A Comprehensive History of the Ancient Greek 'City-States' that Goes Beyond the famous places like Athens or Sparta

The city-state (polis in Greek, plural poleis) was one of the most important forms of social organization in the history of Western civilization. By one reckoning, there were over 1,200 of these communities across the ancient Mediterranean world; some like Athens, Syracuse, and Alexandria had hundreds of thousands of residents, others counted only a few hundred citizens. Fiercely independent, these cities often fought among themselves, for territory, for glory, or revenge for imagined insults. But they also formed stable regional leagues of cities, and negotiated their complex relations with surrounding empires.

Our knowledge about the ancient Greek city-state derives mainly from two sources: the surviving writings of the ancient Greeks themselves, notably Aristotle’s Politics (which literally means “things concerning the polis), and the findings of archaeology, beginning in the 18th century of our era and continuing today. John Ma, Professor of Classics at Columbia University has a deep understanding of all of these sources, and this is reflected in this massive and masterful book.

Only a fraction of ancien Greek literature survives, in manuscripts laboriously copied and recopied in medieval monasteries, plus some fragments recovered from Egyptian papyrus documents. We know the authors and titles of many works that were lost forever when ancient libraries burned, or long-neglected scrolls disintegrated. Similarly, some of the archaeological record was hopelessly scrambled, when excavators interested only in the glorious “Classical” Era (c. 500-323 BCE) dug through and discarded layers of the Hellenistic, Roman and Byzantine periods.

This book is organized chronologically in seven Parts:

I. In Search of Polis

II. Before the Polis: Possibilities 1100 - 700 BCE

III. Making the Polis: Coalescence, Community, and Justice – 675 -450 BCE

IV. Framing the Classical Polis – 480 - 180 BCE

V. Polis and Imperium – 180 BCE - 400 CE

VI. Making Sense of Polis

VII. Polis of Our Wishes

The author writes:

"…the polis was constantly characterized by distinctive political institutions: the Assembly, the Council, and magistrates who rotated in and out of their limited powers." (p. 544)

The glorification of the “Greek Miracle” and “birthplace of Democracy” in much of traditional Western discourse about ancient history overlooks many uncomfortable facts — for example women and slaves were denied citizen rights, and pederasty was widely accepted and even celebrated. Chapters titled “Bad Polis” (Ch. 18) and “Worst Polis” (Ch. 19) grapple with some of these questions.

Written in a densely footnoted academic style, POLIS is not an easy read. There are 64 pages of Notes, double-columned in a tiny typeface, and 73 pages of Bibliography drawn from every modern Western language. The author’s vast vocabulary can be quirky; he is particularly fond of the term “structuration,” but he also provides lucid translations of Greek technical terms.

Well-illustrated with monochrome photos and line drawings, with some clearly-drawn maps, Polis is reasonably priced for such a large volume. It should stand as the standard reference in English on this important topic for many years to come.

Note: Polis: A New History of the Ancient Greek City-State is also available in e-editions.

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