Niamh McGrath
Small Greek States Could Only Survive by Giving up Their Autonomy. Discuss.
The concept of autonomy has come to define the ancient idea of the polis in the
modern day. A polis is not, allegedly, a polis without being autonomous. This generalisation
appears ironic considering that in the 6 th and 5 th centuries BC many states were already
dependencies and by the 4th century BC most could be categorised as such. 1 However, to
say that existing as a dependency was to give up autonomy proves problematic. Today, the
word autonomy can mean anything from entirely independent to self-governing down to a
local level, and some argue the ancient equivalent autonomia was equally as wide ranging.
Therefore, to begin this investigation, it is necessary to first assess arguments as to what
autonomia meant to a polis in the 5 th and 4 th centuries BC and what exactly was being
“ given up ” . Additionally, it must be considered whether it was a particularly devastatingly
negative act for a polis to waive their autonomy or if it was unimpactful. This will largely be
explored through the work of Thucydides and Aristotle, alongside Athen’s two im perial
attempts- the Delian League and the Second Athenian Confederacy. Finally, the seeming
‘alternative’ concept of neutrality as a way for smaller states to retain, at least some, of
their autonomy will be discussed. Ultimately, most small Greek poleis did undoubtedly need
to surrender what would be defined today as autonomy to a larger power, in the form of an
alliance, league or confederacy, in order to survive. This essay will largely agree with
Hansen’s idea that states did not retain autonomia , but preserved what was arguably more
accessible to small city states, autarkeia . However, although this was certainly the case in
1 Mogens Herman Hansen, ‘The “Autonomous City - State”. Ancient Fact or Modern Fiction?’ in Studies in the Ancient Greek Polis , ed. by Mogens Herman Hansen and Kurt Raaflaub (Stuttgart: F. Steiner Verlag, 1995), pp. 21-43 (p. 22).
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