The Classical period of Ancient Greece saw the emergence of the idea of the ‘Greek’, or being Greek rather than from one’s own Polis (city-state), constructed in contrast to the idea of the ‘non-Greek’. This construct originated from pre-existing ideological frameworks and was affirmed by aspects of Greek culture, historic events and political ideology. This essay seeks to explain how the ‘Greek’ and ‘non-Greek’ identities were constructed, focusing on the