88 Cleisthenes (431–404 b.c.e.) The end of the Peloponnesian War marked the end of the golden age due to the Spartans defeat of the Athenians Greek literature during the Classical Period brought about drama and its genres The three tragedian playwrights were Euripides (484–406 b.c.e.), Aeschylus (525–456 b.c.e.), and Sophocles (496–406 b.c.e.) Euripides was known for such plays as Hippolytus (428 b.c.e.) and Medea (431 b.c.e.) and his development of the New Comedy, such as in Alcestis, all while bringing his realist views into drama Aeschylus, a great poet as well as playwright, first brought a second actor to the stage Aeschylus is known for many tragedies such as Suppliants (490 b.c.e.), Agamemnon (458 b.c.e.), and Prometheus Bound (456 b.c.e.) Sophocles was also a popular and talented tragedian who performed his plays at the Festival of Dionysus Sophocles was known for writing tragedies such as his Theban Plays: Antigone (441 b.c.e.), Oedipus Rex (425 b.c.e.), and Oedipus in Colonus (401 b.c.e.) as well as Electra (c 410 b.c.e.) and Ajax (c 440 b.c.e.) Sophocles is noted as one of the first playwrights to bring a third actor to the stage Philosophy was ignited during the Classical Period because classical Greeks started to realize the importance of rational thinking and that life occurrences happened by means other than the supernatural This redefined and pervaded philosophical thought throughout Athens The three major philosophers of this period were Socrates (470–399 b.c.e.), Plato (427–347 b.c.e.), and Aristotle (384–322 b.c.e.) Socrates taught Plato, one of his top students, his views on the world Plato then went on to become a philosopher, and his top pupil was Aristotle Aristotle, who developed the scientific method, went on to educate Alexander the Great Much of Western philosophy has been built on these great thinkers’ ideas Sculpture became more realistic during the Classical Period The human form through sculpture became more precise and three dimensional, emphasizing Greek realist ideals Phidias and Polyclitus were two popular sculptors during this time Phidias (490–430 b.c.e.) created statues of Athena and sculptures in the Parthenon as well as the statue of Zeus at Olympia Polyclitus, popular during the early fifth century b.c.e., sculpted a famous statue of Hera as well as one of Doryphoros, a spear-bearer The masterpieces of the time characterized the Greeks’ use of ebony, marble, bronze, ivory, and gold Architecture also became more distinct and had features unique to Greece There were three types of columns developed during this period, demonstrated by the Parthenon in Athens: Doric, Ionic, and Corinthian These architectural features were named after the cities in which they were developed Doric is the simplest column with no ornamentation at the top The Ionic had slightly more elaborate decorations at the top and bottom of each column Corinthian columns were ostentatious and were highly ornamental Philip of Macedon (381–336 b.c.e.) unified the Greeks through conquest The Classical Period ended with the rise of Philip II’s son Alexander the Great (353–323 b.c.e.) and his conquest of the Persian Empire This led to the development of the Hellenistic culture, which blended the cultures of Greece, Indian, Persia, and Egypt See also: Athenian predemocracy; classical art and architecture, Greek; Greek city-states; Greek drama Further reading: Boardman, John Greek Culture: The Classical Period London: Thames and Hudson, 1991; De Souda, Philip Greek and Persian Wars London: Osprey, 2003; Freeman, Charles The Greek Achievement: The Foundation of the Western World New York: Penguin, 2000; Grant, Michael The Classical Greeks New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1989 Nicole DeCarlo Cleisthenes (c 565–c 500 b.c.e.) Greek statesman Cleisthenes was an Athenian nobleman often credited with having given rise to the first democratic political structure in his native city-state At the end of the sixth century b.c.e he implemented various reforms that changed politics as well as life in general for the Athenian citizenry The importance of Athenian democracy can hardly be overstated, not only because of its uniqueness and its expansion of freedom, but also because it allowed the golden age of Athenian civilization to dawn in the fifth century b.c.e The reforms implemented by Cleisthenes in 508–507 b.c.e brought a period of oneman rule by tyrants to an end and granted Athenian men unprecedented powers over their political community In order to make such changes Cleisthenes first had to overcome numerous challenges and adversaries while continuing to deal with ongoing criticism Still, some scholars argue that his reforms were largely self-serving by greatly benefiting him and his clan Regardless to what degree Cleisthenes might have personally profited from his actions, there is little doubt that Athens did as well, while the rest of the world gained in having an early model of democracy to inspire later democratic political regimes