Ancient Greece consisted chiefly of a peninsula that separated the two seas, nearby islands, and the coast of Asia Minor (now part of Turkey).
Greek civilization developed later than that of the Euphrates and Nile valleys, but earlier than that of Rome. Ancient Greece reached its highest point of achievement in the fifth and fourth centuries B.C., but its influence remained strong throughout the era of Roman supremacy.

Vigorous, adventuresome, and freedom-loving, of strong practicality and great intellectual capacity, they produced art, architecture, literature, drama, and philosophic concepts that have never been surpassed. The Greeks developed the political institution of democracy, established freedom of speech and religion, and founded a system of law defining the rights of citizens. They made major discoveries in astronomy, physics, mathematics, and medicine. The first experimental scientists were Greeks.