The Return of the Polis: The Use and Meanings of the Word Polis in Archaic and Classical Sources. Papers from the Copenhagen Polis Centre 8

Polis, in plural poleis, is the word the ancient Greeks used to describe their principal type of state and community and the most common of all nouns in ancient Greek. In Archaic and Classical sources there are over 11,000 attestations of the word, and they show that it was used in two different senses: (1) town (sometimes including the hinterland) and (2) state (sometimes including the territory). Often it carries both senses simultaneously and denotes both the state and its urban centre. The Copenhagen Polis Centre (1993-2005) conducted a number of investigations into the use and meanings of the term polis in all Archaic and Classical sources to find out what the Greeks thought a polis was. The present volume is a thoroughly revised and updated comprehensive publication of all these studies, to which four new studies have been added. They show that the two different meanings of the word polis are connected through their reference: with very few exceptions every polis town was the urban centre of a polis state, and conversely: virtually every polis state had an urban centre called a polis in the sense of town. CONVENTIONS INTRODUCTION WAS EVERY POLIS TOWN THE CENTRE OF A POLIS STATE? I II III IV APPENDIX – MULTIPOLATE ISLANDS AND REGIONS WAS EVERY POLIS STATE CENTRED ON A POLIS TOWN? TABLE 1 – URBAN CENTRES OF COMMUNITIES ATTESTED AS POLEIS IN THE POLITICAL SENSE TABLE 2 – URBAN CENTRES OF COMMUNITIES NOT ATTESTED AS POLEIS IN THE POLITICAL SENSE BUT WITH A MINT POLIS USED IN THE SENSE OF HINTERLAND OR TERRITORY INSCRIPTIONS APPENDIX – ATTESTATIONS OF POLIS USED IN THE POLITICAL SENSE HEKATAIOS HERODOTOS LIST OF POLEIS APPENDIX 1 – ATTESTATIONS OF POLIS USED IN THE POLITICAL SENSE APPENDIX 2 – BARBARIAN POLEIS THUCYDIDES LIST OF POLEIS APPENDIX – ATTESTATIONS OF POLIS USED IN THE POLITICAL Sense XENOPHON 1. Anabasis LIST OF POLEIS APPENDIX 1 – ATTESTATIONS OF POLIS USED IN THE POLITICAL SENSE APPENDIX 2 – BARBARIAN POLEIS 2. Hellenika LIST OF POLEIS APPENDIX – ATTESTATIONS OF POLIS USED IN THE POLITICAL SENSE 3. Other Works LIST OF POLEIS APPENDIX – ATTESTATIONS OF POLIS USED IN THE POLITICAL SENSE FRAGMENTS OF HISTORIANS 1. Ephoros 2. Theopompos 3. The Hellenica Oxyrhynchia 4. Minor historians 5. Pherekydes and Hellanikos (a) Pherekydes (b) Hellanikos APPENDIX – POLIS AND POLITAI IN PALAIPHATOS THE ATTIC ORATORS 1. Demosthenes 2. Isokrates 3. The Other Orators APPENDIX – ATTESTATIONS OF POLIS USED BY THE ORATORS IN THE POLITICAL SENSE ABOUT POLEIS OTHER THAN ATHENS PSEUDO-SKYLAX 1. Date 2. Composition 3. Subdivision into Chapters and Headings of Chapters 4. Terminology and Site-Classification 5. List of Sites Classified by Pseudo-Skylax 6. Pseudo-Skylax’s Use of the Term Polis 7. The Periplous West of Hellas (1–33) 8. The Periplous of Hellas (34–65) 9. The Periplous North, East and South of Hellas (66–112) 10. Conclusion LIST OF POLEIS A. The Regions West of Hellas 1–33 B. Hellas 34–65 C. The Regions North, East and South of Hellas 66–112 APPENDIX 1 – TOPONYMS LISTED UNDER THE HEADING ΠΟΛΕΙΣ (ΕΛΛΗΝΙΔΕΣ) ΑΙΔΕ APPENDIX 2 – LIST OF BARBARIAN POLEIS AINEIAS THE TACTICIAN LIST OF POLEIS APPENDIX – ATTESTATIONS OF POLIS USED IN THE POLITICAL SENSE PHILOSOPHERS LIST OF POLEIS 1. Presocratic Philosophers 2. Plato 3. Aristoteles 4. Theophrastos APPENDIX – ATTESTATIONS OF POLIS USED IN THE POLITICAL SENSE 1. Presocratic Philosophers 2. Platon 3. Aristoteles 4. Theophrastos POETS LIST OF POLEIS APPENDIX – ATTESTATIONS OF POLIS USED IN THE POLITICAL SENSE INDEX OF GEOGRAPHICAL NAMES