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850 BCE
Homer
Homer is the presumed author of the Iliad and the Odyssey, two central works of ancient Greek literature. The Iliad is set during the Trojan War. -
776 BCE
First Olympic Games
The first recorded Olympic Games were held at Olympia in the Greek city-state of Elis. The ancient Olympics, held every four years, occurred during a religious festival honoring the Greek god Zeus. -
620 BCE
Draco’s Code of Law
Draco's code was a written law code created in response to the unjust interpretation and modification of oral law by Athenian aristocrats. -
507 BCE
Democracy
Athenian leader Cleisthenes introduced a system of political reforms that he called demokratia, or “rule by the people” -
Period: 492 BCE to 490 BCE
First Persian Invasion
The first Persian invasion of Greece ended with the decisive Athenian victory at the Battle of Marathon. -
490 BCE
Battle of Marathon
The Battle of Marathon was fought between the citizens of Athens, aided by Plataea, and a Persian force commanded by Datis and Artaphernes. The battle was the culmination of the first attempt by Persia, under King Darius I, to subjugate Greece. -
Period: 431 BCE to 404 BCE
Peloponnesian Wars
The Peloponnesian War was fought by the Delian League against the Peloponnesian League. The reason for the war was Athenian control of the Delian League. -
Period: 428 BCE to 348 BCE
Plato
Plato was an Athenian philosopher during the Classical period in Ancient Greece, founder of the Platonist school of thought, and the Academy, the first institution of higher learning in the Western world. -
399 BCE
Socrates
Socrates was a scholar, teacher and philosopher. His Socratic method laid the groundwork for Western systems of logic and philosophy. -
Period: 387 BCE to 83 BCE
The Academy in Athens
The Academy was founded by Plato in Athens. Aristotle studied there for twenty years before founding his own school, the Lyceum. The Academy persisted throughout the Hellenistic period as a skeptical school, until coming to an end after the death of Philo of Larissa. -
382 BCE
Phillip II
Philip II of Macedon was the king of the kingdom of Macedon from 359 BC until his assassination in 336 BC. He was a member of the Argead dynasty of Macedonian kings, the third son of King Amyntas III of Macedon, and father of Alexander the Great and Philip III. -
338 BCE
Battle of Chaeronea
The Battle of Chaeronea was fought in Boeotia, between the Macedonians and an alliance of some of the Greek city-states.