Classical Antiquity

Classical Antiquity, also known as the Classical Era, the Classical Period or the Classical Age, covers the Period between 800 BCE to 600 CE of the Mediterranean Civilisation of Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome.

Before 800 BCE the Period is known as the Greek Dark Ages.
Classical Antiquity starts from 800 BCE with Homer in 8th century BCE, and the rise of Greek Civilisation and Culture. The Archaic Period ends with the Invasion of Greece by Xerxes I and the Persian Empire in 480 BCE.

This Period covers the Athenian Empire of the fifth century BCE, and its replacement in the fourth century BCE by Sparta, known as the Spartan Hegemony.

The Hellenistic Period was the expansion of Greek Civilisation by Alexander the Great. When he died in 323 BCE, he had conquered Egypt and the Persian Empire.

Despite the Roman occupation of Greece in 146 BCE, Greek values continued unchanged as the Romans spoke Greek and continued to practice Greek culture and values.
The Period then progressed through the rise of Christianity 30-313 CE, and the challenge Christianity presented to Greek values.

Classical Antiquity ends with the collapse of Romano-Greek values around the 6th century CE.
The decline is known as ‘Late Antiquity’ and covers the Period 300-600 CE.
During this Period Christianity was adopted as the State Religion of the Roman Empire.
When the Empire split after 395 CE, the Latin speaking Western Empire ended in 476 CE.
However, the Latin language and Christianity was continued by the Popes and the Catholic Church based in Rome.
Although they preserved the Hellenistic values of Philosophy and Science in ancient Latin texts, it did not include Ancient Greek literature.
In contrast, the Greek speaking Eastern Empire based in Constantinople, was ruled by an Emperor. It continued as a separate Christian State presided over by a Patriarch.
And because the ancient Greek texts were preserved, the Byzantine Empire continued with all the Hellenistic values of the Classical Era, which included Ancient Greek Literature such as Homer.

Post Classical Culture and Values
- The Civilisation of the Classical Period was maintained throughout the Post Classical Era by the Catholic Church.
- But ancient texts were in Latin, or Latin translation of ancient Greek texts, and were limited to Philosophy, Science and Mathematics.

- However, the popular revival of Classical ideas took place in the Renaissance.
- This is considered to have started in Florence, Italy, in the 14th century CE, and scholars started to search for the old classical Latin texts in monastic libraries.
- The Fall of Constantinople 1453 CE accelerated the Renaissance due to the mass exodus of Greek scholars with their books.
- Up to this point, the ancient Greek classical texts had been lost in the West, and this resulted in a renewed interest in Homer, Greek Plays, Greek literature and Greek History, which had previously been ignored.

Influence of Christianity (380-395 CE)
- After 380 CE, the old Greek and Roman Religion and traditions of the Classical World were forbidden as being Pagan. They were replaced by the values of the Christian Church.
- Nonetheless, the values of the Classical Rome and Greece were maintained through the Latin language and classical Latin texts.
The Great Schism (1054 CE)
- In 1054 CE, the Great Schism led to the separation of the Eastern Orthodox Church from the Western Roman Catholic Church.

- In 1517 CE, another Schism occurred within Western Christianity between the Roman Catholic Church and the emerging Independent Protestant Churches of Northern Europe, known as the Reformation.
- Initially, the revival of Classical Literature and Culture in the Renaissance complemented and promoted Christianity.
- However, the surge of new ideas led to the values and ideals of the Catholic Church being challenged, culminating in the Reformation in 1517 CE.

Neoclassicism was a Western cultural movement that was inspired by a revival of interest in the visual art, architecture, theatre, music, literature and culture of Classical Antiquity (800 BCE-600 CE).

Rome and Greece