Greek city-state in the context of "Battle of Mycale"

⭐ In the context of the Battle of Mycale, which of the following best describes the composition of the forces opposing the Achaemenid Empire?

Ad spacer

⭐ Core Definition: Greek city-state

Polis (pl.: poleis) means 'city' in Ancient Greek. The ancient word polis had socio-political connotations not possessed by modern usage. For example, Modern Greek πόλη (póli), "city", is located within a χώρα (chóra), "country", which is a πατρίδα (patrída) or "native land" for its citizens. In ancient Greece, the polis was the native land; there was no other. It had a constitution and demanded the supreme loyalty of its citizens. Χώρα was only the countryside, not a country. Ancient Greece was not a sovereign country, but was territory occupied by Hellenes, people who claimed as their native language some dialect of Ancient Greek.

Poleis did not only exist within the area of the modern Republic of Greece. A collaborative study carried by the Copenhagen Polis Centre from 1993 to 2003 classified about 1,500 settlements of the Archaic and Classical ancient-Greek-speaking population as poleis. These ranged from the Caucasus to Southern Spain, and from Southern Russia to Northern Egypt, spread over the shores of the Mediterranean and Black Sea. They have been termed a network of micro-states. Many of the settlements still exist; e.g., Marseille, Syracuse, Alexandria, but they are no longer Greek or micro-states, belonging to other countries.

↓ Menu

>>>PUT SHARE BUTTONS HERE<<<

👉 Greek city-state in the context of Battle of Mycale

The Battle of Mycale was one of the two major battles (the other being the Battle of Plataea) that ended the second Persian invasion of Greece during the Greco-Persian Wars. It took place on 27 or 28 August, 479 BC on the slopes of Mount Mycale, which is located on the coast of Ionia opposite the island of Samos. The battle was fought between an alliance of Greek city-states, including Sparta, Athens and Corinth; and the Persian Empire of Xerxes I.

The previous year, the Persian invasion force, led by Xerxes himself, had scored victories at the battles of Thermopylae and Artemisium, and conquered Thessaly, Boeotia and Attica; however, at the ensuing Battle of Salamis, the Greek navy had won an unlikely victory, and therefore prevented the conquest of the Peloponnese. Xerxes then retreated, leaving his general Mardonius with a substantial army to finish off the Greeks the following year.

↓ Explore More Topics
In this Dossier

Greek city-state in the context of Ancient Greek warfare

Warfare occurred throughout the history of Ancient Greece, from the Greek Dark Ages onward. The Greek Dark Ages drew to an end as a significant increase in population allowed urbanized culture to be restored, which led to the rise of the city-states (poleis). These developments ushered in the period of Archaic Greece (800–480 BC). They also restored the capability of organized warfare between these poleis (as opposed to small-scale raids to acquire livestock and grain, for example). The fractious nature of Ancient Greek society seems to have made continuous conflict on this larger scale inevitable.

Along with the rise of the city-state evolved a new style of warfare: the hoplite phalanx. Hoplites were armored infantrymen, armed with spears and shields. Seen in media, the phalanx was a formation of these soldiers with their shields locked together and spears pointed forward. The Chigi vase, dated to around 650 BC, is the earliest depiction of a hoplite in full battle array. With this evolution in warfare, battles seem to have consisted mostly of the clash of hoplite phalanxes from the city-states in conflict. Since the soldiers were citizens with other occupations, warfare was limited in distance, season and scale. Neither side could afford heavy casualties or sustained campaigns, so conflicts seem to have been resolved by a single set-piece battle.

↑ Return to Menu
LINKED FROM (PARENTS)
← Battle of Mycale ← Ancient Greek warfare
LINKS TO (CHILDREN)
Ancient Greek → Modern Greek → Khôra → Ancient Greece → Sovereignty → Greeks → Greece → Caucasus → Southern Spain → Southern Russia → Northern Egypt → Mediterranean Sea → Black Sea → Microstate → Marseille → Syracuse, Sicily → Alexandria →