Polis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Polis - Essay Example However, by the 12th century BC, they started living as nomadic or sedentary tribes. By the 8th century BC, these tribes grew into political entities that revolved around trade and commerce. From here, the Polis was born, spurred on by the need for common protection and organization among these entities. The Polis was not a structure that was bound by territory as much as it was bound by political, religious, or tribal affiliation of the members. A polis would be composed of several tribes, or demes; foreigners, or metics; and slaves. Only the demes would be truly considered as citizens and would have the right to participate in the polis' government. The polis, being a small city-state (Sparta was the largest at only 3000 square miles), allowed for much political experimentation. At the beginning, various structures were employed by the Greek states - monarchies (rule by kings), oligarchies (rule by a few), timocracies (rule by the wealthy), tyrannies (rule by tyrants or usurpers) and democracies (rule by the people). The states adopted the structure that they saw most fit for the crises they encountered. One other advantage of a polis was its size. Since the polis was a small city-based entity, it was easier to manage, organize.