Hellenistic Cities and Democracies: A Varied Landscape

Manuela Mari University of Bologna “Alma Mater Studiorum”

The studies of the last decades have highlighted the great vitality of Greek civic institutions in the Hellenistic age and on the ability of the poleis to adapt to a totally changed political landscape. Many, and not only recent, studies have insisted on the idea that the Hellenistic period saw the emergence of a largely shared pattern of the polis, characterized by democratic institutions and ideology, both ultimately derived from the Athenian classical model.
In this lecture attention will be focused on some problematic aspects raised by the idea of a ‘great convergence’ of the Greek poleis and the simple derivation from the Athenian model will be questioned. This analysis aims to provide a contribution to the more general and always lively discussion on the viability and actual character of Hellenistic democracies.