The Polis essays

The Polis essays During the Archaic Period of Ancient Greece, many communities segregated themselves into small, subdivided city-states. Such cities were small, but managed to establish the very roots of democracy today. The term polis can be defined as an independent state governed by its population. Such a definition is accurate, however also could be considered broad and constricted. In deeper aspects, the polis was an organized state or community that worked together in upholding equivalent rights with an effort to prevent tyranny, or a state governed by one person. The polis went through extensive political efforts to maintain its unity and natural rights. Such qualities of a state led to other enhancements of the polis such as the social, religious, and economic aspects of joined community. The polis developed shortly after Cultural Revolution of ancient Greece during the early Archaic Period. During this time period almost every aspect of life went experienced a major change. Socially and politically Greece began to develop greater stability. Unlike other areas, which developed mostly into personal leadership, Greece followed an antagonistic political principle of unity and basic equality. The polis emerged from such political ideology to form a state of equal natural rights and the absence of tyranny. Some of the major reasons why Greece did not develop single rulers were because of financially weak kings, weapons which made war chiefs obsolete in strategic commanding, geographical isolation, and a simplicity of Greek life which withheld principles of equality. Such conditions helped curve the development of the polis. Politically, the polis was known to be well established. The political structure of the polis was based upon its value of equal representation and natural rights. Therefore the major office was filled with different officials managing different aspects of the community. One official might conduct...