Polis 131855 225847967 2008-07-15T18:00:50Z Atavi 1629275 internal links {{Other uses}} A '''polis''' ('''πόλις''', pronunciation [pól.is], ['pɒl.ɪs] in English) -- plural: '''''poleis''''' ('''πόλεις''', pronunciation [pól.eːs], ['pɒl.eɪz] in English) -- is a [[city]], a [[city-state]] and also [[citizenship]] and body of citizens. When used to describe [[Classical Athens]] and its contemporaries, ''polis'' is often translated as "city-state." The word originates from the [[Ancient Greece|ancient Greek]] [[city-state]]s, which developed during the [[Archaic period in Greece|Archaic]] period, the ancestor of city, state and citizenship, and persisted (though with decreasing influence) well into [[Roman Empire|Roman]] times, when the equivalent [[Latin]] word was ''civitas'', also meaning 'citizenhood', while ''municipium'' applied to a non-sovereign local entity. The term '''city-state''' which originated in English (alongside the German '''Stadtstaat''') does not fully translate the Greek term. The ''poleis'' were not like other primordial ancient city-states like [[Tyre, Lebanon|Tyre]] or [[Sidon]], which were ruled by a king or a small oligarchy, but rather a political entity ruled by its body of citizens. The traditional view of archaeologists, that the appearance of [[urbanization]] at excavation sites could be read as a sufficient index for the development of a ''polis'' was criticised by [[François Polignac]] in 1984<ref>Polignac, ''La naissance de la cité grecque'' (Paris 1984). An attempt to dissociate urbanization from state formation was undertaken by I. Morris, "The early polis as city and state" in J. Rich and A. Wallace-Hadrill, eds., ''City and Country in the Ancient World'' (London 1991) pp 27-40.</ref> and has not been taken for granted in recent decades: the ''polis'' of Sparta for example was established in a network of villages.The term ''polis'' which in archaic Greece meant city, changed with the development of the governance center in the city to indicate state (which included its surrounding villages), and finally with the emergence of a citizenship notion between the land owners it came to describe the entire body of citizens. The ancient Greeks didn't refer to [[Athens]], [[Sparta]], [[Thebes, Greece|Thebes]] and other ''poleis'' as such; they rather spoke of the Athenians, Lacedaemonians, Thebans and so on. The body of citizens came to be the most important meaning of the term ''polis'' in ancient Greece. The [[Ancient_Greek_language|Ancient Greek]] term which specifically meant the totality of ''urban'' buildings and spaces was ''ἄστυ'' ([ásty] in [[IPA]]), asty. ==History== The bounds of the ancient ''polis'' often centered around a [[citadel]], called the ''[[acropolis]]'', and would of necessity also have an ''[[agora]]'' (market) and typically one or more temples and a ''[[Gymnasium_(ancient_Greece)|gymnasium]]''. Note that many of a ''polis''' citizens would have lived in the suburbs or countryside. The Greeks did not regard the ''polis'' as a territorial grouping so much as a religious and political association: while the ''polis'' would control territory and colonies beyond the city itself, the ''polis'' would not simply consist of a geographical area. Each city was composed of several [[tribe]]s or ''[[deme]]s'', which were in turn composed of ''[[phratry|phratries]]'' and finally ''[[gens|gentes]]''. ''[[Metic]]s'' (resident foreigners) and [[slavery|slave]]s lay outside this organization. Birth typically determined [[citizen]]ship. Each ''polis'' would also worship a number of patron [[deities]] for protection and kept its own particular [[festival]]s and customs. In the East beyond [[Asia Minor]] a major instrument of [[hellenization]] by [[Alexander the Great]] was the polis. He is said to have founded no fewer than seventy cities, destined to become centers of Greek influence; and the great majority of these were in lands in which city-life was almost unknown. In this respect his example was emulated by his successors, the [[diadochi]]. Polis was frequently divided into three types of inhabitants. The first, and highest, “group” of inhabitants are citizens with political rights. Then there are the citizens without political rights. Lastly there are the non-citizens. ==Derived words == Derivatives of ''polis'' are common in many modern [[Europe|European]] languages. This is indicative of the influence of the ''polis''-centred Hellenic world view. Derivative words in English include '''[[policy]]''', '''[[polity]]''', '''[[police]]''' and '''[[politics]].''' In [[Greek_language|Greek]], words deriving from ''polis'' include ''politēs'' and ''politismos'', whose exact equivalents in [[Latin_language|Latin]], [[Romance_languages|Romance]] and other European languages, respectively ''civis'' (citizen), ''civilisatio'' (civilization) etc are similarly derived. A number of words end in the word "-polis". Most refer to a special kind of city and/or state. Some examples are: * [[Astropolis]] — star-scaled city/industry area; complex space station; a european star-related festival. * [[Cosmopolis]] — a large urban centre with a population of many different cultural backgrounds; a novel written by [[Don DeLillo]]. * [[Ecumenopolis]] — a city that covers an entire [[planet]], usually seen in [[science fiction]] * [[Megapolis]], built by merging several cities and their suburbs. * [[Metropolis]] can refer to the mother city of a colony, the see of a metropolitan archbishop or a [[Metropolitan area]] — a major urban population centre. * [[Necropolis]] 'city of the dead' — a [[graveyard]]. * [[Technopolis]] — city with high-tech industry; room full of computers; the [[Internet]]. Other refer to part of a city or a group of cities, such as: * [[Acropolis]], 'high city' — upper part of a polis, often citadel and/or site of major temple(s). * [[Decapolis]], a group of ten cities * [[Dodecapolis]], a group of twelve cities * [[Pentapolis]], a group of five cities * [[Tripolis]], a group of three cities, retained in the names of a Tripoli in [[Libya]] and a namesake in Lebanon === Names === ====Polis, Cyprus==== Located on the north-west coast of [[Cyprus]] is the town of '''[[Polis, Cyprus|Polis]]''', or '''Polis Chrysochous''' ([[Greek language|Greek]]: Πόλις Χρυσοχούς), situated within the [[Paphos District]] and on the edge of the [[Akamas|Akamas peninsula]]. During the Cypro-Classical period, Polis became one of the most important ancient Cypriot city-kingdoms on the island, with important commercial relations with the eastern [[Aegean Islands]], [[Attica]] and [[Corinth]]. The town is also well known due to its [[Greek Mythology|mythological]] history, including the site of the "''Baths of [[Aphrodite]]''". ====Other cities==== The names of several other towns and cities in [[Europe]] and the [[Middle East]] have contained the suffix "''-polis''" since antiquity; or currently feature modernized spellings, such as "''-pol''". Notable examples include: *'''[[Acropolis, Athens|Acropolis]]''', [[Athens]], [[Greece]] *'''[[Adrianopolis]]''' or Adrianople, present-day [[Edirne]], [[Turkey]] *'''[[Alexandropol]]''', the former name for [[Gyumri]], [[Armenia]] *'''[[Antipolis]]''', the former name for [[Antibes]], [[France]] *'''[[Constantinopolis]]''' or '''Constantinople''', the former name for [[Istanbul]], Turkey *'''[[Daugavpils]]''', [[Latvia]] *'''[[Heliopolis (ancient)|Heliopolis]]''', [[Egypt]] *'''[[Herakleopolis Magna|Heracleopolis]]''', Egypt *'''[[Hermopolis (disambiguation)|Hermopolis]]''', several cities in Egypt and on [[Siros Island]] *'''[[Megalopolis, Greece|Megalopolis]]''', Greece *'''[[Neapoli (disambiguation)|Neapoli]]''', several including the modern cities of [[Nablus]] and [[Naples]] ([[Italian language|Italian]]: ''Napoli''), and the adjective [[Neapolitan]] *'''[[Persepolis]]''', [[Iran]] *'''[[Sevastopol]]''', [[Crimea]], [[Ukraine]] *'''[[Seuthopolis]]''', [[Bulgaria]] *'''[[Simferopol]]''', Crimea, Ukraine *'''[[Sozopol]]''', Bulgaria *'''[[Tiraspol]]''', [[Moldova]] The names of other cities were also given the suffix "''-polis''" after antiquity, either referring to ancient names or simply unrelated: *'''[[Anápolis|Anápolis]]''', [[Brazil]] *'''[[Annapolis]]''', [[Maryland]], [[United States of America]] *'''[[Biopolis]]''', [[Singapore]] *'''[[Cambysopolis]]''', Turkey *'''[[Copperopolis, CA|Copperopolis]]''', [[California]], United States of America *'''[[Indianapolis, IN|Indianapolis]]''', [[Indiana]], United States of America *'''[[Kannapolis, NC|Kannapolis]]''', [[North Carolina]], United States of America *'''[[Minneapolis, MN|Minneapolis]]''', [[Minnesota]], United States of America *'''[[Petrópolis]]''', Brazil *'''[[Sebastopol, California|Sebastopol]]''', California, United States of America *'''[[Sophia-Antipolis]]''', France ==Notes== <!--This article uses the Cite.php citation mechanism. If you would like more information on how to add references to this article, please see http://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Cite/Cite.php --> <div class="references-small" style="-moz-column-count:2; column-count:2;"> <references /> </div> ==Further reading== * [[Mogens Herman Hansen|Hansen, Mogens Herman]]. ''Polis: An Introduction to the Ancient Greek City-State''. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2006 (hardcover, ISBN 0-19-920849-2; paperback, ISBN 0-19-920850-6). *{{1911}} ==See also== *[[apoikia]] *[[synoecism]] [[Category:Ancient Greek cities|*]] [[Category:City-states]] [[Category:Greek loanwords]] [[bg:Polis]] [[bs:Polis]] [[ca:Polis]] [[cs:Polis]] [[da:Polis]] [[de:Polis]] [[et:Polis]] [[el:Πόλις]] [[es:Polis]] [[eo:Poliso (urboŝtato)]] [[eu:Polis]] [[fr:Polis]] [[hy:Պոլիս]] [[hr:Polis]] [[it:Polis]] [[he:פוליס]] [[la:Polis]] [[lb:Polis]] [[hu:Polisz]] [[nl:Polis (stad)]] [[ja:ポリス]] [[no:Polis]] [[nn:Polis]] [[pl:Polis]] [[pt:Pólis]] [[ru:Полис (город-государство)]] [[sk:Polis]] [[sl:Polis]] [[sr:Полис]] [[sh:Polis]] [[sv:Polis (antiken)]] [[tl:Pólis]] [[zh:城邦]]