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The polis was the defining sociopolitical system of ancient Greece. It was the environment where Greek drama, architecture, philosophy, and other cultural developments reached their peak. In this episode, host Scott Emmons explores the beginnings of the polis, military developments that helped shape it, and the values that it espoused, even if it didn't always uphold them. 

For images associated with this episode, check out Episode 14 at epicgreekhistory.substack.com

Reading Suggestions:

Greece in the Making 1200-479 BC by Robin Osborne

Archaic Greece: The Age of Experiment by Anthony Snodgrass

Men of Bronze: Hoplite Warfare in Ancient Greece edited by Donald Kagan and Gregory Viggiano (This collection of essays by different authors is a good introduction to the academic debates over the development of the hoplite phalanx.)

The Western Way of War: Infantry Battle in Classical Greece by Victor Davis Hanson

The Other Greeks: The Family Farm and the Agrarian Roots of Western Civilization by Victor Davis Hanson

Greek Warfare: Myths and Realities by Hans van Wees

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