Classical Greece was a 200-year period in Greek culture lasting from the 5th through 4th centuries BC. This Classical period saw the annexation of much of modern-day Greece by the Persian Empire, its subsequent independence, and it also had a powerful influence on the Roman Empire and greatly influenced the foundations of western civilization. Much of modern Western politics, artistic thought (architecture, sculpture), scientific thought, theatre, literature, and philosophy derives from this period of Greek history. 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 to the death of Alexander the Great in 323 BC). The Classical period in this sense follows the Archaic period and is in turn succeeded by the Hellenistic period.