Daliy life & city states (Ancient Greece)

• Polis is the Greek word for city-state
• There were 1,000 city-states
• main polis were Athens,Sparta,Corinth and Thebes
• every polis had its own goverment and laws
• greeks shared a common language and religion
• each city-state was organized with an urban center and the surrounding countryside
• The majority of the polis population lived in the urban center
• the urban center was the center of trade commence culture and political activity
• The central public space in the city center was the Agora
• Characteristics of the city in a polis were outer walls were for protection,as well as a public space that included temples and government buildings.
• Temples and government bulidings were often built on the top of the hill or Acropolis.
• Mountains terrain and numerous seas separated the ancient Greek cities.
• The ancient Greeks never developed a unified system of government.
• Ancient Greeks developed the polis or city-state which functioned as an independent unit almost like a little country.