhagen Polis Centre. The polis is central to ancient Greek literature and philosophy, appearing thousands of times in classical works, and its study has shaped political science from Plato and Aristotle to modern historiography.
- First Literary Use
- The Iliad (approximately 109 times)
Quick Facts
- Native Name
- grc · Πόλις
- Etymology
- "walls"
- Government Type
- Republic, or commonwealth. The ultimate authority was considered to reside in the citizenry, the demos, despite the broad variation in the form of the administration.
- Governing Body
- The assembly, or ekklesia, although in the more autocratic forms of administration, it met rarely. Magistrates performed the day-to-day governing, called archons.
- Unit Pref
- Metric
- Area Blank1 Title
- max area of 60% of poleis
- Area Blank1 Km2
- 100
- Area Blank2 Title
- max area of 80% of poleis
- Area Blank2 Km2
- 200
- Population As Of
- 400 BC
- Population Total
- 7500000+
- Population Density Km2
- auto
Facts from the source article.
Lore & Background
The polis was not merely a physical city but a socio-political community with a constitution, demanding the supreme loyalty of its citizens. Unlike modern usage, the ancient Greek word had no distinction between city and country; the polis itself was the native land, while χώρα (chóra) referred only to the countryside. Ancient Greece was not a sovereign country but territory occupied by Hellenic people speaking dialects of Ancient Greek. Poleis existed across the Mediterranean and Black Sea shores, from the Caucasus to Southern Spain, and were often founded as colonies sent out by a mother city (metropolis) to relieve population pressures or seek better land. Colonies retained the ethnic identity of their homeland region, such as Acarnania, even when far away.
Reader's Guide
The polis is foundational to Western political thought, as it was the subject of the first known works of Greek literature and the focus of Plato's and Aristotle's political philosophy. Plato's Republic, whose Greek title Politeia derives from polis, explores the ideal polis governed by a philosopher king for the common good, with five economic classes and four virtues (wisdom, courage, moderation, justice). Aristotle, breaking from Plato, founded the Lyceum and invented political science, dispatching students to study actual poleis; only two of his documents survive, Politics and Athenian Constitution. Modern historiography struggles to define the polis definitively, with models ranging from the city-state concept to the microstate proposed by the Copenhagen Polis Centre. No model has covered all poleis, and the debate continues, but the term remains essential for understanding ancient Greek society and its legacy in political theory.
Did You Know?
- The Copenhagen Polis Centre classified about 1,500 settlements as poleis, ranging from the Caucasus to Southern Spain.
- The word polis appears approximately 109 times in the Iliad, the first known work of Greek literature.
- Aristotle invented political science and sent students to study individual poleis, and many of his works survive, including Nicomachean Ethics, Metaphysics, Poetics, Physics, Politics, and the Athenian Constitution.
- Modern Greek πόλη (póli) descends from the ancient word but means 'city', while the ancient term for urban buildings was asty (ἄστυ).
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