Rightly called the "Cradle of Western Civilization", Ancient Greece laid the foundation for European culture centuries before the birth of Jesus. 

     The most important contribution left behind by Greece was an analytical method of understanding the world.  The ideas of Greek philosophy were lost to Europe for nearly fifteen hundred years, but reemerged with the Renaissance in Early Modern Times. 

     The Greek alphabetic language and other cultural elements shaped European society long after the empire expired.  Their old polystheistic religion and epic tales still capture the imagination of readers of all ages, and the themes of Greek comedies and tragedies are alive and well in modern theatre.

     Ancient Greek history is comprised of three distinct time periods, including: the Greek Dark Ages, the City-State Period, and the time when Alexander the Great conquered the known world.