Hellenic Polis

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Though all were Greeks , people of the polis can be divided into 3 main categories:
1-The citizens: they were the natives who were born in the polis . They enjoyed their own freedom on the condition that they avoid threatening the polis' safety and if this condition was broken , punishment would be what they reaped . Besides , they enjoyed many rights , the most important of which were as follows:
A- The right of voting: the king of any polis couldn’t take any decision before the acceptance of his people through voting . Afterwards , the king had to do what people chose , even if it was against his desire .
B- The right of joining the army during the war: if any one refused , he would be turned to a slave .
C-Paying taxes: resembling privilege , taxes were not paid in the form of money but everyone was responsible for undertaking something , a person might be responsible , for example , for building a temple .
D-Participation in the official worship of the city: each city had an altar around which citizens gathered in the city's official ceremony .
2-The non- citizens: the large majority of the non-citizens were merchants , traders and craftsmen . Though free , they didn’t have any of the rights enjoyed by the citizens . That is , if a non-citizen stayed in a polis , he would never have the citizenship of this polis .
3-The slaves: one could be taken into slavery once failing to pay back a sum of money he had borrowed . When caught as a thief , a citizen was taken as a slave , and if caught again , he was to be expelled . Plus , the father inside a family had the right to sell any of the family members as a slave .