''Politeia'' (
πολιτεία) is an
ancient Greek
Ancient Greek (, ; ) includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the classical antiquity, ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Greek ...
word used in Greek political thought, especially that of
Plato
Plato ( ; Greek language, Greek: , ; born BC, died 348/347 BC) was an ancient Greek philosopher of the Classical Greece, Classical period who is considered a foundational thinker in Western philosophy and an innovator of the writte ...
and
Aristotle
Aristotle (; 384–322 BC) was an Ancient Greek philosophy, Ancient Greek philosopher and polymath. His writings cover a broad range of subjects spanning the natural sciences, philosophy, linguistics, economics, politics, psychology, a ...
. Derived from the word ''
polis'' ("city-state"), it has a range of meanings from "
the rights of citizens" to a "
form of government".
English translations of the Greek word
According to Liddell and Scott's ''
Greek-English Lexicon'' a meaning of ''politeia'' is "the conditions and rights of the citizen, or
citizenship
Citizenship is a membership and allegiance to a sovereign state.
Though citizenship is often conflated with nationality in today's English-speaking world, international law does not usually use the term ''citizenship'' to refer to nationalit ...
", analogous to the
Latin
Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...
''
civitas''.
''Politeia'', in Greek means the community of citizens in a city / state. It should not be confused with "regime" that is meant by ''politeuma'' or "Status quo" that is meant by ''
kathestos''. ''Politeuma'' is the word describing the political situation of the community of citizens in a city/state, and ''kathestos'' means also the general situation of an object, an agreement, or something else.
''Politeia'' is derived from both the root word ''
polis'' meaning "city" or "state", and from the verb ''politeuomai'' that means "I am living as an active citizen of the polis".
People living in a Greek city/state were not necessarily citizens. A person that was ostracized from the active matrix of the city was an example of such. Another example was people who lived in the city but were not active citizens who had a say in the political processes of the community. Women, slaves and others who Greek men deemed unworthy were not in the active matrix of the political formations of that city state, making them not-citizens, so not part of ''politeia''.
In the works of ancient Greek philosophers, the principal meaning of ''politeia'' appears to be: "how a polis is run;
constitution
A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organization or other type of entity, and commonly determines how that entity is to be governed.
When these pri ...
". A ''politeia'' differs from modern written constitutions in two respects: first, not all Greek states put their laws in writing; more importantly, the Greeks did not normally distinguish between ordinary and constitutional legislation. If a certain body had the power to change the laws, it had the power to change the laws controlling its own power and membership—even to abolish itself and set up a new governing body.
The phrases ''system of government'', ''state organisation'', ''
form of government'', and, more recently, ''
régime'' have also been used to translate ''politeia''. ''Régime'' has drawbacks: it is ambiguous where ''politeia'' is not. It has a negative tone in English, which ''politeia'' does not in Greek. It is also a
loan-word; and in that regard, has no advantage over simply adopting ''politeia'' itself.
Some translators thus use a different term for this second meaning of ''politeia''. Most common is the vague term
polity
A polity is a group of people with a collective identity, who are organized by some form of political Institutionalisation, institutionalized social relations, and have a capacity to mobilize resources.
A polity can be any group of people org ...
. Specific translations of this second meaning as ''
constitutional democracy'' or ''
republic
A republic, based on the Latin phrase ''res publica'' ('public affair' or 'people's affair'), is a State (polity), state in which Power (social and political), political power rests with the public (people), typically through their Representat ...
'' are at least
anachronistic
An anachronism (from the Greek , 'against' and , 'time') is a chronological inconsistency in some arrangement, especially a juxtaposition of people, events, objects, language terms and customs from different time periods. The most common typ ...
, and in most instances contentious and/or inaccurate. Some translators feel it is incorrect to translate the same word in different ways, arguing that the ambiguity must have been deliberate and that it is impossible to always know which way the word should be rendered.
In the Greek
New Testament
The New Testament (NT) is the second division of the Christian biblical canon. It discusses the teachings and person of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus, as well as events relating to Christianity in the 1st century, first-century Christianit ...
''politeia'' is translated as "commonwealth" or "freedom" in Ephesians 2:12 and Acts 22:28.
''Politeia'' in the work of the authors of Antiquity
Plato and Cicero
''Politeia'' is the original title of the book by Plato now commonly known in English as ''
Republic
A republic, based on the Latin phrase ''res publica'' ('public affair' or 'people's affair'), is a State (polity), state in which Power (social and political), political power rests with the public (people), typically through their Representat ...
''.
Cicero
Marcus Tullius Cicero ( ; ; 3 January 106 BC – 7 December 43 BC) was a Roman statesman, lawyer, scholar, philosopher, orator, writer and Academic skeptic, who tried to uphold optimate principles during the political crises tha ...
translated ''politeia'' as ''
res publica
', also spelled ''rēs pūblica'' to indicate vowel length, is a Latin phrase, loosely meaning "public affair". It is the root of the ''republic'', and '' commonwealth'' has traditionally been used as a synonym for it; however, translations var ...
'' (see also: ''
De re publica''), from which the modern word republic comes. Note that the meanings the ancient Romans attached to ''res publica'' were also multiple and only partially overlapping with the Greek ''politeia'', and further that few of the multiple meanings of ''politeia'' or ''res publica'' are much of an equivalent to ''
republic
A republic, based on the Latin phrase ''res publica'' ('public affair' or 'people's affair'), is a State (polity), state in which Power (social and political), political power rests with the public (people), typically through their Representat ...
'' as it is understood in modern political science.
Aristotle
In the ''
Constitution of the Athenians'' (''Athenaion Politeia''), Aristotle uses ''politeia'' for eleven states of the Athenian government up to his own time, from the
absolute monarchy of
Ionia and the
tyranny of the
Thirty to the democratic
Assembly and
selection by lot of
Pericles's time and his own. He may have added that the absolute monarchy of Ion was "less political" than that of Theseus or the later constitutions, but the text is doubtful.
In his ''
Politics
Politics () is the set of activities that are associated with decision-making, making decisions in social group, groups, or other forms of power (social and political), power relations among individuals, such as the distribution of Social sta ...
'', Aristotle clearly uses ''politeia'' both as above and also in a more restricted sense. Exactly what this sense is, and whether Aristotle is using it in a consistent manner, have both been long debated. By careful choice of quotation (a comprehensive list of quotations along with their respective cross-references is found in
[
]), all of the following can be defended:
*A specific form of government. Aristotle classified constitutions on two grounds: how many citizens had a voice in making the laws; and whether they did so considering the good of all citizens, or only their own. Along with
monarchy
A monarchy is a form of government in which a person, the monarch, reigns as head of state for the rest of their life, or until abdication. The extent of the authority of the monarch may vary from restricted and largely symbolic (constitutio ...
and
aristocracy
Aristocracy (; ) is a form of government that places power in the hands of a small, privileged ruling class, the aristocracy (class), aristocrats.
Across Europe, the aristocracy exercised immense Economy, economic, Politics, political, and soc ...
, ''politeia'' is one of the three virtuous forms of government. While monarchy is the rule by the single most virtuous one, and aristocracy is the rule by the several most virtuous few, ''politeia'' is the rule by the multitude of virtuous citizens.
*A constitution that does not fit into this sixfold classification, because it has features of more than one of them: the constitutions of
Carthage
Carthage was an ancient city in Northern Africa, on the eastern side of the Lake of Tunis in what is now Tunisia. Carthage was one of the most important trading hubs of the Ancient Mediterranean and one of the most affluent cities of the classic ...
,
Sparta
Sparta was a prominent city-state in Laconia in ancient Greece. In antiquity, the city-state was known as Lacedaemon (), while the name Sparta referred to its main settlement in the Evrotas Valley, valley of Evrotas (river), Evrotas rive ...
, and
t least one of the cities ofCrete
Crete ( ; , Modern Greek, Modern: , Ancient Greek, Ancient: ) is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the List of islands by area, 88th largest island in the world and the List of islands in the Mediterranean#By area, fifth la ...
.
*A constitution which mixes
oligarchy
Oligarchy (; ) is a form of government in which power rests with a small number of people. Members of this group, called oligarchs, generally hold usually hard, but sometimes soft power through nobility, fame, wealth, or education; or t ...
and
democracy
Democracy (from , ''dēmos'' 'people' and ''kratos'' 'rule') is a form of government in which political power is vested in the people or the population of a state. Under a minimalist definition of democracy, rulers are elected through competitiv ...
(terms which, as used by Aristotle, refer to vicious types of constitutions).
*A constitution in which the
hoplites governed. This is more restrictive than the Athens of Aristotle's time. Athens was a naval power, and many citizens were allowed to vote, and served the state well in war, who could not afford massive metal armor.
In Book III of his ''
Politics
Politics () is the set of activities that are associated with decision-making, making decisions in social group, groups, or other forms of power (social and political), power relations among individuals, such as the distribution of Social sta ...
'' (1279a), Aristotle seems to indicate that, in principle, ''politeia'' refers generically to any form of government or constitution, although he uses the word also to call a particular form of government: "When the citizens at large govern for the public good, it is called by the name common to all governments ''(politeion)'', government (''politeia'')."
Why Aristotle uses the same term to refer to at least two distinct ideas has confused readers for millennia. For instance, later Aristotle refers to the ideal ''politeia'' as one using a
mixed government
Mixed government (or a mixed constitution) is a form of government that combines elements of democracy, aristocracy and monarchy, ostensibly making impossible their respective degenerations which are conceived in Aristotle's ''Politics'' as a ...
. But it is uncertain whether he is referring to governments in general or to a specific form.
In the
New Testament
The New Testament (NT) is the second division of the Christian biblical canon. It discusses the teachings and person of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus, as well as events relating to Christianity in the 1st century, first-century Christianit ...
''politeia'' refers both the Greek World as well as to the nation of Israel.
Strong's Concordance defines the term as: Signifies (a) "the relation in which a citizen stands to the state, the condition of a citizen, citizenship", Acts 22:28, "with a great sum obtained I this citizenship" (KJV, "freedom"). While Paul's "citizenship" of Tarsus was not of advantage outside that city, yet his Roman "citizenship" availed throughout the Roman Empire and, besides private rights, included (1) exemption from all degrading punishments; (2) a right of appeal to the emperor after a sentence; (3) a right to be sent to Rome for trial before the emperor if charged with a capital offense. Paul's father might have obtained "citizenship" (1) by manumission; (2) as a reward of merit; (3) by purchase; the contrast implied in Acts 22:28 is perhaps against the last mentioned; (b) "a civil polity, the condition of a state, a commonwealth", said of Israel, Ephesians 2:12.
References
Further reading
* ''
A Greek-English Lexicon
A, or a, is the first letter and the first vowel letter of the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, and others worldwide. Its name in English is '' a'' (pronounced ), plural ''aes''.
It is similar in shape to the Ancient ...
'',
Henry George Liddell and
Robert Scott, revised and augmented throughout by Sir
Henry Stuart Jones, with the assistance of Roderick McKenzie, Clarendon Press, Oxford, UK, 1940
Online version at Perseus website 9th edition, with a revised supplement, edited by P.G.W. Glare, with the assistance of A.A. Thompson: 1996. {{ISBN, 0-19-864226-1.
External links
Democracy in the ''Politics'' of Aristotle – Glossaryby Thomas R. Martin, with Neel Smith & Jennifer F. Stuart. July 26, 2003.
Political philosophy in ancient Greece
Greek words and phrases