Ancient Greece

The Greek Olymics

776 BCE

It was held in Olymia not far from Sparta.Winners would be considered heros for their city- state. This event was based on skills needed for survival skills like running, javelin, wrestling,and horse back riding. There were also many foot races. it was eventually cancelled for the first time in 1,000 years by Theodosius. in 1896 the olympics were held again and since then they have been held every four years.

The Persian Wars

499 BCE

The city- state of miletus rebelled against the persian rule. They had asked the Greeks to help them over throw the persians. The spartans refused, but Athens agreed. In the war the greeks were out numbered but the attacked anyway. The greeks had won , and there is a legend that they had sent a messenger to run 26 miles to deliver the news of victory and died of exhaustion. After this victory Athens were filled with self confidence.

The golden Age of Athens

480 BCE

This event was the rise of the Athenian empire. The Greek's unexpected victory in the Persian Wars ensured that the Greek city state would remain free and independent. It was a 75 year period and Athens had produced some of the greatest artistic and cultural achievements the world has ever known.

Battle of Thermopylae

480 BCE

The Persians were not done with the Athenians. With an army of more than 100,000 men as well as 600 to 700 ships, the Persian king Xerxes was determined to conquer all of Greece. Athens and Sparta put aside their differences and defeated the Persians.

Battle of Platea

479 BCE

The Spartan general Pausanias led the Greeks against the Persians. Pausanias won the battle and drove the Persian army out of Greece.

Greek Philosophy

469 BCE

The Greeks told stories about the world around them by saying the natural events caused by the gods. But then after a while they were not satisfied with the answers given by the myths and some of them started to believe that gods and goddesses were no longer a natural phenomena. This was the beginning of philosophy. A philosopher is a lover of wisdom who uses reason to try and understand the world.

The Peloponnesian War

431 BCE

Athens versus Sparta. As Athens built its empire, Sparta had many concerns on whether Athens was becoming too powerful. So Sparta and several of its allies including its city- states Corinth and Thebes came together to form the Peloponnesian League. During that time diplomatic relations between Athens and the Peloponnesian League deteriorated. Finally the war broke out. sadly Athens had surrendered and Spartans and their allies won the Peloponnesian War and the Golden age of Athens was over.

Pericles

429 BCE

He was one of the leading citizens in Athens during its Golden Age. For nearly 30 years he was reelected as general. Soon he became one of the most powerful and influential man in Athens and he was a huge impact for the Rise of the Athenian Empire.

Conqueror of the World

326 BCE

Alexander the Great and his army were trying to conquer the western part of India. After winning an especially hard battle alexander 's army had had enough and they were tired of years and years of war, but they also knew that the enemy army was stronger than they were. They had won the battle but they knew they had not yet faced the largest part of the enemy army.

The Hellenistic Period

323 BCE

Because Greek culture was so important to so many people during these years, the period from the death of Alexander the Great is known as the Hellenistic Period. It was a great flowering of Greek culture.