Why were city-states formed in Ancient Greece?

Answer 1

When the Greek nomadic tribes seized land to settle on and become agricultural, the tribes took patches of river plains surrounded by mountains, establishing a citadel and then a city as the centre of the tribal patch. A city defended its territory from others, and so the independent city-state became the basis of the Greek world. When the cities sent out their growing surplus population which could not be sustained a city's limited land, they in turn seized a patch of land around the Mediterranean and more cities grew up, eventually numbering a couple of thousand.

Answer 2

Nomadic tribes settled in a patch of land and farmed. A fortress was developed on a hill as refuge if invaded, a city grew up around the fortress so it became a city-state with its own government. There was no incentive to confederate into a larger state as they were often i dispute with them and valued their independence.

Answer 3

The mountains and seas of Greece established geographic barriers between the various tribes, making trade and cultural exchanges difficult. Only when the individual cities were ruled by a conqueror (Persia, Macedonia, Rome) was there a common rule. These comparatively small, fragmented societies did manage to survive somehow, and prosper.

Answer 4

Different nomadic Greek tribes moving into mainland Greece 3000 years ago, after pillaging the countryside, had little option but to start farming themselves to gain a living. These farming centres also started fortify a hill (acropolis) to act as a refuge against other interlopers. These citadels expanded to become cities to accommodate a growing population and commercial activities, and also developed cultural activities.

Each city had it's land and commerce, was self-sufficient and so wanted to retain it's independence. There was interaction between the cities - commercial, social and religious commonality drove this, but self-interest kept the cities independent, and their perceived individual rights and interests continued to drive both independence and inter-city warfare. The latter brought cities into shifting alliances but not into political union, so they remained separate city-states.

The Greeks were such great breeders that not even plagues, famines and wars could stop the populations of successful cites exploding, and as the farmers' plots of land were small and the soil poor, the surplus populations were periodically sent off to found new cities, and these new cities eventually felt the squeeze and sent out colonies of their own. In this way, Greek cities spread all around the Mediterranean and Black Seas - to southern France, Sicily, Italy, North Africa, Asia Minor, the Islands and southern Russia. The cities which today have 'polis' (city) in their name tell the story (eg Naples - Italian Napoli - comes from Greek Nea Polis = New City).

Answer 5

They were separated by geographic barriers.

Answer 6

one of these

fortifications

climate

topography

geology

Answer 7

Greek population was getting to large so they just set it to city states and each one was independent.

Answer 8

partly because of the land in Greece. it is very mountainous so each state was separated naturally.

Answer 9

loseridk

Answer 10

dont know