Ryan Staggs Dr.

Craig Classics 222 7 March 2012 Poleis Aristotle once said, A human being by nature is an animal who lives in a polis (Politics, 1253a2-3). This response is supported by many details, including the fact people in ancient Greece would be lost, empty, and dull without their polis to define them. There are also many examples in which this response to Aristotle is supported in the ways people of all types act in the world today. Lastly, the best way this is supported is how Sophocles uses poleis in his plays. Another important thing to also take into consideration is how Euripides has drastically different views on most everything. All in all, every human identifies with a polis naturally and is defined by their polis in every aspect of their lives. The word polis literally means city-state, but that does not give a full understanding of how poleis were used by the Greeks. People who lived in ancient Greece were who they were because they lived in a polis. Greece was mainly based on slave labor in an economic sense, and consequently the Greeks did not believe everyone was created equal. They believed that the polis in which one lived was what decided one's human worth. There was not a decision to be made about living in a polis because this occurred naturally to them, not by their own choice. This led to the Greeks believing only the gods or beasts were the ones who did not live in a polis. For example, Aristotle said, He who is unable to live in society, or who has no need because he is sufficient for

himself, must be either a beast or a god (Politics 1253a27). This is because the gods did not need anything to define or describe who they are and what they are worth. It was believed any man who tried to live outside of his natural polis could not achieve his end goals or complete happiness in life. This is because man alone is not strong enough to achieve these things on his own. As one can see, Greeks only identify themselves by the polis they live in. In addition to the Greeks naturally desiring to live in a polis, the people of the world today also desire to live in a polis whether they realize it or not. People today are usually defined by the culture(s) of where they live and the type of people they live around. For example, if somebody grew up in the southern United States, it would be natural for them to identify with the southern people in the state/polis that surrounds them. If they try to move away from their natural polis and become something they naturally are not, they will not be able to sustain complete happiness in most cases. This is the classic example of one growing up in a small town, leaving for the big city, and coming back home eventually because they realized they could not achieve life's ending goals outside of their natural polis. That said, there are a few bad situations when people are born into the wrong place and have to try to find their polis. They must realize where it is they can achieve complete happiness and achieve all of their goals, and then they will know they have found their natural polis. Contrary to what the Greeks believed, sometimes people in these bad situations can never find their polis. This is due to physical and financial limitations which people cannot control. In conclusion, the people of today are similar to the ancient Greeks in being defined by their natural polis. Finally, the strongest argument for Aristotle's thoughts on humans and their

natural polis is how Sophocles portrayed this idea in his tragic plays. Sophocles clearly supports the idea of humans living in a polis, and Euripides believes people are defined by the actions and choices they make. Euripides was believed to be an atheist, and this alone prevented him from understanding the idea of man naturally needing a polis. Sophocles, on the other hand, uses the idea of the polis in most of his plays. For example, in Antigone when Haemon and Creon are in the middle of a shocking argument Haemon says, A man who thinks that he alone is right... (Antigone p.188 l.707-710). This is Haemon telling Creon he should not think he alone is right and that he needs to listen to other people. Creon acts here as if he does not need his polis, and that he is right about everything without listening to any of the people who surround him. Sophocles uses Haemon's response to Creon to show how a man needs his polis, or else they will be found empty. Another example is in Sophocles Oedipus at Colonus when Antigone is talking to Oedipus and says, No matter where you look, you will find no man... (Antigone p.90 l.252-253). Here Antigone is telling Oedipus no man can escape his predetermined fate. This supports the idea of having a natural polis because Sophocles is trying to show how no man can escape the fate which awaits them in their polis until death. These two examples from Sophocles' plays Antigone and Oedipus at Colonus are only a few of many examples of poleis in his tragic plays, and they clearly show how Sophocles supported the idea of humans naturally living in a polis. There is an abundance support for Aristotle's quote A human being by nature is an animal who lives in a polis (Politics, 1253a2-3). Greeks use their poleis' to define who they are, obtain ultimate happiness, and achieve their life goals. Even in the world today, most people would be emotionally empty without a polis. There is no sense made

of man attempting to live without a polis, and Sophocles makes this point clear in his tragedies. He uses the characters actions and words to describe what it might be like if man desired to live without a polis. Overall, ancient Greeks and modern humans abide by Aristotle's main assertion about poleis.