Ancient Greece usually refers to the period from 1200 BC to the death of Alexander the Great, in 323 BC. During this period of time, ancient Greek culture dominated the lands around the Mediterranean Sea. Ancient Greece had made many achievements in politics, philosophy, arts and science, which had treat influence in the Western civilized world for hundreds of years.

The ancient Greek religious beliers grew out of myths and legends. Early Greece was the birthplace of western philosophical ethics. Philosophers such as Socrates, Plato and Aristotle helped to spread Greek culture to the Mediterranean world. Ancient Greek literature also held a very important position, not only because much of it was of excellent quality but also because until the mid-19th century the greater part of the literature of the Western world was produced by writers who were familiar with the Greek tradition. Even in the fields of architecture and sculpture, Greek work was considered the most highly developed in the world. Ancient Greek culture left a great heritage for the modern world through its influence on the development on modern Western literature and the arts.

古希臘時期是從公元前1200年到公元前232年(亞歷山大大帝去世)這段時期。在這段時期古希臘文明盛行于地中海地區(qū)，在政治、哲學、藝術(shù)和科學領(lǐng)域都有非凡成就。古希臘文明對西方世界的文學和藝術(shù)的發(fā)展產(chǎn)生了深遠的影響。

古希臘的宗教信仰起源于神話和傳說。古希臘也是西方哲學的發(fā)源地，以蘇格拉底、柏拉圖和亞里士多德為代表的古希臘哲學家在促進希臘文化向地中海周邊國家傳播方面起到了很大的作用，他們在人類思想發(fā)展史上占有崇高的地位。古希臘文學也占重要地位，在這一時期產(chǎn)生了很多優(yōu)秀的作品。到19世紀中期，西方世界文壇上的大師們多數(shù)都諳熟古希臘的文學傳統(tǒng)。在建筑和雕刻領(lǐng)域，古希臘的作品也是當時世界上最優(yōu)秀的。古希臘文明相影響了西方世界文化的各個領(lǐng)域，是一筆豐厚的文化遺產(chǎn)。