The Evolution of the
Polis
January 23rd, 2012
General Remarks

Understanding the polis key to understanding ancient
Greece.

Polis and politics frequently regarded as a uniquely
“Greek” inventions.

Near Eastern antecedents to the polis model.

Political and institutional features of the polis attested in
the Homeric world (i.e. ca. 750 BCE or earlier).

Not the only form of political organization in Greece (i.e.
Ethnos such as Aetolia).
How would you define the polis and
why is it important for historians to
understand it?
Definition and Components of a Polis

Polis = the city-state.

Most basic unit of political sovereignty.

Comprises several components: 1. Astu (City). 2.
Chora (Agricultural land and hinterland). 3.
Komai (Villages).

The ideal of autarchia (i.e. autarky).
Map of Attica
www.utexas.edu/.../greek606q/gk606qimages2.htm
The Astu

Astu = the City.

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Political center of the polis.
Economic center of the polis.
Cultic center of the polis.
Center of justice.

Key structures of an Astu: 1. Acropolis (Fortified hill). 2.
Agora (Public square and market). 3. Temples. 4.
Boulterion (Council place).

Astu the driving force behind the polis (i.e. Athens the
driving force behind the unification of Attica).
The Ancient and Modern
Significance of the Polis

Definitive aspect of Greek political life.

The polis believed to be co-extensive with civilization
itself.

The origins of “politics.”

Ancient polis institutions and political thought the
forerunner of modern Western political institutions and
theory.

Polis more than just a physical space; a set of
institutions and precepts.
Aristotle (384-322 BCE) on the Polis
Politics 1.1.2 (D.D. Nagle & S.M. Burstein 2006)

Foundation of civilized life: “Hence it is evident that the
state is a creation of nature, and that man is by nature a
political animal. And he who by nature and not by mere
accident is without a state, is either above humanity or
below it…”

The polis exists to facilitate not merely survival, but “the
good life”: “When several villages are united into a single
community, perfect and large enough to be nearly or
quite self-sufficing, the state comes into existence,
originating in the bare needs of life, and continuing in
existence for the sake of the good life.”
The Polis as Civilization in Homer:
The Cyclopes

“Neither assemblies for council have they,
nor appointed laws, but they dwell on the
peaks of lofty mountains in hollow caves,
and each one is lawgiver to his children
and his wives, and they reckon nothing
one of another.”
(Homer, Odyssey 9.105-116. Trans. A.T. Murray, 1919).
How was Greece politically
organized before the polis?
Political Life in Pre-Polis Greece

Wanax (Mycenaean) or Basileus (Dark Ages) rules from a
central place (i.e. Mycenaean palace, Dark Age oikos).
 Dominates agricultural land worked by slaves and peasants.
 Supported by other wealthy elites who dominate agricultural
land worked by slaves and/or peasants.
 Dark Ages - Free persons belonged to a genos (clan), each clan
belonged to a phylos (tribe), and each tribe belonged to a phratry
(brotherhood)

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Reciprocity/redistribution economy.
Agathoi rule arbitary; based on wealth and ability to wage
war.
Common ties between agathoi based on kinship and xenia.
Rule of agathoi over the kakoi (or laos – “people”) limited by
nomos (i.e. custom).
Urbanization develops around palaces or aristocratic oikoi and
cult centers.
Tension between agathoi and nouveau riche kakoi.
Tension between rich agathoi and other agathoi.
How did the polis evolve?
The Evolution of the Polis

Complex process; different processes in different parts
of Greece; several things going on simultaneously.

Synoikismos (i.e. a merging of several communities);

Unification of a region by a single dominant astu;
Athens.

Greek historiography typically mythologizes polis origins
and synoikismos.

Process of synoikismos supported archaeologically.
Sparta.
The Polis in Homer

“The Phaiakians had previously lived in the
broad lands of Hypereie near the
Kyklopes, aggressive types who ravaged
their land and were stronger than they. So
godlike Nausithoos took them away from
there and settled in Scherie, far from the
bustle of men. And he built a wall around
the polis and constructed houses and
erected temples of the gods and divided
up the land.” (Homer, Odyssey 6.4-10).
Aristotle on the Natural Evolution of the Polis

“….Anyway, the natural unit established to meet all
man’s daily needs is thus oikos….Then, when a number
of oikiai are first united for the satisfaction of something
more than day to day needs, the result is the village
(kome). It would seem most natural to think of the
village as an apoikia (i.e. a colony) of an oikia, made up
of people whom some call fellow-nurslings, that is sons
and sons’ sons…..Finally the ultimate partnership, made
up of numbers of villages and having already obtained
the height, one might say, of self-sufficiency (i.e.
autarchia) – this is the polis. It has come into being in
order, simply, that life can go on; but now it exists so as
to make that life a good life….So from all this it is
evident that the polis exists by natural processes, and
that it is natural for a man to live in a polis.” (Aristotle,
Politics. 1.1252a 24 – 1253 a7. Crawford and Whitehead,
Doc. 7)
Thucydides on Synoikismos and the
Evolution of Athens

“For in the time of Kekrops and the first kings down to Theseus the
people of Attika always lived in (their own) poleis, each one with its
own administrative buildings and officials; unless there was some
common danger they would not come together in council with the
king, but each individual polis would govern itself in accordance
with its own decisions…But then Theseus came to the throne. An
intelligent man as well as a powerful one, it was he who organized
the chora on a proper basis, chiefly by doing away with the
multiplicity of poleis and their separate councils and governments;
on his scheme there was only one polis, the present one, and one
seat of decision-making and administration; thus the synoikismos
was total: everyone was free, just as before, to look after his own
affairs, but there was now only one place – Athens – which Theseus
allowed them to treat as a polis; so that with everyone joining in the
union it was a great city indeed that Theseus bequeathed to
posterity. And he inaugurated a celebration of this unification, a
festival in honor of the goddess which the Athenians still keep, at
public expense, to this very day.” (Thucydides, 2.15. Crawford &
Whitehead, Doc. 8)
The Foundation of Sparta
Strabo, Geography 8.5.4

“According to Ephorus the Herakleidai, Eurysthenes and
Prokles, took possession of Lakonia, divided it into six
parts and turned the chora into poleis. One of these
divisions, Amyklai, they picked out as a gift for the man
who had betrayed Lakonia to them and who persuaded
its ruler at that time to come to an agreement and
emigrate, with the Achaeans to Ionia. Sparta they
designated as their own, and the royal seat. To the other
places they sent kings, with the authority to take in any
strangers (xenoi) who wished to live with them – this
because the population was so small. Because of its
good harbor they made use of Las as a naval station,
while Aigys became a base for operations against their
enemies, since its territory bordered upon those of
neighboring peoples. Pharis served as the treasury, since
it afforded security against external attack.” (Crawford &
Whitehead, Doc. 44)
Motivation for Synoikismos

Defense considerations.

Economic considerations (i.e. a common market
centered on a primary astu).

Judicial considerations (centralized/standardize
body of law and courts).

Religious considerations (Astu the focal point of
significant cult activities).
Function of the Polis

To govern its citizens.

Security.

Organize cult activities.

Provide justice for citizens.

Welfare of the citizens.
How were most poleis typically
organized politically?
Organization of the Typical Polis

Politeia (i.e. Constitution).

Magistrates (vary from polis to polis); judicial and
military functions.

Boule (i.e. legislative council); generally the most

Magistracies and Boule seats most often limited to
agathoi or the propertied classes.

Ekklesia (i.e. assembly of citizens).
significant body.
The Rudiments of Politeia in Homer

“Soon as early Dawn appeared, the rosy-fingered, up from his bed
arose the dear son of Odysseus and put on his clothing. About his
shoulder he slung his sharp sword, and beneath his shining feet
bound his fair sandals, [5] and went forth from his chamber like a
god to look upon. Straightway he bade the clear-voiced heralds to
summon to the assembly the long-haired Achaeans. And the heralds
made the summons, and the Achaeans assembled full quickly. Now
when they were assembled and met together, [10] Telemachus
went his way to the place of assembly, holding in his hand a spear
of bronze—not alone, for along with him two swift hounds followed;
and wondrous was the grace that Athena shed upon him, and all
the people marvelled at him as he came. But he sat down in his
father's seat, and the elders gave place.” (Homer, Odyssey 2.1-14. Trans.
A.T. Murray, 1919).

“Now the goddess Dawn went up to high Olympus, to announce the
light to Zeus and the other immortals, [50] but Agamemnon bade
the clear-voiced heralds summon to the place of gathering the longhaired Achaeans. And they made summons, and the men gathered
full quickly. But the king first made the council of the great-souled
elders to sit down beside the ship of Nestor, the king Pylos-born.
[55] And when he had called them together, he contrived a cunning
plan…” (Homer, Iliad 2.46-55. Trans. A.T. Murray, 1924)
What do you think were the
political implications of the
emergence of the polis?
Social and Political Implications of
the Polis

Polis engendered a series of critical questions.

Citizenship (Who’s in and who’s out?).

Political participation (Who gets to?).

Justice (What is the law? Who gets to make it?
How is it exercised?).
Citizenship

Determination of citizenship crucial.

Demos = the citizenry.

Only citizens own land (i.e. Kleros – “lot”).

Citizens obliged to serve in the military.

Only free male citizens can participate in political
process.

Citizens not always equal (i.e. male vs. female; rich vs.
poor; well-born vs. low-born).
Political Participation in the Polis

Politeia (constitution) frames the rules of political

Mycenaean and Dark Age governments = chieftainships;
government is private and personal; wanax/basileus only
limited by “nomos” (custom); elements of politeia.

Politeia: 1. Circumscribes the powers of ruling

Often ascribed to law-givers. (i.e. Lycurgus at Sparta;
Draco and Solon at Athens); some historical; often
legendary.
participation and the limitations of political office.
magistrates. 2. Regularizes their terms of office. 3.
Indicates who has the right to participate. 4. Lays down
codes of law.
The Dreros Decree:
Crete, ca. 650-600 BCE

“May God be kind. The following points were
agreed by the polis: when a man has been
kosmos, the same man shall not be kosmos for
ten years; if he be kosmos, whatever judgment
he give, he shall owe double (the penalty which
he hands down) and he shall be without rights
for as long as he lives and whatever he does as
kosmos shall be void. The kosmos and the
daimioi and the twenty of the polis shall swear.”
(Meiggs and Lewis no. 2. Crawford &
Whitehead, Doc. 37)
The Law-Giver Zaleukos

“Zaleukos was by origin a Lokrian from Italy, of noble
birth, and widely admired for his upbringing, a follower
of Pythagoras the philosopher….Having thus at the
beginning summoned his fellow politai to be pious and
upright, he added the injunction that no polites was to
contract an irreconcilable enmity with anyone, but that
they were to contract any enmity on the assumption that
they would be in due course reconciled and become
friends again; and anyone who behaved otherwise
should be regarded as his fellow politai as wild and
savage in spirit. And he bade the officials not to be wilful
and overbearing, nor to judge cases with reference to
enmities or friendships. And in the details of his set of
laws he included many of his own ideas, which were
admirably intelligent.” (Diodorus, 12.20. Crawford &
Whitehead, Doc. 40B)
Justice in the Polis

Justice in Myceanaean and Dark Age
monarchies = prerogative of the
wanax/basileus.

Justice in the early polis retains a private
character; increasingly the prerogative of
the polis itself.
Public Justice: The Shield of Achilles

“But the folk were gathered in the place of assembly; for
there a strife had arisen, and two men were striving
about the blood-price of a man slain; the one avowed
that he had paid all, [500] declaring his cause to the
people, but the other refused to accept aught; and each
was fain to win the issue on the word of a daysman.
Moreover, the folk were cheering both, shewing favour
to this side and to that. And heralds held back the folk,
and the elders were sitting upon polished stones in the
sacred circle, [505] holding in their hands the staves of
the loud-voiced heralds. Therewith then would they
spring up and give judgment, each in turn. And in the
midst lay two talents of gold, to be given to him whoso
among them should utter the most righteous judgment.”
(Homer, Iliad 18. 496-508. A.T. Murray, 1924)
Implications of Politeia

Politeia evolves gradually through trial and error (i.e. no
blueprint).
 Introduces the language of “political rights.”
 Who has the right to participate and to what degree?
 Aristocracy (only the well-born – “eugenei”).
 Oligarchy (Only the wealthy).
 Democracy (All free male citizens).
 Tendency to rule along class lines (i.e. according to class
interests); often resulted in stasis (i.e. civil conflict) and
Tyranny (i.e. popular dictatorships).
 Engendered tension between aristocrats and wealthy
non-aristocrats.
 Engendered tension between the rich and poor.
The Theory of the Hoplite
Revolution

Common explanation for the emergence of
politeia.

Archaic Period (ca. 750-480 BCE) = Time of
general economic expansion; rising standard of
living; changes in the style of warfare.

Development of middling class.

The hoplite class and hoplite warfare.
Aristotle on the Rise of the Hoplite Class.

“And the first form of government which emerged in
Greece after kingship was that of the warrior group,
originally a government of cavalrymen; for the crucial
aspect of warfare was cavalry fighting, since the hoplite
was useless without being in formation and there was no
knowledge of such things or hoplite drill originally, so
that the strength of an army lay in cavalry. But as poleis
grew in size and the numbers in them capable of bearing
arms increased, a larger number of people shared in the
government. So what we now call politeia men at an
earlier stage called democracies. But early forms of
government can readily be regarded as oligarchic or
even monarchic; for because of their small numbers
those of middling status had little power, so that the
lower orders, being few in number and disorganized,
more readily accepted the rule of others.” (Aristotle,
Politics. 4.1297b 16-28. Crawford & Whitehead, Doc. 22).
The Bakchiads of Corinth
(750 BCE – 658 BCE)

750-658 BCE: Aristocratic Corinth ruled by the Bakchiad clan.

Period of economic prosperity (i.e. wide distribution of Corinthian
Ware; foundation of colonies at Syracuse and Corcyra ca. 734 BCE)

Backchiads passed power from hand to hand and from one
generation to the next
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Endogamous marriages until the early 7th century BCE

Labda, Aetion, and Kypselos.

The banishment of Kypselos.
The Rise of Kypselids
(657BCE – 585 BCE)

660 BCE - Kypselos, with the support of Pheidon, king of
Argos, secured his return to Corinth.

Achieved the chief military post at Corinth – gained the
trust of the hoplites (citizen soldiers).

Gained support of the demos (people) by advocating
debt relief.

657 BCE – Kypselos stages coup; rules Corinth as Tyrant
from 657 BCE to 625 BCE.

625 BCE – death of Kypselos; succeeded by his son,
Periander.
The Reign of Periander at Corinth
(625 BCE – 585 BCE)

Periander succeeds his father Kypselos in 625
BCE

Periander’s reign is cruel and highly unpopular

Overthrown by an oligarchic coup in 585 BCE

Corinth henceforth ruled by an oligarchy of 80
families
Herodotus to Croesus on Tellus of Athens:
The Spirit of the Polis

‘Solon said, “Tellus was from a prosperous city,
and his children were good and noble. He saw
children born to them all, and all of these
survived. His life was prosperous by our
standards, and his death was most glorious:
when the Athenians were fighting their
neighbors in Eleusis, he came to help, routed
the enemy, and died very finely. The Athenians
buried him at public expense on the spot where
he fell and gave him much honor.”’ (Herodotus,
Histories, 1.30.4-5)