This course concentrates on different lines of argumentation to explain the emergence of the Greek "city-state" from the beginning of the Iron Age until the beginning of the Classical Period (ca. 1000–500 BCE). If focuses not just on the renowned examples of Athens and Sparta, known well from history and literature, but also on other small polities and confederations with different political organization. Discussion considers urban geography, settlement pattern data, written inscriptions, and competitive monument building at Panhellenic sanctuaries, among other lines of evidence.