An accessible introduction to the polis (plural: poleis), or ancient Greek city-state. Mogens Herman Hansen addresses such topics as the emergence of the polis, its size and population, and its political culture, ranging from famous poleis such as Athens and Sparta through more than 1,000 known examples.

Introduction ; I. CITY-STATES IN WORLD HISTORY ; 1. Cities, States, City-States and City-State Cultures ; 2. A Sketch of the 37 Identified City-State Cultures ; 3. 'Country-States' versus City-State Cultures ; II. THE CITY-STATE CULTURE IN ANCIENT GREECE ; Introduction ; 4. The Unity of the City-State Culture of Ancient Greece ; 5. The Rise of the Ancient Greek City-State Culture ; 6. The End of the City-State Culture in Ancient Greece ; 7. How Poleis Arose and Disappeared ; 8. What is a Polis? An Investigation of the Concept of 'Polis' ; 9. The Polis as City and State ; 10. Polis as City ; 11. The Settlement Pattern of the Ancient Greek City-States ; 12. The Size and Population of the Cities ; 13. The Demography of the Ancient Greek City-State Culture ; 14. The Economy of the Cities: Max Weber's 'Ideal Type' ; 15. Polis as City in the Archaic Period ; 16. The Greek Conception of Polis as a City with a Hinterland ; 17. Polis as State ; 18. Army ; 19. Religion ; 20. State and Society ; 21. Civil War (Stasis) ; 22. Relationships between Poleis ; 23. The Hellenistic Poleis ; III. CONCLUSION ; 24. The Polis Compared with Other City-State Cultures

An excellent introduction to the polis, or Greek city-state, presenting the latest research findings Analyses the Greek polis as a city-state culture comparable with other city-states in world history Moves the focus from Athens and Sparta to the thousand or so poleis so far identified

An excellent introduction to the polis, or Greek city-state, presenting the latest research findings Analyses the Greek polis as a city-state culture comparable with other city-states in world history Moves the focus from Athens and Sparta to the thousand or so poleis so far identified