A Brief Overview of the Political Economy of Ancient Greek Polis and Demokratia

We briefly review the history of archaic and classical Greece, focusing on the development of the polis and of ancient Greek demokratia. The emergence of the polis as a political institution took place in a particular context, with a more widespread access to resources, as earlier centralised power had vanished. A specific form of democracy then appeared in Athens, demokratia, within the context of the polis. We examine the political economy research that has provided a formal background for these historical innovations.