Greece underwent many changes during the Early Classical period, ca. 480-450 BCE. It is framed by the dramatic victories against the Persians in 490 and 480, and the transition to the High Classical period in 450. During this thirty-year period, artists imbued their creations with restraint to heighten the visual expression of what defined Greek civilized conduct. It was a time of some of our most ambitious programs in architecture, sculpture and painting. This is also the time when democracy (demos=people and kratos=power) was developed and implemented as the form of government in Athens.