Claim: Socrates was a classical Athenian philosopher.

Classical Greece was a period of around 200 years -LRB- 5th and 4th centuries BC -RRB- 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 -LRB- architecture , sculpture -RRB- , 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 , sometimes called the Hellenic period , corresponds to most of the 5th and 4th centuries BC -LRB- 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 -RRB- . The Classical period in this sense follows the Archaic period and is in turn succeeded by the Hellenistic period .