@inbook{10.2307/j.ctt7s4b6.10, ISBN = {9780691146249}, URL = {http://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt7s4b6.10}, abstract = {Classical Athens, as a Greek polis, is rightly understood as a “state” in the ordinary historical and social-scientific sense of the term.¹ Yet democratic Athens was in certain respects quite different from most other Greek poleis, and all poleis are different in various ways from contemporary nation-states. Most obviously, while it was very large for a polis, Athens, with its territory of 2,500 square kilometers and population of about 250,000, would be a tiny nation-state.² Equally important, if less obvious, is the consideration that Athens, like other Greek poleis, existed in a hypercompetitive environment and was constantly at risk of}, bookauthor = {Josiah Ober}, booktitle = {Democracy and Knowledge: Innovation and Learning in Classical Athens}, pages = {80--117}, publisher = {Princeton University Press}, title = {COMPETITION, SCALE, AND VARIETIES OF KNOWLEDGE}, year = {2008} }