The Development of the Polis in Archaic Greece

The Greek polis has been arousing interest as a subject for study for a long time, but recent approaches have shown that it is a subject on which there are still important questions to be asked and worthwhile things to be said. This book contains a selection of essays which embody the results of the latest research, yet are presented so as to be accessible to non-specialist readers. Beyond the historical development of the Greek polis, the authors ask questions about the civic institutions of ancient Greece as a whole, and their relationships to each other. Questions of power, or the significance of a written code of law are discussed as well as the nature of Greek overseas settlements. The Development of the Greek Polis presents up-to-date research and asks up-to-date questions on various aspects of an important topic. It will be essential reading for all students and teachers of early Greek history and of the institutions of the ancient world.

Table of Contents:
Tables. Figures. Contributors. References. 1. Introduction P.J. Rhodes 2. The Copenhagen Inventory of Polis and the Lex Hafniensis de Civitate Mogens Herman Hansen 3. The 'Origins of the Greek Polis': where should we be looking? John K. Davies 4. The relations of power in the pre-state and early state politics Walter Donlan 5. Soldiers, citizens, and the evolution of the early Greek polis Kurt A. Raaflaub 6. Lopping off the heads: tyrants, politics and the polis John Salmon 7. Law and laws: how do we join up the dots? Robin Osborne 8. The development of Spartan society in the Archaic period Stephen Hodkinson 9. A new solution to the riddle of the Seisachtheia Edward M. Harris 10. A view from the top: evaluating the Solonian property-classes Lin Foxhall 11. New wine in old wineskins: Solon, Arete and the Agathos Lynette G. Mitchell 12. Evaulating the citizen in the Archaic Greek lyric, elegy and inscribed epigram George I.C. Robertson 13. Themis: religion and order in the Archaic polis Emma J. Stafford 14. The archaeology of sanctuaries in early Iron Age and Archaic Ethne: a preliminary view Catherine Morgan 15. The nature of Greek overseas settlements in the Archaic period: Emporion or Apoikia? John-Paul Wilson 16. Servius Tullius, Cleisthenes and the emergence of the polis in central Italy Christopher Smith Bibliography. Index.

Review :
'This is likely to become a standard collection of papers for those who already have a grounding in Archaic history' - Graham Shipley, The Classical Review