a polis is what
Polis (/ Ë p É l Éª s /; Greek: ÏÏÎ»Î¹Ï pronounced ), plural poleis (/ Ë p É l eÉª z /, ÏÏÎ»ÎµÎ¹Ï), literally means city in Greek. It can also mean a body of citizens. In modern historiography, polis is normally used to indicate the ancient Greek city-states, like Classical Athens and its contemporaries, and thus is often translated as city-state.