What were the lasting cultural and intellectual achievements of the classical period?

DDESPITE THE VIOLENCE THAT DOMINATED GREECE for nearly two centuries beginning in 500 B.C.E., or to some degree because of it, playwrights and thinkers pondered the meaning of the universe and the role of humans in it, and artists and architects created new styles to celebrate Greek achievements. Although warfare was one of the hallmarks of the classical period, intellectual and artistic accomplishments were as well.

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The Discus ThrowerThis marble statue shows an athlete in mid-throw, capturing the tension in the muscles and tendons. The original was made about 450 B.C.E., perhaps by the sculptor Myron of Athens. As is true of so much Greek statuary, the original is lost, and this is a Roman copy. Athletes in Greece regularly competed nude, including in the Olympic games. (Ancient Art and Architecture Collection Ltd./The Bridgeman Art Library)