The Classical Period corresponds to the 6th - 4th centuries BC. and it is one of the periods by which Ancient Greece is divided; the others are:Pre-Homeric (20th - 12th centuries BC), Homeric (12th - 8th centuries BC) and Archaic (8th - 6th centuries BC) period.
During this period, the peak Athenian and one of the reasons would have been the heyday da philosophy Greek .
It is an important phase for Greece, which was marked by the disputes of domain through two wars. One of them happened at the beginning and was called the Medical Wars, in which the Greeks won. The other happened at the end and was called the Peloponnesian War, in which the Spartans defeated the Athenians.
Because the domain was sometimes in the hands of one people, sometimes in the hands of another, the classical period is also known as the Period das Hegemonies .
See also the article on Ancient Greece.
Conflicts
The Wars Medical - the first, whose beginning occurs in 490 and the second, in 470 BC. - confer hegemony on the Greeks, who, when they emerged victorious - despite being in smaller numbers - began to dominate the trade of the Aegean Sea, previously dominated by the mighty Persian empire. Thus, at that time, Greek civilization was at its height.
The War from Peloponnese , in turn - which lasted 27 years, beginning in 431 BC. - resulted in the decline of the exemplary Greek civilization.
In this, the fight was an internal conflict between Athens and Sparta. The League from Delos had been created to protect the Greeks from the Persians ended up benefiting Athens to the detriment of other Greek cities. In this way, Sparta creates the League from Peloponnese aiming to achieve superiority in Greece, and wins it.
The political regime changes from democratic to authoritarian and the fall of the Greeks begins, which years later is invaded by the Macedonians.
To learn more about the conflicts, read:Medical Wars and Peloponnesian War.
Classical Philosophy
In the period when the city of Athens reached imperialism - following the creation of the Delian League - Athens arrested numerous soldiers, who began to work for them in a slave way. Hence the time free for Athenian citizens.
The Athenians began to devote themselves to politics, which was discussed in public in the polis - Greek city-state . However, as time went by, it was not just about politics, but all matters were discussed, thought about and investigated.
Progressively, the use of reasoning led to the transition from mythical thinking to rational thinking, thus giving rise to Philosophy - origin from all as sciences .
The creation of the polis was fundamental to the development of Greece. Know more! Read Greek Polis.
Greek Culture
The classical period was a salutary one in the field of arts, when Greek sculpture, as well as architecture, passed through its most abundant phase.
To complete your research, see the following articles :
- Archaic Period
- Greek Art
- Greek Sculpture
- Greek Painting
- Greek Architecture
- Greek Theater
- Greek Comedy