The Greek Polis

The polis was, what the Greeks called, a city-state. A polis, by definition, is a city or town and its surrounding countryside. Later the polis grew and became a lot larger than just a city and its surroundings; it became more like a state than a city or village. There were three major poleis, Sparta, Athens, and Thebes. These poleis were more advanced and larger in population than any other poleis. These poleis were surrounded by a wall to prevent attacks. They also had public water that flowed out of fountains. A polis also included an agora which was a public square or marketplace in which people would just socialize and trade items. A polis also had an acropolis which was an elevated point in the city that usually had a temple, altar, public monument, or some dedication to the gods. Even though some poleis were large, they were still much smaller in population than the country as a whole.

This small population allowed the polis to make some political achievements. The polis had a smaller population than a country as a whole had so that allowed people to realize how human parts make up the whole social and political system. Also because Greece was divided into many poleis, it was very diverse in the type of governments it used. Some city-states governed their people using a monarchy or one ruler. Others used aristocracy or rule by the rich. They also used oligarchy or the rule by few, democracy, and tyranny. Several poleis banded together to form leagues of city-states. These leagues had one main central government yet they remained separate in internal affairs. This was the start of federalism.

The division of Greece into many city-states also allowed the Greeks to make many cultural achievements as well. Because the city-states were separate, their own each, individual culture emerged. The Spartans had a very militant culture that focused only on war and military strength. All boys went to be trained for the military for fifteen years and their whole aspect of culture was based around war. Athens, on the other hand, had a culture based on the pursuit of knowledge. Many great thinkers came form there including, Aristotle, Plato, and Socrates. Also Athenian art depicted the human body as perfect as a god’s and depicted the idea of humanism. Also separated city-states allowed people to enhance the culture in Greece. These people include Hippocrates, Herodotus, Sophocles, Plato, and Aristotle.

All these things were contributed to Greek society and later the world all because the Greeks developed the polis and separated their country into city-states. Without the Greeks establishing the polis our political and cultural system might be totally different. The polis was one of the most important things that the Greeks founded. The Greek polis was a success.