Early cities in Ancient Greece were very small by modern standards. While a few had populations numbering in the hundreds of thousands, most had under 20,000 citizens and by today’s standards would not be considered as a city by many (Kitto, 33). It is important to note however, what determined citizenship in the early Greek cities. One had to be a free male and could not be foreign born (31). The activities that this specific group was drawn to says a lot about the

A primary factor in this was the middle class’ affect on the shift in the dynamic of liquid capital over landed capital (43). As the middle class reasserted money as a source of economic and political power, the city as the center for commerce became indispensible to achieving this end (44). Pirenne notes that the power positions achieved by the middle class necessitated their development of intellectual skills and knowledge. This in turn began to reshape the middle class as the ingrained relationship between intellectuality and the urban elite permeated the class (44). He states that in fact, “The burgher was initated into them [schools] long before the noble, because what was for the noble only an intellectual luxury was for him a daily need…”(45).

class structure dominating the city as well as the purpose of the city. According to Kitto, the “communal life” was central to the idea of the city (33). Intellectual debate was inte

Some topics in this essay:
Similar Greek, According Kitto, Ancient Greece, Ancient Greek, , Pirenne Thenceforth, Medieval European, middle class, ancient greek, greek cities, greek city, greek city medieval, class structure, dominant class, social dynamics, medieval city, ancient greek city, city medieval,