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Poverty has many obvious disadvantages, but in the context of ancient Greece it contributed to the growth of a culture and political system unlike any other. Lacking large distinctions between the rich and the poor, kings and priests could not rise to power and prominence, and Greeks were forced to develop different, more democratic systems of government. Moreover, the poor soil that covered much of Greece encouraged migration to the Aegean islands and the shore of Asia Minor, where Greeks banded together in small, tightly-knit communities. The Greeks' similarity of condition and their residence among foreign peoples created the preconditions for the growth of the polis, or city-state. Poleis were centers of artistic, political, and commercial activity. They were also the breeding ground for many modern beliefs. The city of Sparta was a forerunner of Marxism, dividing all property equally between citizens. Athens developed a political democracy in which the definition of a citizen widened to include people from outside of the nobler classes, and government was made accessible to peasants as well as the wealthy. Greek cities supported artists who shaped contemporary ideas about literature, poetry, drama, and architecture. At the same time, the poleis had less savory aspects, traces of which can still be seen in modern societies. Democracy was always relevant to a small portion of the population consisting of free, adult, male citizens. Foreign merchants and other non-citizens were denied basic social privileges-they were not permitted to own land or houses, much less act in official capacities. Greek poleis' economies rested on a base of slave labor, which was justified by the claim that slaves were naturally suited for their servitude. Individual men's ability to participate in representative government often was tied to the legal subjugation of wives, who were married young, confined in small, crowded houses and denied access to education. The only women who were well-schooled were the hetaerae, or courtesans, and even they were expected to use their knowledge to entertain men, not to please themselves. Greek cultural achievements reflected this misogyny—some of the most celebrated Greek art glorified male prowess and a corresponding hostility toward women.
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