The Greek Polis: Political Organization and Urban Development in Ancient Greece

The polis (pl. poleis) was the center of Greek history and political life in antiquity. Unlike the Near East, with its development of large kingdoms, these Greek cities were independent and self-governing. Each city determined its own political features. Each declared war and made peace independently. Their citizens held rights only in their native towns. The development of the polis occurred on the political and physical level. The Greek city-states were small, in terms of both geography and population. The philosopher Aristotle had indicated that a city- state should not be too large as to be unyielding, while it should be large enough to maintain their sustainability. Aristotle also indicated that citizens should know one another.

The politics of a polis occurred through the gradation of smaller bodies, creating its political environment. At the bottom were the gentes (clans), extended family units that had a common background from the same ancestor, often living together in the same household or neighborhood. They worshipped the same gods. The member of these clans formed the first citizens, and only when the population increased was the citizenship requirement loosened.

This allowed property and residence to be the determining factor for political rights and privileges instead of birth and religion. The clans were then bound to each other into the phratry, or brotherhood. In Athens, before the reform of Cleisthenes, the clans or families were made of one of the three phratries, which were then placed into one of four tribes. At Cleisthenes’s reforms, these four tribes were increased to ten, with the demes now taking the place of the clans as important subdivisions. This system allowed the families to develop the political life of the city.

The polis was also a physical entity. The original hamlets were absorbed into the new city-state. The city-state was larger and now offered more chances of wealth, trade, and protection. A polis had a defensible position, usually a hill, often called the acropolis. This was the historical center of the city, and at first, there was distinction between the acropolis and city. It was not only a place of refuge, but in the early days, the king had his palace there. As the polis grew, houses formed around the hill. In this way, as it grew, it encompassed more and more land, constantly growing in circles around the hill. The lower town would include the agora (occasionally translated as “marketplace”), but it encompassed much more. It was where the citizens met and conducted the economic, political, and social business of the city. The acropolis and agora became the city’s center.

As the polis grew, the agora became more important than the acropolis in everyday life. Other structures in a city would include temples for religion and commerce. During the Archaic period, these would have been the most ostentatious architectural structures. The temples were not only religious centers, but also commercial centers as marketplaces or banks. They became more substantial, made of more costly materials and more artistic. Instead of wood or unbaked brick, stone (quarried often from a distance) became more common. They were now faced with costly marble and adorned with silver and ivory statues.

Most of the city-states had their population and houses growing up irregularly, with unplanned and erratic roads and streets. The roads from the agora would have been the most planned and laid out; but they too would conform to the physical wandering and houses that grew up after a short distance. Along the routes were fountains that allowed households the opportunity to collect water for home use. Near the agora would be other public buildings, such as the bouleuterion (council house), where in Athens the Council of 400 (before Cleisthenes’s reform) and the Council of 500 (after the reform) would meet to plan the agenda.

The prytaneion (town hall) was where a smaller group composed of the citizens who kept the day-to-day functioning of the city met. Stoas (colonnades) provided covered walkways around many buildings. Finally, there was a wall around the city that was often irregular, conforming to physical sites and better-protected regions. Often, two cities could be joined by a wall, like Athens and its harbor town Piraeus, linked by the Long Walls, to provide even more security.

In the Classical period, theaters would be built into the side of a hill, offering entertainment. There was also the pynx, where the assembly met in Athens. Not a structure but a hillside, it allowed the inhabitants to meet, debate, and decide issues. Another structure, although not required of a polis, was the stadium, designed for athletic competition. In some cities, these structures were created for international or Panhellenic competition. A crucial structure was the gymnasium, where young men trained for physical activity to be used in their military experiences. Here, the students would engage in wrestling, gymnastics, running and boxing.

The polis allowed the inhabitants to form into a self-governing region on a small scale. The citizens would know each other and debate ideas, which often led to violence. Many city-states witnessed the takeover of the city by a strongman or tyrant because of family connections and the small size of the city. These individuals often allowed the polis to grow both physically and economically. Most of the tyrants were expelled after one or two generations, but the physical elements continued, forming the basis of the classical city.