The Development and Dissolution of Polis

The Greek States in Sicily during the Classical Period

Bibliographic Data

ID21489280
AuthorsLihua Li (0000-0003-3154-9576, South China Normal University, corresponding author), Li Lihua (South China Normal University)
Year2025
Volume46
Issue1
Pages192-208
Publication date2025-01-02
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueSocial Sciences in China (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0252-9203 • E-ISSN: 1940-5952
PublisherInforma UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/02529203.2025.2513822
OpenAlexW4411498430
LanguageEN
References cited17

During the Classical period, the Greek tyrants, with Syracuse as their center, established a state that governed most of Sicily and southern Italy. In terms of state structure and organizational methods, the Syracusan city-state grew strong through its siphoning effect on surrounding areas, while other city-states gradually dissolved. The two formed a hierarchical structure characterized by coercion, utilitarianism, and totality and linked by corresponding political organizational methods, which differed significantly from the logic of city-state governance. In terms of national identity, the Greeks in Sicily lacked the foundation for identification with their native Greek city-states. Memory identification related to the city’s founding myths and regional identification related to the concept of Sikeliotai emerged successively, but in effect, they were subordinated to the tyrant’s identification, marking a shift in the collective identity of the people from essential will to elective will. The Greek state in Sicily was not an isolated, static union of city-state “communities,” but rather a regional, connected “society” that constantly interacted with its surrounding areas

Aesthetics · Ancient history · Art · Classical period · Literature · Ancient Mediterranean Archaeology and History · Byzantine Studies and History · Classical Antiquity Studies · History · Philosophy

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