2. Ancient Greece was a civilization
belonging to a period of Greek history
from the Greek Dark Ages to c. 5th
century BC to the end of antiquity (c.
600 AD). Immediately following this
period was the beginning of the Early
Middle Ages and the Byzantine era
3. Included in ancient Greece is
the period of Classical Greece,
which flourished during the 5th
to 4th centuries BC. Classical
Greece began with the era of
the Persian Wars. Because of
conquests by Alexander the
Great of Macedonia, Hellenistic
civilization flourished from
Central Asia to the western
end of the Mediterranean Sea.
4. Classical Greek culture, especially
philosophy, had a powerful influence
on the Roman Empire, which carried
a version of it to many parts of the
Mediterranean Basin and Europe.
For this reason Classical Greece is
generally considered to be the
seminal culture which provided the
foundation of modern Western
culture and is considered the cradle
of Western civilization.