Ancient Greek Polis is the politics established by the Greeks. This is the most characteristic and predominant prototype of political system in the Greek world. In this article, I try to explain the origin of the polis, and examine what polis is.
In the ancient Greek world, 'Polis' was city-state, and the basic unit of life of the Greeks that had considerably improved urbanization throughout the country. All the people of the city and country cooperated to establish the community of the citizen that gave body to the political state. The polis was an economic community that was based on trade, and centered on the market and ritual community that was expressed via formal worship and respect.
The western people have regarded the polis as the prototype of a political system owned in the future, and the genesis of the western history. In fact, the Greek were influenced by oriental culture, but it is difficult to say that oriental states have a direct connection with the Greek citizen-community, polis. We must consider that Mycenaean greece was a monarchy under the king because of influence of the Orient.
The how, why, and especially when the polis arose is a very important subject in Greek history. Even though many scholar disagree, recent research has increased our knowledge about many Greek polis. Studying Greek tradition, Homer's epic poem, and archaeological excavation, the polis did not appear unexpectedly but instead was the product of history naturally established in the geographical, ethnic, religious, social, and political conditions.
The product of the Greek history, the polis' origin dates back to the Mycenaean Age, but it is still a disputed subject. However it is normal concept since there are many historical records estimated from around 5th~4th century B.C. Maybe we'll start to look for the origin by starting our study of this subject from the 5th century B.C. and proceed back using the historical records. I think the origin of the earliest polis dates will be found to be from the 8th ~ 7th century B.C. In conclusion, the earliest polis appeared around 750 B.C., and became a predominant form of social-political organization.