Polis

Around 750 B.C, one of the world’s longest-lasting civilizations began to form its first poleis, or city-states. This civilization, known as Ancient Greece, lasted 3,500 years and became home to influential city states such as Athens and Sparta. The poleis of Athens of Sparta were two of the most powerful city-states for completely different reasons. Athens represented the academic population while Sparta represented the militant population. These differences, along with many others, led to…

Laws then, as a governing force used for the polis, are links to what is naturally good and right. According to Wacks (2015), Cicero described natural law as being in agreement with nature, where laws are first introduced through some universal absoluteness such as a God and thus is a higher law than…

In classical Greece, the women of Attica dont seem to make many important appearances, but after research on women in Athens and Sparta, specifically, it can be seen that the way the women are treated in each respective city, seems to represent and reflect the values that the cities place emphasis on. For Athens, that emphasis is placed on property, while for Sparta the emphasis is placed on building armies and living in a cohesive community. Athens and Sparta show differences when it comes to…

In a time of crisis between different religions and ideologies, the renaissance period religion carried different purposes than that of today. Machiavelli was one of the first political thinkers to view religion as a necessary and great tool in the hands of a ruler. In the era right before the modern era, Machiavelli authored two great works, the Discourses and the Prince, both works hold different perspectives in political theory but are both necessary to understand what makes up a just and…

The idea of being is the idea to exist. We exist on the basis that we eat, drink, and we live in a shelter. Recognizing the fact that we exist as a group and cannot survive on our own, the idea of a polis becomes very important either as a habitant or a secure place. A city will provide all to satisfy our needs; however, when we want more beyond a natural limit, we are changing the city substantially and making it fatter. The distinction between desires and necessities creates different cities.…

Among U.S states, some states are different in various ways. These states can be significantly different for many reasons ranging from obvious to not so obvious. For example, Arkansas and California both have differences in the weather, people, and lifestyle. First, the weather in Arkansas and California is quite different. To begin with, Arkansas rains more often throughout the whole year; therefore, the air is more humid in most cities. One of the reasons is the Arkansas River that runs…

comparison, Plato views human liberty notion within an ideal state pattern. This is to imply that Plato describes personal independence and individual freedom according to the utility it accords the entire society. This means that a person belonging to the polis can be termed as a free person if they act according to the society’s objectives, as well as for the advantage of the whole state (Klosko, 2006). It is worth noting that human liberty according to Plato pegs the social division into…

the Spartans for arbitrary and laborious tasks. Although the helots were suspected to have outnumbered the Spartans five to one, they were often kept in order by Spartan warriors. When Spartan elites could not afford to hire armies to protect the polis, private land-owning farmers stepped into the warrior role. These warriors, known as hoplites, consisted mostly of men who made enough to be able to afford their own armor, thus providing evidence of a supposed middling class. Approximately 30% of…

The rise, development, and the continuance of the Greek civilization was one of the most influential aspects of many other ancient and modern day societies. Although other civilizations undoubtedly have their own way of operating in their respective societies, Greek life was unique in the fact that they were not physically united as one. “The country's rough terrain and geographically isolated settlements prevented the Greeks from forming a highly centralized, inland empire like the Egyptians.…

Did you know America's democracy originated in Ancient Athens? The word democracy comes from the word demokratia, which combines Greek words, demo meaning “people”, and kratos, meaning “rule”. Put it together and get democracy. Democracy, the rule of the people. There are two kinds of democracy, representative and direct. Most democracies to this day follow representative democracy. Representative Democracy, is citizens voting on people to represent them in the legislature, which is the…