The end of Classical Greece is marked by which event?

• A. The death of Socrates in 399 B.C.
• B. The Battle of Marathon in 490 B.C.
• C. The founding of Alexandria in 331 B.C.
• D. The conquest of Greece by Philip II in 338 B.C.

Answer: (D)

The end of Classical Greece is marked by the rise of Macedon under Philip II and the subsequent subjugation of the Greek city-states. In 338 BCE, Philip II defeated a unified Greek force at Chaeronea and established Macedonian hegemony over Greece, ending the era of independent city-states and their distinctive democratic or oligarchic politics. This shift set the stage for Alexander the Great’s later conquests and the spread of Greek culture across a vast empire, signaling the transition from Classical to Hellenistic Greece. Earlier events like the death of Socrates, the Battle of Marathon, or the founding of Alexandria occur either before this turning point or later in the broader historical context, so they don’t mark the end of the Classical period as clearly as Philip II’s conquest does.