The history of Ancient Greece is a profound chronicle of cultural, political, and intellectual evolution, commencing with the emergence of the Minoan and Mycenaean civilizations in the Bronze Age. It progresses through the seminal developments of the Archaic and Classical periods, where city-states such as Athens and Sparta reached unprecedented heights of philosophical, artistic, and political achievement. This era was succeeded by the expansive conquests of Alexander the Great, which facilitated the diffusion of Hellenistic culture across a vast empire. Greece’s enduring legacy is further cemented through its contributions to Western civilization, notably in the realms of democracy, philosophy, and the arts.