Greece's dominant state during the Hellenistic period starting in 323 BC was Macedon.
Classical Greece . In the context of the art , architecture , and culture of Ancient Greece , the Classical period , sometimes called the Hellenic period , corresponds to most of the 5th and 4th centuries BC ( the most common dates being the fall of the last Athenian tyrant in 510 BC and the death of Alexander the Great in 323 BC ) . Greece . Philip of Macedon united most of the Greek mainland in the fourth century BC , with his son Alexander the Great rapidly conquering much of the ancient world , spreading Greek culture and science from the eastern Mediterranean to the Indus River .