Editing Ancient Greek architecture (section)

=== History ===
Historians divide ancient Greek civilization into two eras, the Hellenic period (from around 900 BC to the death of Alexander the Great in 323 BC), and the Hellenistic period (323 BC – 30 AD).<ref name="BF3" /> During the earlier Hellenic period, substantial works of architecture began to appear around 600 BC. During the later (Hellenistic) period, Greek culture spread as a result of Alexander's conquest of other lands, and later as a result of the rise of the Roman Empire, which adopted much of Greek culture.<ref name="BDFH" /><ref name=HG1>{{harvnb|Gardner|Kleiner|Mamiya|2004|pp=110–114}}.</ref>

Before the Hellenic era, two major cultures had dominated the region: the [[Minoan civilization|Minoan]] ({{Circa|2800|1100 BC}}), and the [[Mycenaean Greece|Mycenaean]] (c. 1500–1100 BC). Minoan is the name given by modern historians to the culture of the people of ancient [[Crete]], known for its elaborate and richly decorated [[Minoan palaces]], and for its pottery, the most famous of which painted with floral and [[Marine Style|motifs of sea life]]. The Mycenaean culture, which flourished on the [[Peloponnesus]], was different in character. Its people built citadels, fortifications and tombs, and decorated their pottery with bands of marching soldiers rather than octopus and seaweed. Both these civilizations came to an end around 1100 BC, that of Crete possibly because of volcanic devastation, and that of Mycenae because of an invasion by the Dorian people who lived on the Greek mainland.<ref name=HG>{{harvnb|Gardner|Kleiner|Mamiya|2004|pp=90–109}}.</ref> Following these events, there was a period from which only a village level of culture seems to have existed. This period is thus often referred to as the [[Greek Dark Age]].