What historians typically designate as the ancient Greek period are the years between 1000 B.C. and 323 B.C. when Alexander the Great died or through the 3rd century C.E., when the Christian era began. The legacy of Greek civilization was greatly influential to the succeeding Roman Empire and to subsequent western cultures.

The Archaic Period and Classical periods (extending from roughly 750 - 323 BC) in Greece, which commenced after a period of altercation with the Dorian tribes from the north, marked a period of flourishing arts and letters in Greece. It was a period of time that produced such poets and dramatists as Homer, Sophocles, Euripides, Sappho arose and which would eventually produce great philosophers such as Aristotle, Plato, Socrates. It was also during this age that the Greeks developed the most influential political form - the city-state, or polis.

This period in Greek history was not all calm, however. The many city-states that comprised the Greek culture were allies when having to defend themselves from external forces but could also become enemies of one another in their efforts to attain a dominant role among the Greek league of states. It was during this time that the Greeks fought the Peloponnesian War, wherein Athens and Sparta vied for supremacy in the region. The Spartans prevailed but, weakened by the war and an unhappy population, were soon defeated by another Greek population, the Thebans. The Thebans in turn were overcome by the Macedonian, as was the rest of the Greek league, with the rise of Philip II of Macedon and later his son, Alexander the Great.

Alexander the Great’s rule and expansionist vision, allowed Athens to reach its greatest political and cultural heights. Achievements during this period include the building of the Parthenon on the Acropolis, the creation of the tragedies of Sophocles, Aeschylus and Euripides and the founding of the philosophical schools of Socrates and Plato.

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The period between the conquest of the Persian Empire by Alexander the Great and the establishment of Roman supremacy is called the Hellenistic Period (336-146 BC) when Greek culture and learning were pre-eminent in the Mediterranean and Asia Minor. The death of Alexander the Great opened the door for unrest among the city-states again and the fragmented Greek territories became vulnerable to the incursions of the Roman Empire. Rome effectively attained dominance over Greek military might by 187 B.C., though Greek culture would prove to be extremely influential over Roman culture and subsequent Western Civilization.

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