GRST 205 Chapter 1.1: GRST 205 Required Reading 1

• School: University of Calgary
• Department: Greek and Roman Studies
• Course: GRST 205
• Professor: Colin Ash

Document Summary

Grst 205 assigned reading 1 (trojan war, bronze age, homer) In greek view, polis set them apart from all other people. Not (cid:374)e(cid:272)essarily (cid:862)(cid:272)ities(cid:863) as (cid:449)e (cid:449)ould thi(cid:374)k of the(cid:373: athens might satisfy this image at the end of the 5th century bce, small territories, populations of a few thousand or less, few public buildings, largely agricultural economies. The (cid:449)ord (cid:862)state(cid:863) is also (cid:373)isleadi(cid:374)g: suggests governmental structure that maintains internal order, conducts foreign relations. Had politai, citizens that govern generally adult males who claim citizenship by descent. What is the origin of this system: historians claim it is a result of geography of greece. Limited water sources, scattered farmland, difficult communications encouraged political fragmentation: not quite true, bronze age kingdoms had complex class structures governed by bureaucracies, more organized and less fragmented than polis. Lack of foreign enemies during time of polis foundation allowed system to grow from.