polis

Playwrights addressed the polis not by dramatizing current events but by recasting tales from the mythological and historic past to sharpen critical thinking on contemporary concerns.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 6, 2025

They were woven into the fabric of a democratic polis.

From Salon ● Apr. 13, 2025

Now protected by their own walls, and in possession of all the civic tools needed to form their own polis, the Helots were liberated from Spartan tyranny at long last.

From Slate ● Jan. 16, 2024

But thanks to the new ideas from the colonies, the common people, or kakoi, began demanding land and a voice in the governing of the polis.

From Textbooks ● Apr. 19, 2023

Sometimes the polis plunge in and arrest the job-hunters they can catch, to send them home.

From "Beast Rider" by Tony Johnston & María Elena Fontanot de Rhoads

Likewise, citizenship, which had been the basic unit of political currency in the ancient poleis, became instead a mark of elite membership that could be won in multiple cities at the same time.

From Textbooks ● Jan. 1, 2020

Cyrus swiftly defeated the Greek poleis, but instead of punishing the Greeks for opposing him he allowed them to keep their language, religion, and culture, simply insisting they give him loyal warriors and offer tribute.

From Textbooks ● Jan. 1, 2020

When the Spartans and Athenians led the Greek poleis to victory against the Persians in the Persian War, it was a shock to the entire region of the Mediterranean and Middle East.

From Textbooks ● Jan. 1, 2020

Open war finally broke out between the two cities in 431 BCE after two of their respective allied poleis started a conflict and Athens tried to influence the political decisions of Spartan allies.

From Textbooks ● Jan. 1, 2020

The Hellenic municipalities were developments from the poleis, or city-states, which existed prior to the Roman conquest in Greece and the Hellenized areas of Asia and Africa.

From A History of Rome to 565 A. D. by Arthur Edward Romilly Boak