Polis: An Introduction to the Ancient Greek City-State

by Mogens Herman Hansen

Overview

From antiquity until the nineteenth century, there have been two types of state: macro-states, each dotted with a number of cities, and regions broken up into city-states, each consisting of an urban center and its hinterland. A region settled with interacting city-states constituted a city-state culture and Polis opens with a description of the concepts of city, state, city-state, and city-state culture, and a survey of the 37 city-state cultures so far identified.

Mogens Herman Hansen provides a thoroughly accessible introduction to the polis (plural: poleis), or ancient Greek city-state, which represents by far the largest of all city-state cultures. He addresses such topics as the emergence of the polis, its size and population, and its political organization, ranging from famous poleis such as Athens and Sparta through more than 1,000 known examples.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780199208500
Publisher:	Oxford University Press
Publication date:	11/30/2006
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	248
Product dimensions:	5.40(w) x 8.40(h) x 0.60(d)

About the Author

Mogens Herman Hansen is Reader in Classics at Copenhagen University.

Table of Contents

IntroductionI. City-States in World History1. Cities, City-States and City-State Cultures2. A Sketch of the 37 Identified City-State Cultures3. ‘Country-States' versus City-State CulturesII. The City-State Culture in Ancient GreeceIntroduction4. The Unity of the City-State Culture of Ancient Greece5. The Rise of the Ancient Greek City-State Culture6. The End of the City-State Culture in Ancient Greece7. How Poleis Arose and Disappeared8. What is a Polis? An Investigation of the Concept of ‘Polis'9. The Polis as City and State10. Polis as City11. The Settlement Pattern of the Ancient Greek City-States12. The Size and Population of the Cities13. The Demography of the Ancient Greek City-State Culture14. The Economy of the Cities: Max Weber's ‘Ideal Type'15. Polis as City in the Archaic Period16. The Greek Conception of Polis as a City with a Hinterland17. Polis as State18. Army19. Religion20. State and Society21. Civil War (Stasis)22. Relationships between Poleis23. The Hellenistic PoleisIII. Conclusion24. The Polis Compared with Other City-State Cultures

Editorial Reviews

"This book will help those venturing for the first time outside of the Athenocentric realm of polis-studies; it provides an overview and introduction to comparative studies in the city-state and 'city-state culture.'" —Classical Outlook

From the Publisher