Ancient Greece

The Olympics

776 BCE

The Olympics was originally a religious festival made to honor Zeus . The prize of the winner was an olive wreath that they wore to show that they are important. The competitors normally wore NOTHING. It continued for century after century after century until Emperor Theodosius stopped them in 393 A.D.Since then, the Olympics have been held every 4 years.

The Theater of Dionysus

600 BCE

This was the most important Athenian theater and it began as part of a religious festival. The performances were paid for wealthy men and the performers were Athenian citizens. Every year, several dramatists would present plays that would be judged and there would be prizes for the best plays. The Athenian dramatists started the 2 kinds of drama that we know today: comedy and tragedy. The design of the theater was very sophisticated for its time.

The Battle of Thermopylae

480 BCE

The Persians wanted to conquer Greece. Xerxes had an army of 100,000 men with 600-700 ships while Leonidas had 10,000 men and 200-300 ships. The Greeks thought they would be able to hold Thermopylae's pass and they did for 2 days. But a traitor showed the Persians a pass to sneak attack the Greeks. Leonidas ordered a lot of the Greeks to go home while he still fought the Persians and died.

Socrates

469 BCE

He was a Greek philosopher that grew up in the Golden Age that NEVER wrote down his ideas but we know them through his student, Plato's dialogues.He said he never taught anyone anything. He was killed in 399 BC from being forced to drink a poison called hemlock.

The Parthenon

447 BCE

It is the most famous of all buildings built in Athens and it's still there! It was built as a temple of Athena. It was also built to serve as a symbol of the wealth, power, and prosperity of Athens. Inside was a 40 foot tall statue of Athena made of ivory and gold. The statue cost more than the building itself!

Plato

427 BCE

Plato was a philosopher and a great student of Socrates. He opened a school called the Academy in 387 B.C. He believed that philosophers should play a central role in society because they understood the meaning of truth and justice. Most about Plato's death is unknown but the date was near 347 B.C.

Aristotle

384 BCE

Aristotle was a philosopher and student of Plato. He examined and collected insects and bugs. He thought men were better than women, he believed that not everybody is equal and he believed in slavery. Way after his death, he was referred to as "The Philosopher"

Alexander The Great

356 BCE

Alexander was one of Aristotle's students. When he was 20, his father was killed. He had helped his father conquer Greece. After his father's death he decided to attack the Persians. Alexander conquered Asia Minor and everything from the coast of the Mediterranean Sea to Asia Minor. After his death in 323 B.C, there was a period called the Hellenistic Period.

The Hellenistic Period

Period: 323 BCE to 30 BCE

This period occurred after the death of Aristotle. It lasted 297 years. In this period, kings made coins that looked like Greek coins, educators imitated Greek education, and architects built buildings in Doric, Ionic, and Corinthian styles.

Library of Alexandria

1 CE

The library of Alexandria was opened by King Ptolemy in Alexandria. The date of the library's opening is unknown. At first the library had 200,000 scrolls but over time, it had 700,000 scrolls. For its time, that was a lot. It was the center of learning. Sadly, it was destroyed after a series of robberies, fires, and invasions.