The Greek polis was a community centered in a city that brought
together religion, politics, family, and more to become the
basic building block of Greek society. The Greek polis provided
examples to the west of how to organize government and of what
the role of the citizen should be in relation to this
government. To understand the roots of modern constitutional
republics and democracies it is helpful to have a grasp of what
the polis was and how it functioned. In determining what a polis
was and what its’ goals were it is most helpful to turn to
Aristotle. He writes: It is clear, therefore, that a polis is
not an association for residence on a common site, or for the
sake of preventing mutual injustice and easing exchange. These
are indeed conditions which must be present before a polis can
exist; but the presence of all these conditions is not enough,
in itself, to constitute a polis. What constitutes a polis is an
association of households and clans in a good life, for the sake
of attaining a perfect and