Archaic Period - Ancient Greece

By AncientHistory
  • 800 BCE

    The Oracle at Delphi is dedicated to Apollo

    This year is an estimate
  • Period: 800 BCE to 500 BCE

    Greek colonisation of the Mediterranean and Black Sea

  • Period: 800 BCE to 700 BCE

    Homer writes The Iliad and The Odyssey

  • Period: 800 BCE to 750 BCE

    The development of the Greek alphabet

  • 776 BCE

    The first Olympic Games are held

  • 743 BCE

    First Messenian War

    This was the beginning of the first of three wars between Messenia and Sparta, specifically between the Dorians and Achaeans. This may have been in response to the Dorian Invasion, wherein the Dorians took control of Peloponnesus.
  • 724 BCE

    End of the First Messenian War

    Sparta was victorious, and Achaeans were forced to emigrate, or to become helots. The subjugation of the descendants of those who did not leave continued for centuries.
  • 685 BCE

    The Beginning of the Second Messenian War

  • 665 BCE

    The End of the Second Messenian War

  • 650 BCE

    Sparta quells Messenian rebellion

  • 632 BCE

    Cylon attempts to seize the Athenian Acropolis

    His attempted coup, which he undertook during the Olympics after the oracle at Delphi advised him to strike during a festival to Zeus, was a failure. He was supported in this undertaking by the city-state of Megara, where his father-in-law, Theagenes, was a tyrant.
  • 594 BCE

    Solon assumes position of Archon

    Solon introduces legislation to lessen the suffering of the poor, but fails to address its cause.
  • 561 BCE

    Peisistratos Assumes Power

    Peisistratos was a tyrant (one who gains power by means other than inheritance) who sought to increase "the unity and majesty of the Athenian state". He protected foreign immigrants, systemised the agora and contributed to the construction of an aqueduct, improving the city's water supply.
  • Period: 546 BCE to 545 BCE

    Persian Subjugation of Ionian Poleis

  • 514 BCE

    Fall of the Peisistratid tyranny

    Peisistratis had seized Athens by force. He was a peaceful ruler, and is believed to have shown sympathy towards people living in rural areas, whose lives were considerably more difficult than those of urban citizens. Upon his death, Athens' power was significantly less than that of Sparta.
  • 507 BCE

    Cleisthenes introduces democratic reforms

  • Period: 499 BCE to 494 BCE

    Ionian Revolt

    The Ionians rebelled against Persian rulers
  • 498 BCE

    The Destruction of Sardis

    Ionians and Greek allies invaded and burned Sardis
  • 492 BCE

    Darius I invades Greece

    Darius I, also known as Darius the Great, was a Persian king. During his rule, the Persian Empire was at its peak. His invasion of Greece was driven in part by his desire to punish Athens for their role in the Ionian Revolt.
  • 490 BCE

    Battle of Marathon

    The Persians, led by Darius I, are defeated by the Greeks
  • 480 BCE

    Battle of Salamis

    In this battle, the Greek naval fleet, which was led by Themistocles, defeated that of Xerxes I of Persia.
  • 480 BCE

    Battle of Thermopylae

    The Greek army, comprising King Leonidas, 300 Spartans and citizens of other poleis, was defeated by that of Xerxes I after a battle lasting three days.