My name is Reuben Obi, a Nigerian living in Nigeria.

I am married with a daughter who is 4

years old and happens to be the best thing that has happened in my life, I am a country music and
oldies lover, my favorite color is Yellow and that’s the color of my fraternity. I am a dog lover,
an unarmed combat instructor with the Navy, a 4th degree black belt holder in Taekwondo and a
Krav maga expert. My goal is to complete my Bachelor of Science degree in Computer Science
from the University of the people, so I can start my dream career.

The poleis was very crucial in Greek civilization and has quite some influence on the modern
world. During the dark ages characterized in many areas by cultural decline, shrinking
population, and increasing isolation, small communities scattered across the. During the
transition time to archaic age and classic-era (800-323BCE) many poleis evolved, these were
small communities that came together thereby creating the rise of a Greek polis. As the number
of citizens’ increased, each polis expanded its territories by seeking out new lands and colonizing
them. A polis can simply be described as a city-state or a small town which controlled very small
territories. (Dissanayake, 2021).

The role of the polis was to be the governing body of that city-state, each polis had its own
culture, dialect, economic system, different deities they worshipped and was politically
independent. In some poleis a small group of influential individuals called Oligarchs who ran
polis government or while in some other poleis, citizens had to vote and partake in making polis
decisions in a democratic governing system. While some poleis like Sparta focused on their
military skills and power, other poleis such as Athens explored their artistic and architectural
abilities which gave birth to most modern western architecture and artistic endeavors such as
drama and theatre. I would say the major role of the polis and its government was to protect its
citizen from other polis attack and non- Greek attack and like-minded poleis often made alliances
for mutual protection.

Examples of the most powerful poleis in the Greek World were Sparta and Athens. Sparta which
was an imperial state, subjugated many of its neighbors in the peloponnesus and turned their
populations into a class of virtual slaves called helots. The Spartans organized their entire society
along military lines, while “the city of Athens and its region was a cultural and economic driving
force that gave birth to modern day democracy and was also the birthplace of many fundamental
aspects of Western civilization, including ethical philosophy and the theater” (Brand, n.d.).

References:
Brand, P. (n.d.). Athens & Sparta: Democracy vs. Dictatorship [E-book].

Dissanayake, C. (2021, April 23). The role of the polis in Archaic and Classical-era Greece.
Netizen Me. https://netizenme.com/civilization/the-role-of-the-polis/