ancient Greek civilization

The period between the end of the Mycenaean civilization (1200 BCE) and the death of Alexander the Great (323 BCE) that brought to Western civilization exceptional advances in politics, philosophy, and art. Little is known about the earliest period of ancient Greek civilization, and many extant writings pertain only to life in Athens. Ancient Greece at its height comprised settlements in Asia Minor, southern Italy, Sicily, and the Greek islands. It was divided into city-states—Athens and Sparta were among the most powerful—that functioned independently of one another. There were frequent wars between Athens, Sparta, and their allies, including the Peloponnesian War (431–404 BCE) and later the Corinthian War (395–386 BCE). Some city-states, including Athens, were governed by an early system of democracy that served as a precursor for later systems of government in the Western world. An interest in athletic competition was prevalent in ancient Greek culture, and the first Olympic Games were held in 776 BCE. Ancient Greek culture continued on in the writings of its philosophers, notably Plato and Aristotle; its historians, notably Thucydides; and in the literature of Homer, the presumed author of the Iliad and the Odyssey. Ancient Greeks also contributed enormously to developments in art and architecture through the numerous sculptures and temples they constructed—the buildings of the Athenian acropolis, for example—to memorialize their deities.