A city-state (what the Greeks called a polis, or plural poleis) was a term for an independent community in ancient Greece that governed itself. A city-state usually consisted of a central city and its surrounding countryside and effectively functioned like a miniature country or state with its own government, laws, army, and patron gods.
Ancient Greece was not like the modern world, which tends to favour countries united under a single government. The Greece of the ancient world was a patchwork of many city-states (such as Athens, Sparta, or Corinth) which were fiercely independent and often warred with one another, but shared the common Greek language, religion, and culture.
« Back to Glossary Index