polis

is a new type of community that appeared when bellicose clans and rival houses met here and there in which loyalty to whose laws and Gods replaced the more elemental kinship ties which had previously held force.

The polis appeared when bellicose clans and rival houses met here and there to form a new type of community, loyalty to whose laws and gods replaced the more elemental kinship ties which had previously held force. Ibid. COX, Harvey (1929 )

is characterized by discussion and collective action, in contrast to the oikos which is characterized by the sphere of labor, exchange, and family.

1) discussion, collective action 2) sphere of labor, exchange and family'The division between polis and oikos, or city and household, is the oldest form of public/private distinction. Various similarities and differences are evident between this and later models. The Greek household was the sphere of labor, exchange and the family. Greek men were allowed to enter the public world of the polis only if they had the status of the head of a household. The polis was the sphere of discussion, but also of collective action, which took the form of war or competitive sports. One could not debate, fight, excel, or be free in the private sphere... the household was the place of women and slaves in ancient Greek thought and practice. In many ways, all the later divisions of public and private that Habermas discusses have their roots in his ideas about ancient Greece... the idea that people can move into a public place or sphere because of their private status is central.' (spark).

polis, n.All

polis