What is Classical antiquity?
{{cleanup|date=December 2024}} '''Classical antiquity''' (also the '''classical era''' or '''classical period''') is a broad term for a long period of cultural [[history]] around the [[Mediterranean]]. It includes the civilizations of [[Ancient Greece]] and [[Ancient Rome]], also known as the [[Greco-Roman world]]. Classical antiquity is the period in which [[Greek language|Greek]] and [[Ancient Rome|Roman]] literature, such as those of ''[[Aeschylus]]'' and ''[[Ovid]]'', flourished.<ref>{{cite book |first=Paul|last=Fargis|title=The New York Public Library Desk Reference - 3rd Edition|year=1998|publisher=Macmillan General Reference|pages=262|isbn=0-02-862169-7}}</ref> By convention, the period starts with the works of [[Homer]] in the 8th–7th century [[Before Christ|BC]], and ends with the arrival of [[Christianity]] and decline of the [[Western Roman Empire]], in the 5th–6th century [[Anno Domini|AD]].{{cn|date=December 2024}} == Archaic period: 8th to 6th centuries BC == {{See|Iron Age}} The earliest period of classical antiquity took place before the re-appearance of historical sources after the [[Bronze Age collapse]]. The earliest [[Greek alphabet|Greek alphabetic]] inscriptions are in the first half of the 8th century. [[Homer]] is usually assumed to have lived in the 8th or 7th century, and his lifetime is often taken as marking the beginning of classical antiquity. The traditional date for the first [[Ancient Olympic Games]], in 776 BC, was also around this time. In Roman legend, the city of [[Rome]] was founded in 753 BC. The earliest settlement at the [[Roman Forum]] seems to have taken place around this time.{{cn|date=December 2024}} === Phoenicians === {{Main|Phoenicia}} The Phoenicians originally expanded from [[Levant|Levantine]] [[Port|ports]], by the 8th century dominating [[International trade|trade]] in the [[Mediterranean]]. [[Carthage]] was founded in 814 BC, and the [[Carthaginians]] by 700 BC had firmly established strongholds in [[Sicily]], [[Italy]] and [[Sardinia]], which brought about c