Ancient Greece Timeline

Agamemnon

1750 BCE

The kings of Mycenae and the leader of the Greek army in the Trojan war of Homer’s Illiad. He is presented as a great warrior but selfish ruler, famously upsetting his invincible champion Achilles and so prolonging the war and suffering of his men.

Homer

800 BCE

He is the other of the lliad and the Odyssey, two poems that are the centra; works of Ancient Greek literature.

First Olympic Games

776 BCE

Held at Olympia in the Greek city-state of Elis. The ancient olympics were held every four years, occurred during a religious festival honoring the Greeks god Zeus.

Rise of the Tyrants

700 BCE

A cruel and oppressive ruler or in Ancient Greece a ruler who seized power unconstitutionally or inherited such power. The opportunity arose for ambitious men to seize power in the name of the oppressed.

Darco’s Code of Law

620 BCE

The Draconian law made by King Draco for the Athenian people. This law was known as authoritarian law that was very harsh to its citizens.

Darius I

522 BCE

Commonly known as Darius the Great, was the third Persian King of Kings of the Achaemenid Empire, reigning from 522 BCE until his death in 486 BCE

Democracy

507 BCE

Developed around the sixth century BC in the Greek city-state of Athens. Led by Cleisthenes.

First Persian War

492 BCE

This was the first major conflict between Greece and the Persian Empire. After the Ionian revolt ended, Darius decided to expand his empire’s territories. The Persians defeated the remains of the Ionian.

Battle of Marathon

490 BCE

Occurred during the Persian invasion of Greece. It was fought between the citizens of Athens, aided by Plataea, and a Persian force commanded by Davis and Artaphernes.

Xerxes

486 BCE

Commonly known as Xerxes the great, was the fourth King of Kings of the Achaemenid Empire, ruling from 486 to 465 BC. He was the son and successor of Darius the Great and his mother was Atossa, a daughter of Cyrus the Great.

Second Persian War

482 BCE

Invasion of Greece occurred during the Greco-Persian wars, as king Xerxes I of Persia sought to conquer all of Greece. The invasion was a direct response to the defeat of the first Persian invasion of Greece at the battle of Marathon.

Battle of Thermopylae

480 BCE

The battle of Thermopylae was fought between an alliance of Greek city-states, led by King Leonidas I of Sparta, and the Achaemenid Empire of Xerxes I over the course of three days, during the second Persian invasion of Greece.

Socrates

469 BCE

An Ancient Greek philosopher. One of three greatest figures of the ancient period of Western philosophy. He was the first philosopher to seriously explore questions of ethics.

Pericles

449 BCE

Pericles was a prominent and influential Greek statesman, orator and general of Athens during its golden age, specifically the time between the Persian and the Peloponnesian Wars.

Parthenon completed

432 BCE

The Parthenon was built by the architects Ictinus and Callicrates under the supervision of the sculptor Phidias. Work began in 447 BC. Built in honor of a Greek god known as Athena.

Peloponnesian Wars

431 BCE

A war fought in Ancient Greece. This war was between the Athens and Sparta, the two most powerful city-states in Ancient Greece. This war shifted power from Athens to Sparta, making Sparta the most powerful city-state in the region.

Catapult

399 BCE

The catapult was invented in 399 BC by Ancient Greek soldiers who were part of a task force. They were focused on finding a way to propel objects at long distances.

Plato

390 BCE

Plato was an Athenian philosopher during the Classical period in Ancient Greece, founder of the Platonism school of thought, and the academy, the first institution of higher learning in the western world.

The Academy in Athens

387 BCE

Founded by Plato in 387 BC in Athens. Aristotle studied there for twent 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.

Aristotle

368 BCE

A Greek philosopher, scientist, and polymath during the classical period in Ancient Greece. Taught by Plato.

Philip II

359 BCE

He was the king of the kingdom of Macedon from 359 BC till 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 Phillip III.

Battle of Chaeronea

338 BCE

This battle was caught between the Macedonians led by Philip II of Macedon and an alliance of some of the Greek city-states led by the Athens and Thebes.

League of Corinth

338 BCE

The league of Corinth, also referred to as the Hellenic league, was a confederation of Greek started created by Philip II during the winter of 338/337 BC after the Battle of Chaeronea and succeeded by Alexander the Great, to facilitate the use of military forces in the ar of Greece against Persia.

Alexander the Great

336 BCE

Alexander III of Macedon, commonly known as Alexander the Great, was a king of the Ancient Greek kingdom of Macedon and a member of the argead dynasty. He was born in Pella in 356 BC and succeeded his father Philip II to the throne at the age of 20