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This List of modern words formed from Greek polis recounts the use of the ancient Greek word
polis to form modern names. The greatest modern use is in place names.
Derived common nouns
Derivatives of polis are common in many modern European languages. This is indicative of the influence of the polis-centred Hellenic world view. Derivative words in English include policy,
polity, police, and politics. In
Greek, words deriving from polis include politēs and politismos, whose exact equivalents in
Latin,
Romance, and other European languages, respectively civis ("citizen"), civilisatio ("civilisation"), etc., are similarly derived.
A number of other common nouns end in -polis. Most refer to a special kind of city or state. Examples include:
-
Acropolis ("high city"),
Athens,
Greece – although not a city-polis by itself, but a fortified citadel that consisted of functional buildings and the Temple in honor of the city-sponsoring god or goddess. The Athenian acropolis was the most famous of all acropolises in the ancient Greek World and its main temple was the Parthenon, in honor of Athena Parthenos (Athena the Virgin). More generally,
Acropolis has been used to describe the upper part of a polis, often a citadel or the site of major temples.
-
Astropolis – a star-scaled city/industry area; a complex space station; a European star-related festival
-
Cosmopolis – a large urban centre with a population of many different cultural backgrounds; a novel written by
Don DeLillo
-
Ecumenopolis – a city that covers an entire
planet, usually seen in science fiction
-
Megalopolis – created by the merging of several cities and their suburbs
-
Metropolis – the mother city of a colony; the see of a metropolitan archbishop; a
metropolitan area (major urban population centre)
-
Necropolis ("city of the dead") – a graveyard
-
Technopolis – a city with high-tech industry; a room of computers; the Internet
City names
City names with numbers
Others refer to part of a city or a group of cities, such as:
1.
Polis, or Polis Chrysochous (
Greek: Πόλις Χρυσοχούς), located on the northwest coast of
Cyprus within the
Paphos District and on the edge of the
Akamas peninsula. During the Cypro-Classical period, Polis became one of the most important ancient Cypriot city-kingdoms on the island, with important commercial relations with the eastern
Aegean Islands,
Attica, and
Corinth. The town is also well known due to its
mythological history, including the site of the Baths of
Aphrodite.
3.
Tripolis – a group of three cities, retained in the names of
Tripoli, Libya,
Tripoli, Greece and
Tripoli, Lebanon
4.
Tetrapolis – a group of four cities
5.
Pentapolis – a group of five cities
6.
Hexapolis – a group of six cities
7.
Heptapolis, Middle Egypt – a group of seven cities
8.
Octapolis, in ancient Caria or Lycia – a group of eight cities
10.
Decapolis, a group of ten cities in the
Levant
12.
Dodecapolis – a group of twelve cities
Descriptive city names
The names of several other towns and cities in Europe and the Middle East have contained the suffix -polis since antiquity or currently feature modernized spellings, such as -pol. Notable examples include:
-
Adrianopolis or Adrianople ("
Hadrian's city"), present-day
Edirne, Turkey
-
Alexandropol ("
Alexandra's city"), currently
Gyumri, Armenia
-
Alexandroupolis ("
Alexander's city"),
Greece
-
Antipolis ("the city across"), the former name for
Antibes, France
-
Constantinopolis or Constantinople ("
Constantine's city"), capital of
Byzantine Empire.
-
Gallipoli (‘beautiful city’)
- Heliopolis (‘
Sun city’) in
ancient and
modern Egypt,
Lebanon, and
Greece
-
Heracleopolis ("
Hercules' city"), Egypt
-
Hermopolis ("
Hermes' city"), several cities in Egypt and on
Siros Island
-
Hierakonpolis ("Hawk city"),
Egypt
-
Hieropolis ("Sacred city"), several cities in the
Hellenistic world, in particular
Hierapolis in southwestern Turkey
-
Istanbul (derived from the Greek phrase "εἰς τὴν Πόλιν" meaning "to the city"), Turkey.
- Istropolis, currently
Bratislava, Slovakia.
-
Lithopolis ("Stone city"), Latin name for
Kamnik, Slovenia
-
Mariupol ("Marios' City"), Ukraine (Greek: Μαριούπολης, Marioupolis)
-
Megalopolis ("Great city"), Greece
-
Neapolis ("New city"), several, including the modern cities of
Nablus and
Naples (
Italian: Napoli), and the adjective
Neapolitan
-
Nicopolis ("Victory city"),
Emmaus in Israel
-
Persepolis ("city of the Persians"),
Iran
-
Philippopolis ("
Philip's city"), the former name for
Plovdiv, Bulgaria.
-
Seuthopolis ("
Seuthes' city"),
Bulgaria
-
Sevastopol ("Venerable city"),
Crimea, Ukraine
-
Simferopol ("city of common good"),
Crimea, Ukraine
-
Sozopol ("Salvaged city"), Bulgaria
-
Stavropol ("city of the cross"), Russia
-
Tiraspol ("
Tiras' city"),
Moldova
Cities with the -polis suffix
The names of other cities were also given the suffix -polis after antiquity, either referring to ancient names or unrelated:
-
Anápolis, Goiás, Brazil
-
Annapolis,
Maryland, United States
-
Augustinópolis, Tocantins, Brazil
-
Biopolis, Singapore
-
Borrazópolis,
Parana, Brazil
-
Cambysopolis, Turkey
-
Cassopolis, Michigan, United States
-
Christianopel, Sweden
-
Copperopolis, California, United States
-
Coraopolis, Pennsylvania, United States
-
Demopolis, Alabama, United States
-
Dianópolis, Tocantins, Brazil
-
Divinópolis, Minas Gerais, Brazil
-
Eunápolis, Bahia, Brazil
-
Florianópolis ("
Floriano's city"),
Santa Catarina, Brazil
-
Gallipolis, Ohio, United States
-
Indianapolis,
Indiana, United States
-
Kannapolis,
North Carolina, United States
-
Lithopolis, Ohio, United States
-
Marijampolė, Lithuania
-
Metropolis, Illinois, United States
-
Minneapolis,
Minnesota, United States
-
Opolis, Kansas, United States
-
Penápolis, São Paulo, Brazil
-
Petrópolis ("
Pedro's city"),
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
-
Piopolis, Quebec, Canada
-
Pirenópolis, Goiás, Brazil
-
Prudentópolis, Paraná, Brazil
-
Quirinópolis, Goiás, Brazil
-
Rondonópolis, Mato Grosso, Brazil
-
Rorainópolis, Roraima, Brazil
-
Salinópolis, Pará, Brazil
-
Sebastopol, California, United States
-
Sophia-Antipolis, France
-
Teresópolis ("
Teresa's city"), Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
-
Teutopolis, Illinois, United States
-
Thermopolis, Wyoming, United States
-
Uniopolis, Ohio, United States