According to many thinkers, the concept of citizenship beginning in the early city-states of ancient Greece, albeit others see it as primarily a modern phenomenon dating back only a few hundred years and , for mankind, that the concept of citizenship arose with the first laws. There is a general view that citizenship in ancient times was a simpler relation than modern forms of citizenship, although this view has come under scrutiny. The relation of citizenship has not been a fixed or static relation, however constantly changed within each society, and that according to one view; citizenship might “really have worked” only at select periods during certain times, such as when the Athenian politician Solon made reforms in the early Athenian state.

Needless to say, citizenship is the status of a person recognized under the custom or law of a state that bestows on that person the rights and the duties of citizenship. That may include the right to vote, work and live in the country, the right to return to the country, the right to own real estate, legal protections against the country’s government, and protection through the military or diplomacy. A citizen may also be subject to certain duties, such as a duty to follow the country’s law, to pay taxes, or to serve in the military. In short, rights and responsibilities are concomitant in citizenship.

Since the concept of citizenship has a deep root in the history of Ancient Greece, let us go a bit deeper to this history. The ancient Greeks practiced slavery, women did not have political rights, and a large class of the residents of Athens was comprised of aliens who conducted much of the city's commerce but were denied citizenship. Nevertheless, in spite of these limitations on democracy, the enormous achievements of ancient Athens indicate what is possible when free citizens govern themselves. And for those who were citizens, there was a substantial, though certainly not complete, degree of political equality.

 Although the citizen had by far the best position in Greek society, there were different classes within this group. Possessing more money than everyone else, this class could provide themselves with armor, weapons, and a horse when on military campaign. The aristocrats were often split into powerful family factions or clans who controlled all of the important political positions in the polis. Their wealth came from having property and even more importantly the best land namely the most fertile and the closest to the protection offered by the city walls.

A poorer, second class of citizens existed too. These were men who had land but perhaps less productive plots and situated further from the city, their property was less well-protected than the prime land nearer the city proper. The land might be so far away that the owners had to live on it rather than travel back and forth from the city. These citizens collected together for protection in small village communities, subordinate to the neighboring city. As city populations grew and inheritances became ever more divided amongst siblings, this secondary class grew significantly.

A third group were the middle, business class. Engaged in manufacturing, trade, and commerce, these were the nouveau riche. However, the first aforementioned group jealously guarded their privileges and political monopoly by ensuring only landowners could rise into positions of real power. However, there was some movement between classes. Some could rise through accumulating wealth and influence; others could go down a class by becoming bankrupt - which could lead to a loss of citizenship or even being enslaved. Ill-health, losing out on an inheritance, political upheavals, or war could also result in the ‘best’ getting their feet a little dusty.

Females had few rights in comparison to male citizens. Unable to vote, own land, or inherit, a woman’s place was in the home and her purpose in life was the rearing of children. Contact with non-family males was discouraged and women occupied their time with indoor activities such as wool-work and weaving. Spartan women were treated somewhat differently than in other states, for example, they had to do physical training like men, were permitted to own land, and could drink wine.

In Greek society, slaves were seen as a necessary and perfectly normal part of city-life. Acquired through war and conquest, kidnap and purchase, slaves were simply amongst life’s losers. There were even intellectual arguments from philosophers like Aristotle, which propounded the belief that slaves were demonstrably inferior, a product of their environment and inherited characteristics. Greeks persuaded themselves that it was they who had the best environment and characteristics and the purest blood line and were, therefore, born to rule.

During the renaissance, people transitioned from being subjects of a king or queen to being citizens of a city and later to a nation. Each city had its own law, courts, and independent administration. Moreover, being a citizen often meant being subject to the city’s law besides having power in some instances to help choose officials. City dwellers that had fought alongside nobles in battles to defend their cities were no longer content with having a subordinate social status, but demanded a greater role in the form of citizenship.

Citizenship became in idealized, almost abstract concept and did not signify a submissive relation with a lord or count, but rather indicated the bond between a person and the state in their rather abstract sense of having rights and duties.

The modern idea of citizenship still respects the idea of political participation, but it is usually done through “elaborate systems of political representation at a distance” such as representative democracy. Modern citizenship is much more passive; action is delegated to others; citizenship is often a constraint on acting, not an impetus to act. Nevertheless, citizens are usually aware of their obligations to authorities and are aware that these bonds often limit what they can do.