Social Sciences in China, 2025

Vol. 46, No. 1, 2025

The Development and Dissolution of Polis: The Greek States in Sicily during the Classical Period

(Abstract)

Li Lihua

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.

Keywords: Greek city-states, Sicily, tyranny, Syracuse