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evolution


            Along with the evolution of cities over the course of human history came the evolution of the dominant class structure. The relationship between the city and the dominant class is interdependent and one is constantly reshaping the other. While there are commonalities among the ancient Greek city and the Medieval European city, there are also notable differences. An important component in comparing the two is understanding the social dynamics around which the city was structured.
             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 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 integral to Greek city life and a tightly woven communal fabric was created binding the citizens together to value the state above the individual (35). .
             By contrast Pirenne looks at the growth of cities during the Medieval period in European history. He notes the resilience of cities from the period that were left over from the Roman empire and as such withered in size at the demise of the empire (39). He points out that it would seem logical for the cities to have ceased to exist as the dissolution of the trade network stripped them of their previous purpose. Similar to the early Greek cities though, these early European cities had a well developed intellectual life that managed to sustain them. While the former revolved around the citizen, or the free native-born male, the salvation for the latter lay in the role of the clergy and the nobility as the intellectual focal point of the period.


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