![Nicopolis synoecism](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/0e/Nicopolis_synoecism.svg)
Synoecism or synecism ( ; grc, συνοικισμóς, ''sunoikismos'', ), also spelled synoikism ( ), was originally the amalgamation of villages in
Ancient Greece
Ancient Greece ( el, Ἑλλάς, Hellás) was a northeastern Mediterranean civilization, existing from the Greek Dark Ages of the 12th–9th centuries BC to the end of classical antiquity ( AD 600), that comprised a loose collection of cult ...
into ''poleis'', or city-states. Etymologically the word means "dwelling together (''syn'') in the same house (''oikos'')."
Subsequently, any act of civic union between polities of any size was described by the word ''synoikismos''. The closest analogy today is the incorporation of a city; in fact, "incorporation" is often used to translate synoikismos, in addition to the Latinized synoecism. Synoecism is opposed to Greek dioecism (διοικισμóς, ''dioikismos''), the creation of independent communities within the territory of a polis.
Synoecism is the result of a few major factors, mainly an increase in population density of adjacent settlements, with an incorporation proposed for economic, political or ideological advantages, such as the synoecism of the communities of
Attica
Attica ( el, Αττική, Ancient Greek ''Attikḗ'' or , or ), or the Attic Peninsula, is a historical region that encompasses the city of Athens, the capital of Greece and its countryside. It is a peninsula projecting into the Aegean Se ...
into
Athens
Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...
, or by imposition of a ruling power, such as the synoecism of
Messenia
Messenia or Messinia ( ; el, Μεσσηνία ) is a regional unit (''perifereiaki enotita'') in the southwestern part of the Peloponnese region, in Greece. Until the implementation of the Kallikratis plan on 1 January 2011, Messenia was a ...
into the newly built city of
Messene
Messene (Greek: Μεσσήνη 𐀕𐀼𐀙 ''Messini''), officially Ancient Messene, is a local community within the regional unit (''perifereiaki enotita'') of Messenia in the region (''perifereia'') of Peloponnese.
It is best known for the ...
. Additionally, synoecism may be the result of less active forces which often take the form of shared cultural elements such as religion or language.
Although there were differences between synoecism in
ancient Greece
Ancient Greece ( el, Ἑλλάς, Hellás) was a northeastern Mediterranean civilization, existing from the Greek Dark Ages of the 12th–9th centuries BC to the end of classical antiquity ( AD 600), that comprised a loose collection of cult ...
and
ancient Rome
In modern historiography, ancient Rome refers to Roman civilisation from the founding of the city of Rome in the 8th century BC to the collapse of the Western Roman Empire in the 5th century AD. It encompasses the Roman Kingdom (753–509 B ...
, the same general concept is deduced from the history of both civilizations. Before political union, the future (combined) population of the polity constituted smaller settlements that were not obligated to each other, or at least not by the contract that was later to institute their political union. A settlement or group of settlements might be constituents of another polity from which they would be annexed or transferred.
Archaic Greece
Crete
One of the first examples of synoecism in historical
Greece
Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders with ...
can be found in
Crete
Crete ( el, Κρήτη, translit=, Modern: , Ancient: ) is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the 88th largest island in the world and the fifth largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, after Sicily, Sardinia, Cyprus, and ...
. Prior to the second millennium, Greek settlement on both the mainland and on the island of Crete consisted of scattered villages with no central administration. The development and construction of large palaces on
Crete
Crete ( el, Κρήτη, translit=, Modern: , Ancient: ) is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the 88th largest island in the world and the fifth largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, after Sicily, Sardinia, Cyprus, and ...
however is the earliest example of building for the purpose of centralized authority and administration. Synoecism in Crete had combined administrative, commercial, and religious connotations as the concentration of stately duties in one place allowed for efficient operation. This development of large palatial structures coincided with an explosion of
Minoan
The Minoan civilization was a Bronze Age Aegean civilization on the island of Crete and other Aegean Islands, whose earliest beginnings were from 3500BC, with the complex urban civilization beginning around 2000BC, and then declining from 1450B ...
art
Art is a diverse range of human activity, and resulting product, that involves creative or imaginative talent expressive of technical proficiency, beauty, emotional power, or conceptual ideas.
There is no generally agreed definition of wha ...
and overseas trade and was probably the driving factor in constructing these buildings.
This period of expanded trade and overseas networks is also defined by the term palace economy which was popularized by Sir Arthur Evans when he excavated and described the economic activity of the palace of Knossos. The massive scale of the redistributive economy of Crete as well as its overseas trade networks is indicative of a synoecism from a culture of primarily subsistence agriculture to that of a highly organized and hierarchically structured civilization.
Mycenaean Greece
![Locator_map_of_Messenia_(constituency)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b7/Locator_map_of_Messenia_%28constituency%29.svg)
Mycenaean synoecism developed similarly to that of the Minoans on Crete. Loosely related and geographically scattered villages eventually concentrated political power in palatial centers which was headed by a
wanax
(Greek: ; from earlier , ') is an ancient Greek word for "tribal chief, lord, (military) leader".. It is one of the two Greek titles traditionally translated as "king", the other being basileus, and is inherited from Mycenaean Greece. It is nota ...
which is comparable to king.
Evidence in
Messenia
Messenia or Messinia ( ; el, Μεσσηνία ) is a regional unit (''perifereiaki enotita'') in the southwestern part of the Peloponnese region, in Greece. Until the implementation of the Kallikratis plan on 1 January 2011, Messenia was a ...
suggests that this role originated as a simple leadership role in small villages.
As the size of the village grew, so too did the power of the lineages which controlled important craft production.
As Mycenaean society grew and developed increasingly warlike tendencies, wanaxes developed more defensible and centralized centers from which they could rule.
The wanax would then preside over a centralized state administration populated with both local elites and palatial authorities.
Synoecism in
Mycenaean Greece
Mycenaean Greece (or the Mycenaean civilization) was the last phase of the Bronze Age
The Bronze Age is a historic period, lasting approximately from 3300 BC to 1200 BC, characterized by the use of bronze, the presence of writing in ...
then further occurred as the highly defensible and economically efficient political centers governed by a wanax gained increasing popularity for residents of the vulnerable settlements on the periphery of the palace's territory.
Additionally, synoecism under the wanax and palatial administration was enforced not only through military force but economic taxes as well; however, the damos (rural communities), retained a significant degree of autonomy from these central ones.
Classical Greece
Development
In
ancient Greece
Ancient Greece ( el, Ἑλλάς, Hellás) was a northeastern Mediterranean civilization, existing from the Greek Dark Ages of the 12th–9th centuries BC to the end of classical antiquity ( AD 600), that comprised a loose collection of cult ...
, society was divided into the ''
demos
Demos may refer to:
Computing
* DEMOS, a Soviet Unix-like operating system
* DEMOS (ISP), the first internet service provider in the USSR
* Demos Commander, an Orthodox File Manager for Unix-like systems
* plural for Demo (computer programming)
...
'' (δῆμοι, κῶμαι; "country people" or "country villages") and the "asty" (ἄστυ) or "
polis
''Polis'' (, ; grc-gre, πόλις, ), plural ''poleis'' (, , ), literally means "city" in Greek. In Ancient Greece, it originally referred to an administrative and religious city center, as distinct from the rest of the city. Later, it also ...
" (πόλις). The polis was the situs of the princely
nobility
Nobility is a social class found in many societies that have an aristocracy (class), aristocracy. It is normally ranked immediately below Royal family, royalty. Nobility has often been an Estates of the realm, estate of the realm with many e ...
, gentry, and aristocracy and the sacerdotal and martial families. The distinction between the "demos" and the "polis" was politically very important in these ancient states. There was much antagonism between the two bodies of the country and city. Where commerce and trade came to dominate culture and ideology, they encouraged men to live together in larger towns and develop democracies. In the city states of classical Greece, synoecism occurred when the "demos" combined with and subordinated, usually by force, the "politiea" in one polity.
In the ''poleis'', the ''synoikistes'' was the person who according to tradition executed the synoecism, either by charisma or outright conquest; he was subsequently worshiped as a demi-god. Often, the ''synoikistes'' executed the synoecism in the interest of consolidating political power for themselves.
Theseus
The most famous ''synoikistes'' was the mythic and legendary
Theseus
Theseus (, ; grc-gre, Θησεύς ) was the mythical king and founder-hero of Athens. The myths surrounding Theseus his journeys, exploits, and friends have provided material for fiction throughout the ages.
Theseus is sometimes describe ...
, who liberated
Attica
Attica ( el, Αττική, Ancient Greek ''Attikḗ'' or , or ), or the Attic Peninsula, is a historical region that encompasses the city of Athens, the capital of Greece and its countryside. It is a peninsula projecting into the Aegean Se ...
from
Cretan
Crete ( el, Κρήτη, translit=, Modern: , Ancient: ) is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the 88th largest island in the world and the fifth largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, after Sicily, Sardinia, Cyprus, and ...
hegemony and restored the independence of
Greece
Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders with ...
under the leadership of
Athens
Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...
.
In doing so, Theseus effectively consolidated the power of several loosely related minor city-states residing in the country side for himself by eliminating local government which took the form of small city councils and magistracies. According to Thucydides, Theseus founded a new central
Prytaneion
A ''prytaneion'' ( grc, Πρυτανεῖον, la, prytanēum) was seat of the ''prytaneis'' (Executive (government), executive), and so the seat of government in ancient Greece. The term is used to describe any of a range of ancient structures ...
, an important building with governing administrative duties, in Athens as well as a host of other buildings with both administrative and religious duties in order to create a unified state. Thucydides also attributes Theseus with the "Synoecia" which translates to "Feast of Union."
Koen Van Gelder recognizes that modern scholars generally disagree with this traditional foundation of Athens due to a variety of inaccuracies such as when it occurred or whether synoecism was the result of political intentions or cultural ones. The physical records of Attica and Athens have left many elements of the Theseus origin of Athens unreconcilable.
Thomas has adduced arguments in support of the unity of the territory of Attica by the end of the Mycenaean period. Although her arguments seem convincing to me, they do not furnish absolute proof of a Bronze Age ''synoikismos''; however, a political unification must have preceded the physical ''synoikismos'' at the end of the Bronze Age, or resulted from it, so that, on the threshold of the Iron Age, Athens was the only state in Attica. O. Broneer's reflection on the large quantities of lead found in the Mycenaean fountain on the Acropolis
An acropolis was the settlement of an upper part of an ancient Greek city, especially a citadel, and frequently a hill with precipitous sides, mainly chosen for purposes of defense. The term is typically used to refer to the Acropolis of Athens, ...
and the Athenian hold of the Laurium
Laurium or Lavrio ( ell, Λαύριο; grc, Λαύρειον (later ); before early 11th century BC: Θορικός ''Thorikos''; from Middle Ages until 1908: Εργαστήρια ''Ergastiria'') is a town in southeastern part of Attica, Greec ...
must also be taking into consideration.
Aristotle
In
Aristotle
Aristotle (; grc-gre, Ἀριστοτέλης ''Aristotélēs'', ; 384–322 BC) was a Greek philosopher and polymath during the Classical period in Ancient Greece. Taught by Plato, he was the founder of the Peripatetic school of phil ...
's
Politics
Politics (from , ) is the set of activities that are associated with making decisions in groups, or other forms of power relations among individuals, such as the distribution of resources or status. The branch of social science that studies ...
, synoecism was initiated via the community. Communities would come together in order to consolidate power and legalize and enforce these shared notions of what is acceptable and what is not.
To Aristotle, synoecism is what drives civilization to form governments. It begins as the union between a man and woman who create a household.
Households, in turn, seek out larger networks of other connected households until the community reaches a point at which it can sustain itself in order to facilitate the enforcement of a collective good.
The synoecism of Greek individuals into households, towns, and larger communities ensures a level of stability which is afforded to those who participate in the union. It is through the synoecism, according to Aristotle, that the Greeks are able to differentiate themselves from outsiders who are otherwise considered barbarians.
Politics professes a fundamental belief that without the laws and justice synoecism provides, mankind is just another animal.
Prevalent in Aristotle's Politics is the concept of communal strength. Greeks on their own are considered to be weaker than if they were to act as a whole. They are vulnerable to floods and famines as well as diseases to wiping out their singular contributions to the Greek world.
As a state, Greeks are instead able to produce and create above their individual ceilings.
Culture
Prior to synoecism, the people in the Greek mainland consistently shared similar ideologies and cultural beliefs. It is notable that the Greeks possessed a shared system of writing both archaically and classically which aided separate and distinguishable villages in forming larger cohesive polities. Works like Homer's ''
Iliad
The ''Iliad'' (; grc, Ἰλιάς, Iliás, ; "a poem about Ilium") is one of two major ancient Greek epic poems attributed to Homer. It is one of the oldest extant works of literature still widely read by modern audiences. As with the ''Odysse ...
'' and ''
Odyssey
The ''Odyssey'' (; grc, Ὀδύσσεια, Odýsseia, ) is one of two major Ancient Greek literature, ancient Greek Epic poetry, epic poems attributed to Homer. It is one of the oldest extant works of literature still widely read by moder ...
'' describe a historically united Greek front against foreigners in Anatolia and were likewise admired and celebrated universally by the Greeks. Homer's ''Iliad'' even provides a historical precedent for the unity of certain Greek polities.
Clan after clan poured out from the ships and huts onto the plain... innumerable as the leaves and blossoms in their season... the Athenians from their splendid citadel,... the citizens of Argos and Tiryns of the Great Walls... troops... from the great stronghold of Mycenae, from wealthy Corinth,... from Knossos,... Phaistos,... and other troops that had their homes in Crete of the Hundred Towns.
There is a historical literary precedent for Greek synoecism before many of the developments in democracy or oligarchy take place in the 5th thought the 3rd century delineating the Kyklos of archaic Greece.
![Model_of_ancient_Olympia,_British_Museum3](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c0/Model_of_ancient_Olympia%2C_British_Museum3.jpg)
Festivals
Among the ancient Greeks, festivals represented opportunities to continue synoecism as well as reform or reinforce it. Festivals provided central locations to the numerous and scattered Greek city states at which information could be exchanged and social relationships maintained.
The Olympics
The modern Olympic Games or Olympics (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques) are the leading international sporting events featuring summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a vari ...
, being perhaps the largest example of synoecismatic festivals, were a pan-Hellenistic contest under which attracted Greeks at an international scale. At the games, Greeks would recognize basic similarities between themselves and other city-states through their shared enjoyment of the competitions which contributed to broader notions of synoecism through athletic representation of city-states.
Individual athletes would gain notoriety and recognition for winning events for their cities.
Theoretically, higher levels of visibility for city-states would grant increasing opportunities to expand sovereignty and establish themselves as real political units. Olympic truces are evidence of this effect. If one city-state were to invade or go to war with another city-state during an Olympic truce, the aggressor would not be allowed into the games. Therefore, having an athlete representative in the games meant a recognition of a city-states own sovereignty on a pan-Hellenistic scale.
Religion
In Aristotle's Politics a responsibility of the polis is its reverence to the gods.
Due to this, many religious roles were in fact elected offices and responsibilities of the deme as a whole.
Successful synoecism can also be attributed to proper integration of new or reformed state religion.
In 408-407 BCE the synoecism of the cities of Lindos, Ialysus, and Camirus formed the new Rhodian state.
The synoecism is reflected in the selection of their eponymous priest as they were chosen from the demes of the three collective states now composing Rhodes. It is from the annual election of said priests that the synoecism of the Rhodian state can be dated precisely.
Oligarchies
Ancient Greek states not democratically governed used the word "polis" in their public documents to signify sovereign power. The
Doric Doric may refer to:
* Doric, of or relating to the Dorians of ancient Greece
** Doric Greek, the dialects of the Dorians
* Doric order, a style of ancient Greek architecture
* Doric mode, a synonym of Dorian mode
* Doric dialect (Scotland)
* Doric ...
states of
Crete
Crete ( el, Κρήτη, translit=, Modern: , Ancient: ) is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the 88th largest island in the world and the fifth largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, after Sicily, Sardinia, Cyprus, and ...
and
Sparta
Sparta ( Doric Greek: Σπάρτα, ''Spártā''; Attic Greek: Σπάρτη, ''Spártē'') was a prominent city-state in Laconia, in ancient Greece. In antiquity, the city-state was known as Lacedaemon (, ), while the name Sparta referre ...
preserved the polis separate from the demos. As late as the second century AD, Cretan towns continued to denote themselves with "polis".
Sparta
Sparta ( Doric Greek: Σπάρτα, ''Spártā''; Attic Greek: Σπάρτη, ''Spártē'') was a prominent city-state in Laconia, in ancient Greece. In antiquity, the city-state was known as Lacedaemon (, ), while the name Sparta referre ...
, however, deviating from this use of the word, denominated itself "damos" (δᾶμoς) in ancient laws, because it never thought of itself as a body opposed to the
Perioeci
The Perioeci or Perioikoi (, ) were the second-tier citizens of the ''polis'' of Sparta until 200 BC. They lived in several dozen cities within Spartan territories (mostly Laconia and Messenia), which were dependent on Sparta. The ''perioeci'' ...
.
Müller states: "In
oligarchical states, as in Elis, the people in later times remained almost constantly in the country; and it frequently happened that grandfathers and grandchildren had never seen the town: there were also country courts of justice, and other regulations intended to make up for the advantages of a city life. Where the courts of justice were at a distance, and there was no inducement to mechanical industry and internal commerce (see the term
banausos
''Banausos'' (Ancient Greek , plural , ''banausoi'') is a pejorative applied to the class of manual laborers or artisans in Ancient Greece. The related abstract noun – ''banausia'' is defined by Hesychius as "every craft () onductedby mea ...
), the ancient habits of life continued much longer in existence."
Sometime in the early 360's BCE the city of Megalopolis, located in
Arkadia, was founded in order to coordinate a confederacy of city-states against Spartan hegemony in the region.
In an effort to politically unite manage the different confederate city-state members, a council of ten
oikistes
The ''oikistes'' ( gr, οἰκιστής), often anglicized as oekist or oecist, was the individual chosen by an ancient Greek polis
''Polis'' (, ; grc-gre, πόλις, ), plural ''poleis'' (, , ), literally means "city" in Greek. In Ancien ...
was appointed to rule in the city.
This inter-city effort represents a synoecism between the communities of the region into the poleis of Megalopolis with the intention of centralizing political authority.
Democracies
![Ionia,_birthplace_of_Greek_philosophy](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/16/Ionia%2C_birthplace_of_Greek_philosophy.png)
Popular government was first established in the wealthy and populous Greek cities in
Ionia
Ionia () was an ancient region on the western coast of Anatolia, to the south of present-day Izmir. It consisted of the northernmost territories of the Ionian League of Greek settlements. Never a unified state, it was named after the Ionian ...
.
From this history the word and concept of "democracy" is derived. This synoecism was one of the primary causes of
the Kyklos
Social cycle theories are among the earliest social theories in sociology. Unlike the theory of social evolutionism, which views the evolution of society and human history as progressing in some new, unique direction(s), sociological cycle theory ...
in ancient
Hellas. Synoecism also occurred at
Mantineia
Mantineia (also Mantinea ; el, Μαντίνεια; also Koine Greek ''Antigoneia'') was a city in ancient Arcadia, Greece, which was the site of two significant battles in Classical Greek history.
In modern times it is a former municipality in ...
: in the fifth century, after its synoecism, it became a democracy; in the fourth century, it was again divided ("''dioikismos''") and an
oligarchy
Oligarchy (; ) is a conceptual form of power structure in which power rests with a small number of people. These people may or may not be distinguished by one or several characteristics, such as nobility, fame, wealth, education, or corporate, r ...
formed. Later, more political upheaval caused another synoecism, thus instituting another democracy.
This further occurred in the other
Arcadian towns of
Tegea
Tegea (; el, Τεγέα) was a settlement in ancient Arcadia, and it is also a former municipality in Arcadia, Peloponnese, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the Tripoli municipality, of which it is a municipal unit w ...
and
Heraia.
![Mantineia_province](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/fd/Mantineia_province.png)
In ancient
Athens
Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...
, the villages of
Attica
Attica ( el, Αττική, Ancient Greek ''Attikḗ'' or , or ), or the Attic Peninsula, is a historical region that encompasses the city of Athens, the capital of Greece and its countryside. It is a peninsula projecting into the Aegean Se ...
combined with the polis of Athens; consequently the "demos" and "polis" became identical in Athens and the former word assumed preference to denote the whole polity. A four tiered class system outlined by Solon on the basis of income either by the way of monetary wealth, agricultural production or otherwise was introduced in the 6th century as a way of distinguishing between citizens and the rest of the population. These four classes were again transformed under Kleisthenes into a further ten tribes as a way of further democratizing the political system and remove more power from the elite few. The general trend of Athenian power being transferred from a concentrated few to a greater and more evenly distributed percentage of the citizenry is a result of the transition from a loose group of villages to a collective singular polis. Representation of the landowning citizens helped represent the expanded interests of Athens such as navel, commercial, and agrarian ventures. The democratic nature of democracy in Athens helped the synoecism of such a populous center in Ancient Greece.
The Delian League
![Map_athenian_empire_431_BC-en](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/64/Map_athenian_empire_431_BC-en.svg)
The Athenian Empire, also known as the
Delian League
The Delian League, founded in 478 BC, was an association of Greek city-states, numbering between 150 and 330, under the leadership of Athens, whose purpose was to continue fighting the Persian Empire after the Greek victory in the Battle of Pl ...
, was a collection of Greek city-states largely based around the Aegean Sea which operated under the hegemony of Athens. This alliance initially served the purpose of coordinating a united Greek front against a perceived looming Persian threat against the Ionian city-states which bordered it.
The members of the Delian League were made to swear an oath of loyalty to the league and contributed mostly monetarily but in some instances donated ships or other forces.
It was also the case that many democratic members of the League owed their freedom from oligarchic or tyrannical rule to Athens. Because of this, Athens gained an overwhelming advantage in the voting system conducted by relying on the support of democratic city-states Athens had helped into being.
By 454 Athens moved the treasury of the Delian League from the Island of Delos to the Parthenon in Athens.
Benefitting greatly from the influx of cash coming out of the 150-330 members,
Athens used the money to reinforce its own naval supremacy and used the remaining funds to embellish the city with art and architecture.
In order to maintain the new synoecism, Athens began using its greatly expanded military to enforce membership in the League. City-states who wished to leave the alliance were punished by Athens with force such as
Mytilene
Mytilene (; el, Μυτιλήνη, Mytilíni ; tr, Midilli) is the capital of the Greek island of Lesbos, and its port. It is also the capital and administrative center of the North Aegean Region, and hosts the headquarters of the University of ...
and
Melos
Milos or Melos (; el, label=Modern Greek, Μήλος, Mílos, ; grc, Μῆλος, Mêlos) is a volcanic Greek island in the Aegean Sea, just north of the Sea of Crete. Milos is the southwesternmost island in the Cyclades group.
The ''Venus d ...
. No longer considered her allies, Athens eventually began to refer to the members of the Delian League as "all the cities Athens rules."
Athens also extended its authority over members of the League through judicial decisions. Synoecism under the Athenian Empire was enforced by resolving matters of and between states in Athens by courts composed of Athenian citizens and enforcing those decisions through the Athenian military.
Mytilenean Revolt
In 428 BCE Mytilene sought independence from the Athenian Empire by way of a
planned revolt. Despite never occurring, the revolt would have placed Mytilene at the centre of Lesbos synoecism in an effort to consolidate political power under the city's control to the extent that the hegemony of Athens could be overthrown.
The successful synoecism of Lesbos under Mytilenean oligarchs would have caused Athens to reconsider its relationship with the city due to its central organization of the isle's resources.
Unfortunately for Mytilene, Athens learned of this planned synoecism and besieged the city.
Victorious Athenians then voted first for the murder of all male citizen and enslavement of women and children only to reverse their decision and committed only the leaders of the revolt.
Under increased Athenian rule and observation, Mytilene was subjected to forced synoecism under Athens and its autonomy, curbed. Athenian citizens were sent to Lesbos in order to establish a stronger Athenian presence in Lesbos by collecting taxes from the Lesbians.
The city walls of Mytilene were also dismantled under Athenian rule.
Dioecism
A dioecism is essentially the inverse of a synoecism, the releasing of cities, towns or villages from their association with a polis. This process might manifest itself in several ways, such as the settling of new but independent communities within former territory of
Constantinople
la, Constantinopolis ota, قسطنطينيه
, alternate_name = Byzantion (earlier Greek name), Nova Roma ("New Rome"), Miklagard/Miklagarth (Old Norse), Tsargrad ( Slavic), Qustantiniya (Arabic), Basileuousa ("Queen of Cities"), Megalopolis (" ...
on land abandoned due to a contraction of population, or the contraction of
Thessaloniki
Thessaloniki (; el, Θεσσαλονίκη, , also known as Thessalonica (), Saloniki, or Salonica (), is the second-largest city in Greece, with over one million inhabitants in its Thessaloniki metropolitan area, metropolitan area, and the capi ...
out of its former neighborhoods outside the city walls due to the occupation of the countryside by the Turks. A conqueror might break up a polis for various reasons. As part of the settlement of the
Third Sacred War
The Third Sacred War (356–346 BC) was fought between the forces of the Delphic Amphictyonic League, principally represented by Thebes, and latterly by Philip II of Macedon, and the Phocians. The war was caused by a large fine imposed in 3 ...
in 346 BC, the
Amphictyonic League
In Archaic Greece, an amphictyony ( grc-gre, ἀμφικτυονία, a "league of neighbors"), or amphictyonic league, was an ancient religious association of tribes formed before the rise of the Greek ''poleis''.
The six Dorian cities of coasta ...
was commissioned to destroy 21 or 22 cities of
Phocis
Phocis ( el, Φωκίδα ; grc, Φωκίς) is one of the regional units of Greece. It is part of the administrative region of Central Greece. It stretches from the western mountainsides of Parnassus on the east to the mountain range of Vardo ...
, many of which had already been burned. They chose the method of dioecism, returning the ''poleis'' to their constituent ''kōmai'', or villages. The city fortifications were then dismantled. This relatively mild destruction was reversed by Athens and Thebes several years later as they were sympathetic to Phocis but their hands had been legally tied. The cities were re-synoecized and the larger states assisted Phocis to rebuild the fortifications.
The Spartan King Pausanias choosing the method of dioecism rather than conquest, liberated the city of Plataea and granted them an independent "''autonomoi"'' status.
After defeating the occupying Persians, Sparta restored Plataean autonomy and rule over their city and outlying territories differentiating them from the larger hegemony of Athens in the Attica region. This dioecism carried serious political connotations for the Spartans who invaded again during the
Peloponnesian War
The Peloponnesian War (431–404 BC) was an ancient Greek war fought between Athens and Sparta and their respective allies for the hegemony of the Greek world. The war remained undecided for a long time until the decisive intervention of th ...
when it was referenced again by the Plataeans as a way of warning against Spartan interference with their sovereignty or their interests.
The legitimacy of the dioecism and the connotations it brought being that Plataea is an independent city-state entity from Athens was enough so that it caused the invading Spartans to enter negotiations rather than violently raze the city and its hinterlands.
Ancient Rome
In
ancient Rome
In modern historiography, ancient Rome refers to Roman civilisation from the founding of the city of Rome in the 8th century BC to the collapse of the Western Roman Empire in the 5th century AD. It encompasses the Roman Kingdom (753–509 B ...
, some of the kinds of settlement that were incorporated by synoecism into greater municipal polities were the prefecture (''praefectura''), a non-autonomous village administered by a prefect; the ''
oppidum
An ''oppidum'' (plural ''oppida'') is a large fortified Iron Age settlement or town. ''Oppida'' are primarily associated with the Celtic late La Tène culture, emerging during the 2nd and 1st centuries BC, spread across Europe, stretchi ...
'', a fortified, autonomous town; the ''
castellum
A ''castellum'' in Latin is usually:
* a small Roman fortlet or tower,C. Julius Caesar, Gallic War; 2,30 a diminutive of ('military camp'), often used as a watchtower or signal station like on Hadrian's Wall. It should be distinguished from a ...
'', a small fortified place under or previously under martial jurisdiction; the ''
forum
Forum or The Forum (plural forums or fora) may refer to:
Common uses
* Forum (legal), designated space for public expression in the United States
*Forum (Roman), open public space within a Roman city
**Roman Forum, most famous example
*Internet ...
'', a marketplace; the ''conciliabulum'', a meeting place; the ''
vicus
In Ancient Rome, the Latin term (plural ) designated a village within a rural area () or the neighbourhood of a larger settlement. During the Republican era, the four of the city of Rome were subdivided into . In the 1st century BC, Augustus r ...
'', a small, private settlement without government; the ''
canabae
A (plural ) was the Latin term for a hut or hovel and was later (from the time of Hadrian) used typically to mean a town that emerged as a civilian settlement () in the vicinity of a Roman legionary fortress ().
A settlement that grew up outs ...
'', a settlement of dependents in the vicinity of a military base; the ''
pagus
In ancient Rome, the Latin word (plural ) was an administrative term designating a rural subdivision of a tribal territory, which included individual farms, villages (), and strongholds () serving as refuges, as well as an early medieval geogra ...
'', a rural village; the ''gens'', a tribal canton; the ''saltus'', a settlement of ''
coloni'' (farmers) on a large estate, part of which they leased from the ''conductor'' (manager); and the ''
colonia'', a settlement of colonists from
Rome
, established_title = Founded
, established_date = 753 BC
, founder = King Romulus (legendary)
, image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg
, map_caption ...
.
As an archaeological site
"Synoecism" also denominates an ancient
Cretan
Crete ( el, Κρήτη, translit=, Modern: , Ancient: ) is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the 88th largest island in the world and the fifth largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, after Sicily, Sardinia, Cyprus, and ...
archaeological site on the western fringes of
Troullos
Troullos, also known as Trullos, is the archaeological site of an ancient Minoan settlement on Crete. The Troullos site is the easternmost section of the ancient settlement at Archanes. The king of Knossos is believed to have maintained a summer ...
. Artifacts discovered at the site include a
terracotta
Terracotta, terra cotta, or terra-cotta (; ; ), in its material sense as an earthenware substrate, is a clay-based ceramic glaze, unglazed or glazed ceramic where the pottery firing, fired body is porous.
In applied art, craft, construction, a ...
bull figurine, a bronze statuette, and
Late Minoan I pottery.
See also
*
Aegean Civilization
Aegean civilization is a general term for the Bronze Age civilizations of Greece around the Aegean Sea. There are three distinct but communicating and interacting geographic regions covered by this term: Crete, the Cyclades and the Greek mainland ...
*
Minoan Civilization
The Minoan civilization was a Bronze Age Aegean civilization on the island of Crete and other Aegean Islands, whose earliest beginnings were from 3500BC, with the complex urban civilization beginning around 2000BC, and then declining from 1450BC ...
*
Mycenaean Greece
Mycenaean Greece (or the Mycenaean civilization) was the last phase of the Bronze Age
The Bronze Age is a historic period, lasting approximately from 3300 BC to 1200 BC, characterized by the use of bronze, the presence of writing in ...
*
Archaic Greece
Archaic Greece was the period in Greek history lasting from circa 800 BC to the second Persian invasion of Greece in 480 BC, following the Greek Dark Ages and succeeded by the Classical period. In the archaic period, Greeks settled across the ...
*
Classical Greece
Classical Greece was a period of around 200 years (the 5th and 4th centuries BC) in Ancient Greece,The "Classical Age" is "the modern designation of the period from about 500 B.C. to the death of Alexander the Great in 323 B.C." ( Thomas R. Marti ...
*
Hellenistic Greece
Hellenistic Greece is the historical period of the country following Classical Greece, between the death of Alexander the Great in 323 BC and the annexation of the classical Greek Achaean League heartlands by the Roman Republic. This culminated ...
*
Deme
In Ancient Greece, a deme or ( grc, δῆμος, plural: demoi, δημοι) was a suburb or a subdivision of Athens and other city-states. Demes as simple subdivisions of land in the countryside seem to have existed in the 6th century BC and ear ...
*
Municipium
In ancient Rome, the Latin term (pl. ) referred to a town or city. Etymologically, the was a social contract among ("duty holders"), or citizens of the town. The duties () were a communal obligation assumed by the in exchange for the privi ...
*
Polis
''Polis'' (, ; grc-gre, πόλις, ), plural ''poleis'' (, , ), literally means "city" in Greek. In Ancient Greece, it originally referred to an administrative and religious city center, as distinct from the rest of the city. Later, it also ...
*
Synoikia The Synoikia ( el, συνοικία) was an ancient Greek festival held in Athens commemorating the Synoikismos, political unification of Attica. It was also called the Thesean Synoikismos and the Feast of Union, and celebrated Theseus as founder of ...
*
Xenelasia
Xenelasia ( grc, ξενηλασία, ) was the practice in ancient Doric Crete and Lacedæmonia of expelling foreigners deemed injurious to the public welfare. The isolationist customs of Sparta (which included discouraging Spartan citizens from ...
*
Ostracism
Ostracism ( el, ὀστρακισμός, ''ostrakismos'') was an Athenian democratic procedure in which any citizen could be expelled from the city-state of Athens for ten years. While some instances clearly expressed popular anger at the cit ...
References
Bibliography
*
External links
{{wiktionary, synoecism
*
Edward Soja
Edward William Soja (; 1940–2015) was a self-described urbanist, a noted postmodern political geographer and urban theorist on the planning faculty at UCLA, where he was Distinguished Professor of Urban Planning, and the London School of Ec ...
. 2003.
Writing the City Spatially" City 7:3.
Society of ancient Greece
Greek words and phrases
Political science terminology
Political philosophy
Democracy
Theseus