<P> Classical Greece was a period of around 200 years (5th and 4th centuries BC) in Greek culture . This Classical period saw the annexation of much of modern - day Greece by the Persian Empire and its subsequent independence . Classical Greece had a powerful influence on the Roman Empire and on the foundations of western civilization . Much of modern Western politics, artistic thought (architecture, sculpture), scientific thought, theatre, literature, and philosophy derives from this period of Greek history . In the context of the art, architecture, and culture of Ancient Greece, the Classical period corresponds to most of the 5th and 4th centuries BC (the most common dates being the fall of the last Athenian tyrant in 510 BC and the death of Alexander the Great in 323 BC). The Classical period in this sense follows the Archaic period and is in turn succeeded by the Hellenistic period . </P> <Table> <Tr> <Th> Part of a series on the </Th> </Tr> <Tr> <Th> History of Greece </Th> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> Neolithic Greece (show) <Ul> <Li> Neolithic Greece </Li> </Ul> </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> Greek Bronze Age (show) <Ul> <Li> Helladic </Li> <Li> Cycladic </Li> <Li> Minoan </Li> <Li> Mycenaean </Li> </Ul> </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> Ancient Greece (show) <Ul> <Li> Greek Dark Ages </Li> <Li> Archaic Greece </Li> <Li> Classical Greece </Li> <Li> Hellenistic Greece </Li> <Li> Roman Greece </Li> </Ul> </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> Medieval Greece (show) <Ul> <Li> Byzantine Greece </Li> <Li> Frankish and Latin states </Li> </Ul> </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> Early modern Greece (show) <Ul> <Li> Stato da Màr </Li> <Li> Ottoman Greece </Li> </Ul> </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> Modern Greece (show) <Ul> <Li> Septinsular Republic </Li> <Li> War of Independence </Li> <Li> First Hellenic Republic </Li> <Li> Kingdom of Greece </Li> <Li> National Schism </Li> <Li> Second Hellenic Republic </Li> <Li> 4th of August Regime </Li> <Li> Axis occupation (collaborationist regime) </Li> <Li> Civil War </Li> <Li> Military Junta </Li> <Li> Third Hellenic Republic </Li> </Ul> </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> History by topic (show) <Ul> <Li> Art </Li> <Li> Constitution </Li> <Li> Economy </Li> <Li> Military </Li> <Li> Names </Li> </Ul> </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> Greece portal </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> <Ul> <Li> </Li> <Li> </Li> <Li> </Li> </Ul> </Td> </Tr> </Table>

The historical event that ushered in the beginning of the classical period