ipl-logo

The Polis And Its Examples In Ancient And Classical Greece

443 Words2 Pages

In ancient times the Greeks were still divided; one of the reasons because of geographical conditions consisting of islands and mountains separated by seas so that each region could survive independently; in the end, they established a city-state (sovereign city) called a polis that covers the town or city and the surrounding countryside. The two most influential polis at that time were Athens and Sparta, where strong fortifications surrounded the territory. Polis is primarily responsible for establishing and running a government that includes social and political affairs and regulating the lives of citizens in its region (Brand, 2010; Khan Academy, n.d.).
The role of the polis and its examples in Ancient and Classical Greece:
1. Providing …show more content…

Upon reaching the age of seven, Spartan boys were taken away from their parents and sent to a state-run educational system known as an agoge for peace, which taught discipline, obedience, and loyalty to the state.
• Examples of regulating justice is the existence of a legal system, there are lawsuit and sanctions for citizens who are considered guilty, and political reforms and social structures by Cleisthenes, which created a system of isominia equality before the law.
• Examples of regulating social welfare to its citizens: establishing a tax system (there is a special tax levied on Metics); allocation of resources (gold and silver); and Solon reformed the economy by promoting the olive oil and pottery industries as export markets to pay for the large amounts of grain that had to be imported into Athens to feed its large population.
2. Organizing public events, such as festivals: Stipulation of obligation for wealthy citizens of Athens to make religious contributions to the worship and festivals of the city's gods and

Show More
Related
1229 Words | 5 Pages

Unlike the Athenian democratic system the Spartans believed in Oligarchy, meaning ruling by a few. Sparta came to reach the height of it power after defeating rival City Sate, Athens in the Peloponnesian War (431-404 BC) (Bailey). The oligarchy was a governmental system composed by a limited number of elite citizens such as: Ephors, five magistrates with executive and judicial privileges, elected by assembly; two kings, army leaders and chief priests; gerousia, council of thirty elders comprise of men at least sixty tears old, twenty-eight of which were elected by assembly and includes two kings; assembly of citizens, men over thirty years old, they do not vote, but shout acclamations supporting the decisions of the oligarchy above (Bailey). The Spartan governing system led to a military based society where male children from the age of seven would start going to a special educational institution, which was military based. This led to Spartans being warrior like people unlike the Athenians.

Read More
997 Words | 4 Pages

This Greek city-state, or polis, is also the first well documented democracy in all of history consisting of three main political bodies.

Read More
894 Words | 4 Pages

However, Athens exports many lavish materials like perfume, wine, and jewelry. The difference of trade between the two rivals sets apart a contrasting view of alikeness(Document 7). On a similar note, Aristotle writes of how Athens supported themselves financially for war materials like 1,200 calvary men and 500 members of council to reinforce their government(Document 9). This correlates to a similar degree with Sparta to show that Athens was also involved in war and was prepared if need be to fight against a rivaling city. Looking at the point of view from Aristotle, he grew up with and in the Athenian government but he also grew accustomed to many other regulations from other cities during his travel.

Read More
498 Words | 2 Pages

Like most of the things about Greece’s geography, this did the opposite of make life simpler for the Greeks. Because of the mountains, the Greeks could not move around easily on land. As said in Document 5, this caused the polis, or city-states, to develop as separate communities with their own governments. The city-states were practically their own countries, and rather than living in harmony, as they might’ve if they didn’t feel so detached from each other, they were distrustful of each other. Several, like Sparta and Athens, who started the Peloponnesian Wars, were actively malicious toward one

Read More
557 Words | 3 Pages

Sitting For Change Intro What impact did the Greensboro sit-ins have on the Civil Rights Movement? The 4 men who were soon to be known, started these protests to try to stop segregation of lunch counters. These 4 men formed groups of protesters and went to stop this unfair segregation. Nevertheless, The Greensboro sit-ins brought awareness and impacted the Civil Rights Movement.

Read More
795 Words | 4 Pages

The Polis centered Greece had started on their culture, civilization ideas, politics, and warfare. The Polis in Greece main idea was based on self-sufficiency. The politics were put ideas as citizenship over kin & tribe which then wider citizenry develops over time. The Polis was cheaper to arm oneself and voice of people tied to an ability to defend the community. The Polies needed commerce, wealth for a state to ensure enough citizens can

Read More
88 Words | 1 Pages

City-states are cities that are their own states. They were divided up by the high plateaus which separated the different city-states. Most Greeks were proud of their city-states and each city-state had their own form of government, army, laws, and money. It was very hard to cross these mountains and nobody usually ever tried crossing the mountains because they were very hard to get over and it would take a long time. Even though Greeks were separated into these different city-states, Greeks still had many things in

Read More
394 Words | 2 Pages

The geography of Greece influenced the development of ancient Greek government and politics. When describing ancient Greece, “mountainous land” is the phrase one would use because Greece is made up of many mountains. Because of the mountains, it was difficult to commute from place to place. As a result of that, instead of Greece being ruled by one government, it formed many different poleis, which each had their own government Polis is the Greek word for independent city-states. Greeks had a strong connection with their polis, and they strongly identified with them.

Read More
721 Words | 3 Pages

Today, many of the world’s government structures were based on the principle of one of Greece’s city-states. Greece became a country advancing well before its time, strong in both military and brain power. This country was able to produce two city-states that became foundations to advancing the rest of the world. The first city-state, Athens, is thought to be the first to implement a democratic government while Sparta became known for their military power. While Athens and Sparta provide the world with advancements they differ in the ways of government structures, social motivations, and cultural differences.

Read More
232 Words | 1 Pages

On the other hand, the Greek city-states were characterized by their political fragmentation, with each city-state having its own form of government. The two most common forms of government in ancient Greece were democracy

Read More
1043 Words | 5 Pages

There were many governments in ancient Greece. The Greek people developed long term governing styles, which evolved Greece to what it is today. There were four governments that ancient Greece used. Monarchy, Oligarchy, Tyranny, and Democracy are all ways that the Greeks experimented with. The governments in ancient Greece were different to each city-state.

Read More
1292 Words | 6 Pages

In this essay, I would like to answer and discuss the following questions: How did the people in Athens and Sparta obtain the right to participate in public life and make decisions affecting the community? Who held public office? What rules governed the selection of public office holders? How were two city-states similar in their governmental structures and how did they differ with each other? For the Spartans the right to participate and made important decisions from the entire community were only exercised by the adult and legitimate male citizens of Sparta.

Read More
1569 Words | 7 Pages

Plagued by violence, the United States constantly suffers through perpetual brutalities. As one of the leading causes of death, it generates more than 1.6 million casualties worldwide every year. Acts of violence are often highly publicized, which has led citizens to believe that the nation’s violence problem is getting progressively worse. However, since the 1990s crime and death rates due to violence have decreased.

Read More
1255 Words | 6 Pages

in the more advanced areas of Greece, economically and socially speaking” (“Greek Administration”, 1988). The polis was a way of the Greeks finding a way to organize themselves into a society, becoming more civilized. According to Greek Administration, “In its fundamental essence it was never conceived as an extent of territory, although its boundaries could be drawn on a map, but rather as a group of citizens feeling themselves bound together under the rule of law” (“Greek Administration, 1988). In terms that are more familiar to the way we teach history today in our society, the polis is what we would call a city-state, each individual polis being its own city-state, acting almost like a small country. According to Nardo, “Although all Greeks, the residents of the various poleis developed differing local governments and customs as well as different forms of currency” (Nardo, 2007).

Read More
1152 Words | 5 Pages

Great number of polises encircled culture and political life of a state. However, this fact is also often called as one of the main factors which led to decline of Ancient Greece. The thing is that there was no centralized state which could be able to resist some invaders. The whole history of ancient Greece can be takes as the chain of wars for dominance in the region. Polis, which managed to conquer the rest of cities in the area, became the main power which determined further development of a state,

Read More

More about The Polis And Its Examples In Ancient And Classical Greece

Related Topics

Open Document