¨Political structure¨

 Ancient Greece consisted of hundreds of city-state (polis) more or less independent. This situation was different than in most other societies, or tribes or kingdoms were sovereign over vast areas. Undoubtedly the geography of Greece, divided and subdivided by hills, mountains and rivers contributed to the fragmented nature of ancient Greece. It is likely that a similar political structure existed in the great maritime city-states of Phoenicia. However, to some extent the situation was unique in ancient Greece. On the one hand, the ancient Greeks had no doubt that they were "a peculiar people ', sharing the same religion, same basic culture and the same language, besides being very aware of their tribal origins, Herodotus could classify the city-state tribe . On the other hand, although these relationships were the highest level, seems to rarely played a role in Greek politics. The independence of the poleis was fiercely defended, the ancient Greeks rarely watched the unification of Greece. Even when a group of city-states banded together to defend Greece in the second Persian invasion, the vast majority of the polis remained neutral, to defeat the Persians, "allies" turned to infighting.