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A polis (pl. poleis) is a city, or a city-state. The word originates from the ancient Greek city-states, which developed in the Hellenic
period and survived (though with decreasing influence) well into Roman
times.
The territory of an ancient polis centered around a citadel, called the
acropolis, and would of necessity also have an agora (market) and a gymnasion. Most people lived in the countryside, but only a short journey away from the
civic center. The Greeks did not regard the polis as a territorial unit so much as a religious and political
association. Each city was composed of several tribes or demes, which were in turn composed of phratries and finally
gentes. Metics (resident
foreigners) and slaves lay outside this organization. Birth typically determined citizenship. Each polis also had a number of protecting gods and its own particular festivals and customs.
Derivative words in modern English: policy, polity, police and
politics - indicate the influence of the polis-centred Hellenic world view.
See also
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