Polis

A **//polis//** is an Ancient Greek city-state, that was a dense urban center with control over the surrounding countryside (including fields, pastures, and sometimes harbors). The standard population for a polis was between 5,000 to 10,000, though it was occasionally larger. In any given polis, there were two main places where the people communed. The first was the sacred religious site, usually the city's highest point. Here, a temple complex, or Acropolis, was dedicated to the patron god, whether it be one of the major gods like Zeus or a smaller patron god of the city-state. All peoples were expected to worship to maintain the protection and good will of the god. The Agora, or marketplace, was important to many of the polis' activities. It held the staging for the military, community festivals, markets for trade, political assemblies, and competitions. Within the polis were two distinct social groups, the general community and the group of citizens. To be a citizen, there was more responsibility and held higher status. To be a citizen, you had to be a free male that was native to the area- thus there were only a small group of people considered citizens. Whether someone was a citizen or not, they were still required to be an active part of the polis. The first duty was social, in other words to be an acitve part of the polis, creating a strong sense of community and protection. The secound was religious, people were expected to pay for the upkeep of the temples, take part in religious sacrifices, and help maintain the priests and priestesses. Also, on all the celebratory occasions, everyone was required to attend the events (such as the Olympic Games) or theater shows. While everyone was allowed to participate in the social and religious duties, only the citizens could participate in military activity. When called, the citizens would gather in the agora to fight. The outcome of the fight depended more on the trust and unity of the citizens than it did on the military weaponry and strategic maneuvers.

http://honolulu.hawaii.edu/distance/hist151/polis.htm

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