Ancient Greece Timeline

The first Olympic Games takes place

776 BCE

The first Olympic Games traditionally date back to 776 BCE. The first modern Olympic Games were held at the Panathenaic Stadium in Athens in 1896.

Homer composes the Odyssey

750 BCE

Homer is the presumed author of the Iliad and the Odyssey, two hugely influential epic poems of ancient Greece. If Homer did in fact compose the works, he is one of the greatest literary artists in the world, and, through these poems, he affected Western standards and ideas. Was Homer a real person? Scholars are uncertain whether he existed.

Democracy begins in Athens

550 BCE

Athenian democracy developed around the sixth century BC in the Greek city-state (known as a polis) of Athens, comprising the city of Athens and the surrounding territory of Attica, is one of ancient Greek democracy, and is often described as the first known democracy in the world. Other Greek cities set up democracies, most following the Athenian model, but none are as well documented as Athens'.

Battle of Marathon - The Greeks defeat Persian invaders

490 BCE

The Battle of Marathon took place in 490 BC during the first Persian invasion of Greece. It was fought between the citizens of Athens, aided by Plataea, and a Persian force commanded by Datis and Artaphernes.

Battle of Salamis - The Greeks defeat Persian invaders.

480 BCE

Battle of Salamis Battle of Salamis, (480 bc), battle in the Greco-Persian Wars in which a Greek fleet defeated much larger Persian naval forces in the straits at Salamis, between the island of Salamis and the Athenian port-city of Piraeus.

Athens takes control of an empire

450 BCE

The Turkish Ottoman Empire took control of Athens in ad 1456. The Turks ruled the city until 1833. In that year Greece became an independent country, with Athens as its capital. In the second half of the 20th century the city grew rapidly.

Greek plays are performed in Athens

440 BCE

Greek theatre began in the 6th century BCE in Athens with the performance of tragedy plays at religious festivals. These, in turn, inspired the genre of Greek comedy plays. The two types of Greek drama would be hugely popular and performances spread around the Mediterranean and influenced Hellenistic and Roman theatre. Thus the works of such great playwrights as Sophocles and Aristophanes formed the foundation upon which all modern theatre is based.

Parthenon is finished in Athens

432 BCE

Parthenon is finished in the Athens The Parthenon was built to replace a temple that had previously stood on the site but was destroyed by Persian invaders. The main reason of the temple was a house to a large statue of the goddess Athena. Construction on the Parthenon began in 480 B.C. and took about 48 years to complete.

War between Athens and Sparta

431 BCE

The Battle of Sphacteria was a land battle of the Peloponnesian War, fought in 425 BC between Athens and Sparta. Following the Battle of Pylos and subsequent peace negotiations, which failed, a number of Spartans were stranded on the island of Sphacteria. An Athenian force under Cleon and Demosthenes attacked and forced them to surrender.

Alexander the Great conquers all

336 BCE

Alexander the Great (356–323 bc) King of Macedonia (336–323 bc), considered the greatest conqueror of classical times. Son of Philip II of Macedonia and tutored by Aristotle, Alexander rapidly consolidated Macedonian power in Greece.

Greece is conquered by Rome

146 BCE

The Roman Conquest of Greece spanned from the years 328 BC, when the Romans took over the Greek settlement of Tarquinii, until 168 BC, when Rome conquered the Greek Cities and the Kingdom of Macedon.

Ancient Greece Timeline

Period: 146 BCE to 776 BCE