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(shí)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(shí)期。在這段時(shí)期古希臘文明盛行于地中海地區(qū)，在政治、哲學(xué)、藝術(shù)和科學(xué)領(lǐng)域都有非凡成就。古希臘文明對(duì)西方世界的文學(xué)和藝術(shù)的發(fā)展產(chǎn)生了深遠(yuǎn)的影響。

古希臘的宗教信仰起源于神話和傳說(shuō)。古希臘也是西方哲學(xué)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(xué)家在促進(jìn)希臘文化向地中海周邊國(guó)家傳播方面起到了很大的作用，他們?cè)谌祟愃枷氚l(fā)展史上占有崇高的地位。古希臘文學(xué)也占重要地位，在這一時(shí)期產(chǎn)生了很多優(yōu)秀的作品。到19世紀(jì)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(xué)傳統(tǒng)。在建筑和雕刻領(lǐng)域，古希臘的作品也是當(dāng)時(shí)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(gè)領(lǐng)域，是一筆豐厚的文化遺產(chǎn)。