The political, social and economic rise of Athens during the Classical period reflected the development of an important civilisation, the main expression of which was the birth and consolidation of the constitution and democracy.
Living within these democratic institutions, several distinguished personalities were at liberty to express the political and intellectual concerns of their time.
Classical civilisation has not only become a point of reference for the Western world as regards aesthetics and ethics, but has also had an enduring influence on its historical, political and intellectual course.

Thucydides’ History if the Peloponnesian War, Xenophon’s Hellenica, Aristophanes’ comedies and Aristotle’s Athenian Constitution, as well as the inscriptions, coins and building projects of this period are important sources for our understanding of this period. Notable later works include the biographies of Plutarch and the histories of Diodorus Siculus.