This chapter examines the ancient Greek origins of European civility, drawing on Alasdair MacIntyre’s analysis in After Virtue. It begins with Homeric heroic society, where fixed social roles, fate, and divine intervention defined morality, and poets served as custodians of narrative unity, moral judgement, and communal meaning. In contrast, classical Athens introduced complexity: tragic dramas (e.g. Sophocles’s Philoctetes and Antigone) exposed rival moral frameworks, the separation of individual goodness from civic duty, and irreconcilable conflicts among virtues. This era saw the rise of agonistic discourse, intertwining politics, philosophy, and theatre in contested truth and public deliberation Athenian public architecture: agoras, theatres, and temples like the Parthenon made possible and visible political, religious, and cultural integration, manifesting divine protection, communal identity, and aesthetic harmony while fostering civic participation in decision making and also implementing policies. The chapter culminates in Aristotle’s concept of political friendship (politike philia), which binds the polis through concord (homonoia) and counters faction. Citizenship requires practical wisdom (phronesis), civic education (paideia), and habituation in virtue, encompassing moral, political, and aesthetic judgement. This enables citizens to rule and be ruled in turn for the common good. Through poetry, drama, architecture, and philosophy, classical Greek culture forged an integrated vision of communal life, laying the foundation for European notions of civility as civil responsibility.