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The focus of this article is on a concept that extends beyond the individual polis: the formation of alliances among various poleis. Groups of poleis with shared interests, such as building a strong military for offense or defense, might form alliances, like the
Ionians who defended the Greek coast
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with a politeia, or "constitution", which established citizenship. Citizens managed the state through elected magistracies and the assembly. These institutions, claiming supreme political power, directly performed their constitutional duties across executive, judicial, or legislative domains. While
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encompassed functions like defense, diplomacy, economics, and religious practices among its member states. This association more closely resembled a confederation rather than a federal union, like the one
Alexander created. Members of the alliance primarily contributed taxes, men, and equipment,
118:), meaning "common thing", in the sense of "public", had many applications, some societal, some governmental. An abstract noun formed from the neuter of the adjective, koinos, "common", the koinon could mean any sort of organization. It had more than one meaning in the governmental sense.
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of
Anatolia against incoming Iranians. In such cases, the concept of "the public thing" or commonwealth would be extended to the alliance itself. To differentiate the alliance from a single republic, an ethnic name might be used, such as "the alliance of the Ionians."
180:," as the member states guarded their independence jealously. Even so, in the Delian League, the most powerful state, Athens, managed to control the other states to such a degree as now to be called "the Athenian Empire."
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The alliance was then "the common thing of the allies," as it is in
Isocrates 14.21, where the allies are symmachoi ("fighters in common,"), and the alliance is a symmachia. The league was not strictly a
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political theory had not yet conceptualized the three-branch system common in modern republics, the functions existed in various forms, including the military, law courts, and economic regulation.
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Two words, koinon followed by the genitive of a key word, such as the ethnic, the name of the place of creation, or the name of the chief state.
29:κοινόν συμμαχῶν (koinon symmachon, "League of the Allies", where the name of the league appears in the genitive case in place of "allies."
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Etymology: "common thing" for koinon, "co-combatantship" for symmachia.
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320:(First ed.). Blackwell Publishing Ltd. pp. 3798–3799.
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rather than directly managing or issuing binding commands.
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318:The Encyclopedia of Ancient History
316:Corsten, Thomas (2013). "Koinon".
16:League of poleis in ancient Greece
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258:List of ancient Greek alliances
331:Mackil, Emily (May 18, 2013).
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231:was set up in the islands of
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389:Leagues in Greek Antiquity
374:Leagues in Greek Antiquity
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191:Some examples follow. In
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334:Creating a Common Polity
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394:Greek words and phrases
303:A Greek-English Lexicon
376:at Wikimedia Commons
253:Symmachia (alliance)
205:Lacedaemonian League
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142:res publica
383:Categories
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213:Roman rule
201:Molossians
178:federation
132:One was a
79:Government
299:"κοινός"
247:See also
215:, and a
161:Alliance
150:republic
140:, Latin
138:politeia
237:Spetses
219:of the
199:of the
136:or its
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229:Koinon
217:Koinon
209:Sparta
197:Koinon
193:Epirus
185:koinon
112:Κοινόν
103:Koinon
95:Koinon
87:League
37:Poleis
26:Koinon
19:Poleis
264:Notes
241:Psara
233:Hydra
134:polis
128:polis
122:Polis
116:Koina
108:Greek
352:2014
339:ISBN
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