Greek Poleis: The Loyalty Of A City

Although in times of great need the separate Greek poleis worked together in order to overcome a hardship, they were mainly self-interested and lacked a sense of unity with other cities, due to the overwhelming loyalty each citizen had for his own polis. This loyalty had been instilled in its citizens through the actions of the government; there was a system of government in each individual city that would set up ways for the citizens to naturally become loyal. Consequently, citizens considered the interests of their city a priority, reflecting the loyalty that they had developed throughout the
years.