''Koinon'' ( el, Κοινόν, pl. Κοινά, ''Koina''), meaning "common", in the sense of "public", had many interpretations, some societal, some governmental. The word was the neuter form of the adjective, roughly equivalent in the governmental sense to Latin res publica, "the public thing". Among the most frequent uses is "

commonwealth A commonwealth is a traditional English term for a political community founded for the common good. Historically, it has been synonymous with "republic". The noun "commonwealth", meaning "public welfare, general good or advantage", dates from the ...

", the government of a single state, such as the Athenian. Frequent in the historical writings is a sense of "league" or "

federation A federation (also known as a federal state) is a political entity characterized by a union of partially self-governing provinces, states, or other regions under a central federal government ( federalism). In a federation, the self-gover ...

" an association of distinct

city-state A city-state is an independent sovereign city which serves as the center of political, economic, and cultural life over its contiguous territory. They have existed in many parts of the world since the dawn of history, including cities such as ...

s in a ''

sympoliteia A ''sympoliteia'' ( gr, συμπολιτεία, , joint citizenship), anglicized as sympolity, was a type of treaty for political organization in ancient Greece. By the time of the Hellenistic period, it occurred in two forms. In mainland Greece, ...

''. As government of a league, ''koinon'' comprised such functions as defense, diplomacy, economics, and religious practices among its member states. The word was carried over to other political associations in mediaeval and modern Greek history. In

Epirus sq, Epiri rup, Epiru , native_name_lang = , settlement_type = Historical region , image_map = Epirus antiquus tabula.jpg , map_alt = , map_caption = Map of ancient Epirus by Heinri ...

itself there had in ancient times existed the ''Koinon'' of the

Molossians The Molossians () were a group of ancient Greek tribes which inhabited the region of Epirus in classical antiquity. Together with the Chaonians and the Thesprotians, they formed the main tribal groupings of the northwestern Greek group. On t ...

. There was a Lacedaemonian League(κοινὸν τῶν Λακεδαιμονίων), centred on

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 referr ...

and its old dominions for a period under Roman rule, a ''Koinon'' of the Macedonians, also under Roman rule. In modern Greek history, during the

Greek War of Independence The Greek War of Independence, also known as the Greek Revolution or the Greek Revolution of 1821, was a successful war of independence by Greek revolutionaries against the Ottoman Empire between 1821 and 1829. The Greeks were later assisted by ...

, a local self-government termed ''Koinon'' was set up in the islands of Hydra,

Spetses Spetses ( el, Σπέτσες, grc, Πιτυούσσα "Pityussa", Arvanitika: Πετσε̱) is an upscale affluent island in Attica, Greece. It is included as one of the Saronic Islands. Until 1948, it was part of the old prefecture of Argolis ...

and Psara. Some federations termed ''Koinon'' were: *

Ionian League The Ionian League ( grc, Ἴωνες, ''Íōnes''; , ''koinón Iōnōn''; or , ''koinē sýnodos Iōnōn''; Latin: ''commune consilium''), also called the Panionic League, was a confederation formed at the end of the Meliac War in the mid-7th ce ...

(Κοινὸν Ἰώνων, ''Koinon Ionon''), formed in the 7th century BC * Koinon of the Aeinautae, recorded on an inscription which was found in

Eretria Eretria (; el, Ερέτρια, , grc, Ἐρέτρια, , literally 'city of the rowers') is a town in Euboea, Greece, facing the coast of Attica across the narrow South Euboean Gulf. It was an important Greek polis in the 6th and 5th centur ...

, island

Euboea Evia (, ; el, Εύβοια ; grc, Εὔβοια ) or Euboia (, ) is the second-largest Greek island in area and population, after Crete. It is separated from Boeotia in mainland Greece by the narrow Euripus Strait (only at its narrowest poi ...

, dated to the 5th century BC * Acarnanian League (Κοινὸν τῶν Ἀκαρνάνων, ''Koinon ton Akarnanon''), existing 5th century BC to c. 30 BC, with interruptions * Chalcidian League (Κοινὸν τῶν Χαλκιδέων, ''Koinon ton Chalkideon''), existing c. 430 to 348 BC *

Phocian League Phocis was an ancient region in the central part of Ancient Greece, which included Delphi. A modern administrative unit, also called Phocis, is named after the ancient region, although the modern region is substantially larger than the ancient o ...

(Κοινὸν τῶν Φωκέων, ''Koinon ton Phokeon''), existing 6th century BC to 3rd century AD, with interruptions * Thessalian League (Κοινὸν τῶν Θεσσάλων, ''Koinon ton Thessalon''), existing 363 BC to 3rd century AD, with interruptions * League of the Magnetes (Κοινὸν τῶν Μαγνητῶν, ''Koinon ton Magneton''), existing 197 BC to 3rd century AD, with interruptions * Aenianian League (Κοινὸν τῶν Αἰνάνων, ''Koinon ton Ainianon'') *

Arcadian League The Arcadian League ( grc, ) was a league of city-states in ancient Greece. It combined the various cities of Arcadia, in the Peloponnese, into a single state. The league was founded in 370 BC, taking advantage of the decreased power of Sparta, ...

(''Koinon ton Arkadon'') * League of the Oeteans (Κοινὸν τῶν Οἰταίων, ''Koinon ton Oitaion'') * Euboean League (Κοινὸν τῶν Εὐβοιέων, ''Koinon ton Euboieon'') * Epirote League (Κοινὸν τῶν Ἠπειρωτῶν ''Koinon Epiroton''), existing from c. 320 to c. 170 BC * League of the Islanders (Κοινὸν τῶν Νησιωτῶν, ''Koinon ton Nesioton''), existing from c. 314 to c. 220 BC and 200 to 168 BC * Cretan League under the Roman Empire to the 4th century *

Koinon of Macedonians The League of the Macedonians ( el, Κοινὸν τῶν Μακεδόνων, ''Koinòn tōn Makedónōn'') was a confederationally-organized commonwealth institution (i.e., an ancient Greek regional state or '' koinon'') consisting of all Maced ...

existing from 3rd century to Roman period * Lycian League, founded in 168 BC * League of Free Laconians, a league of cities in Laconia established by Roman emperor Augustus in 21 BC *

Koinon of the Zagorisians The ''Koinon'' of the Zagorisians ( el, Κοινόν τῶν Ζαγορισίων), alternatively Commons of the Zagorisians, League of the Zagorisians, League of Zagori, or Nohaye Zagor in Turkish, was an autonomous region of the Ottoman Empire. ...

under the Ottoman Empire, 1670–1868 *

Aetolian League The Aetolian (or Aitolian) League ( grc-gre, Κοινὸν τῶν Αἰτωλῶν) was a confederation of tribal communities and cities in ancient Greece centered in Aetolia in central Greece. It was probably established during the early Hellen ...

(Κοινὸν τῶν Αἰτώλων, ''Koinon ton Aitolon''), early 3rd century BC to roughly 189 BC when it came under Roman influence *

Achaean League The Achaean League ( Greek: , ''Koinon ton Akhaion'' "League of Achaeans") was a Hellenistic-era confederation of Greek city states on the northern and central Peloponnese. The league was named after the region of Achaea in the northwestern P ...

(Κοινὸν τῶν Ἀχαιῶν, ''Koinon ton Achaion''), 280 BC to 146 BC, dissolved by the Romans after the Battle of Corinth (146 BC)

References

{{Reflist Greek words and phrases