In the development of Greek civilization, we note that several scholars highlight the emergence of the polis as one of the most important experiences developed throughout Antiquity. In its simplest understanding, the polis corresponds to the various City-States that formed in Greek territory between the end of the Homeric Period and the development of the Archaic Period. However, how was it possible for this kind of social and political organization to exist?
At first, the Homeric Period (XII a. Ç. – VIII a. C.) became known for the formation of the so-called Gentile communities. These consisted of small self-sufficient agricultural units, in which all wealth was produced collectively. At the head of this group we had the pater, a kind of patriarch who determined the organization of actions administrative, judicial and religious to be performed by all who shared that same space.
Over time, the lack of land and the use of less advanced planting techniques established a population growth greater than the agricultural production of the gentile communities. In this way, the collective character of the genos lost space to another type of social configuration. Gradually, the members closest to the pater became part of a restricted class of landowners who were subordinate to other members of the community.
In this new moment, the pater's closest relatives became members of the class of Eupatrids, a Greek term that meant the same as “well-born”. Right after that, we have the georgoi (“farmers”), who formed the class of small landowners that still existed. Finally, in the lowest stratum of this social formation, were the Thetas (“marginals”), who did not have any type of agricultural property.
More than controlling land ownership, the Eupatrids they also organized the instruments and institutions responsible for political decisions, religious manifestations and all other manifestations that reaffirmed the power of this ruling class. We have, in such a way, the organization of an aristocracy that was organized from the greatest wealth of those times: the land.
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As land ownership established power disputes, we see that some genos began to mobilize in defense of their territories. Thus, we had the formation of fratricies, which were formed as a means of preserving the lands. Over time, the phratries would also collectively unite for the organization of the tribes, which also performed - on a broader scale - the defense of the lands of the genos belonging to a particular region.
From the moment that the political demands of these communities became more and more recurrent, we see that these military-oriented associations take on another meaning. The grouping of tribes and the influence of the Eupatrids determined the formation of the first City-States, that is, the Greek polis. In many of these polis, we see that the village developed around the acropolis. Located at the highest point of the city, this space brought together the palaces and temples of a polis.
Through the creation of the polis, we not only determined the establishment of an aristocracy responsible for the political destiny of an entire population. From a historical point of view, the formation of polis established a space in which different forms of political organization were created and developed. By rationalizing life in society, the polis opens the way for other types of political experience.
By Rainer Sousa
Master in History
Would you like to reference this text in a school or academic work? Look:
SOUSA, Rainer Gonçalves. "The formation of the Greek polis"; Brazil School. Available in: https://brasilescola.uol.com.br/historiag/a-formacao-polis-grega.htm. Accessed on June 27, 2021.