Explain the evolution of the Greek polis and its system of values

Question

Please provide the best answer for the statement.

Answer 1

1. During the eighth century BCE, communities began to organize themselves and exercise authority over their own regions, which were defined by natural boundaries—mountains, rivers, and plains. The population of even the largest communities was principally dedicated to agriculture, and agricultural values—a life of hard, honest work and self-reliance—predominated. The population consisted of “workers”—slaves, for the most part, who made up more than half the population—and landowners.
2. Although Greece was an agricultural society, the polis—not the farm—was the focal point of cultural life. It consisted of a small urban center often surrounding some form of natural citadel, called an akropolis (literally “top of the city”), which could serve as a fortification but which usually functioned as the city-state’s religious center. At the foot of the akropolis was the agora, a large open area that served as public meeting place, marketplace, and civic center.
3. Gradually, the polis came to describe less a place and more a cultural and communal identity. The citizens of the polis owed allegiance and loyalty to it. They depended on and served in its military. They worshiped and trusted in its gods. And they asserted their identity, first of all, by participating in the affairs of the city-state, next by their family involvement, and, probably least of all, by any sense of being Greek.
4., In fact, the Greek poleis were distinguished by their isolation from one another and their fierce independence. The Greek historian Thucydides attributed the independence of the poleis to the historical competition in earlier times for fertile regions of the country.