The Citizen

For the Greeks, citizenship (polites) meant taking an active part in the public life of the polis — sitting in the assembly, serving on juries, holding office. Aristotle (4th c. BCE) gave the classic definition in Politics III: a citizen is one who shares in the offices of judgment and rule. It was a status that shifted from regime to regime and notably excluded women, slaves, and resident foreigners. This participatory ideal of citizenship became a touchstone for later republican and democratic thought.