The Greek Dark Ages

Out of the Greek Dark Ages emerged a revolutionary societal formation that greatly advanced Greek civilization: the polis. In the early Greek world, the polis, or city-state, was an organized community system which encompassed a specific area. Such areas consisted of a town or village and its surrounding areas, the majority of which were relatively small.Although, it seems that the term polis is most commonly associated with the largest Greek city-states, Athens and Sparta. While the modern word “politics” was derived from Greek term polis, this system served as much more than a political unit (Spielvogel 60). The polis was also a social, economic, cultural, and religious center which solved the problems of the Dark Ages, made the Classical Age possible, and allowed large, powerful domains to unite and prosper (Spielvogel 60).
Firstly, the development of the Greek polis as a political unit resulted mainly from the individualistic nature of Grecian geography. Its isolated valleys and naturally divided lands caused its inhabitants to look inward instead of outward, keeping to themselves and relying on their own communities. Consequently, in the center of these lands, individual societies flourished self-sufficiently and became the preferred organization of Greek society. The formation of the polis also led to a …show more content…
This led to the rise of the most powerful, and most famous, poleis: Sparta and Athens. Although both of these city-states had an extensive influence, I believe that Athens was more successful. While Sparta is known for a skilled military and striving to create the ideal society, Athens left a lasting, unprecedented cultural impact on civilization. Its contributions of a stable democratic system, philosophical principles from famous thinkers such as Pericles, and sciences from Euclid, also known as the "Father of Geometry" (Spielvogel