A classical republic, according to certain modern political theorists, is a state of Classical Antiquity that is considered to have a republican form of government, a state where sovereignty rested with the people rather than a ruler or monarch. These include states like Sparta, Athens, and the Roman Republic. The Romans used the term res publica to describe their state, but the most common sense of that term is closer to body politic or commonwealth. Classical antiquity is a broad and perhaps misleading term for a long period of European, Middle East and North African history, that begins roughly with the earliest recorded Greek poetry of Homer (7th century BC), and continues through the rise of Christianity and the fall of the Western Roman Empire... In a broad definition a republic is a state or country that is led by people who do not base their political power on any principle beyond the control of the people living in that state or country. ... Sparta (Grk. ... The Acropolis in central Athens, one of the most important landmarks in world history. ... See also Roman Republic (18th century) and Roman Republic (19th century) The Roman Republic (Latin: Res Publica Romanorum) was the republican government of the city of Rome and its territories from 510 BC until the establishment of the Roman Empire, which sometimes placed at 44 BC the year of Caesar... Res publica is a Latin phrase, made of res + publica, literally meaning the thing of the people. // Etymology The word publica is the feminine singular of the 1st and 2nd declension adjective publicus, publica, publicum, which is itself derived from an earlier form, poplicus—relating to the populus [people]. The... Body politic or body corporate and politic means a state or one of its subordinate civil authorities, such as a: province prefecture county municipality city district etc. ... // Definition and linguistics The original phrase common wealth or the common weal is a calque translation of the Latin term res publica (public matters), from which the word republic comes, which was itself used as a synonym for the greek politeia as well as for the republican (i. ...

The idea of republicanism was a creation of the Renaissance. The Renaissance scholars, most prominent among them being Niccolò Machiavelli, looked back on the ancient period with great interest and reverence. They defined republic as any state that was not headed by a monarch - thus including the Spartan diarchy, the Athenian democracy, and the Roman res publica. The Italians, themselves living in Republics like Florence and Venice, looked back on these states as models of social organization. They looked to the history of the classical republics and attempted to emulate their model. In particular, they saw the mixed government of Rome and Sparta as the secret to stability and the pursuit of civic virtue as the key to the citizens' well being. The theory of government based upon this Renaissance study of the past is known as classical republicanism. Other elements the classical republics shared was the central importance of citizenship. The percent of the population that were citizens was quite limited, but they also had important burdens such as military service. The focus on civil virtue also meant that little attention was paid to individual liberties in these states. By Region: Italian Renaissance Northern Renaissance *French Renaissance *German Renaissance *English Renaissance The Renaissance was an influential cultural movement which brought about a period of scientific revolution and artistic transformation, at the dawn of modern European history. ... Detail of the portrait of Machiavelli, ca 1500, in the robes of a Florentine public official Niccolò Machiavelli (May 3, 1469 – June 21, 1527) was a Florentine statesman and political philosopher. ... Diarchy (or dyarchy) is a society or organization with two rulers on equal standing. ... Founded 59 BC as Florentia Region Tuscany Mayor Leonardo Domenici (Democratici di Sinistra) Area  - City Proper  102 km² Population  - City (2004)  - Metropolitan  - Density (city proper) 356,000 almost 500,000 3,453/km² Time zone CET, UTC+1 Latitude Longitude 43°47 N 11°15 E www. ... Location within Italy Venice (Italian Venezia), the city of canals, is the capital of the region of Veneto and of the province of Venice, 45°26′ N 12°19′ E, population 271,663 (census estimate 2004-01-01). ... Mixed government, also known as a mixed constitution, is a form of government that integrated facets of democracy, oligarchy, and monarchy. ... Civic virtue is the cultivation of habits of personal living that are claimed to be important for the success of the individual, the family, and the community, or other groups of people. ... Classical republicanism is the form of republicanism developed during the Renaissance inspired by the government systems and writings of classical antiquity. ... Citizenship is membership in a political community (originally a city but now usually a state), and carries with it rights to political participation; a person having such membership is a citizen. ... Military service is service in the armed forces of a nation or the military arm of a political organization. ... Liberty is generally thought of in English as a condition in which an individual has immunity from the arbitrary exercise of authority; it often also implies the right to exercise political rights such as standing for office. ...

The term classical republic is also sometimes used to describe those later states that are argued to follow the classical model. Thus the United States is sometimes called a classical republic.