The Athenian Polis and Its Values: Commonly referred to as the Greek city-state Ancient Greek polis is very

ry different from a modern city A Greek polis is small; b/c classical Greek history is dominated by the polis of Athens and Sparta, poleis that were atypical in their population size and military power Plato considered a population of around 5,000 households was ideal in a polis Aristotle felt that each citizen in a polis should know the others by sight In the 5th century BCE, only Athens, Syracuse, and Acragas in Sicily had populations exceeding 20,000 Politics derivative of polis; it, too, was of a face-to-face variety Due to the small size, every Greek understood the agriculture, trade, industry, frontiers; the entire life of the polis, and the relation between its components were easier to grasp; public affairs had an immediacy and a concreteness unlike today A place of citizen assembly and a religious center for public worship; located on the acropolis, so as to serve as a place of refuge during attacks A marketplace or agora, the center of communal life; the adult male citizen participated often in informal public discourse, informing himself on affairs of state Temple to the protecting deity or deities of the political community Monarchical, aristocratic, and democratic forms of government Politiea citizenship and rules of citizenship For Greek, there was no community without politieia Each individual is interested no only in his own affairs but in the affairs of the state Small size of polis allowed for democracy Emphasis on community over individual Active participation of each adult male citizen in all aspects of community Polis demanded many things from the citizen: o Service in public office o Attendance in political assembly o Attendance at religious and dramatic festivals o Military service Collective decision-making and open public debate in the polis were practiced only by adult male citizens o Debate nature was of conflict, competition, and antagonism Climate of the polis was agonistic; everything was made into a competition All Greek city-states began as monarchies and were ruled by a basileus (hereditary king)

 Most common form of government in the Greek city-states was oligarchy Polis also allowed for naturalization