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Period: 499 BCE to 449 BCE
Persian Wars
In the year 499 BCE the Persian Wars started between Greece and the Persian Empire. This war started because Athens helped one of their colonies rebel against the Persian rule. When Darius put down the revolt he wanted to get revenge on Athens. Persia tried to conquer Greece 3 times but they failed. There were 3 battles that were fought the Battle of Marathon, Battle of Thermopylae, and Battle of Salamis, After the Persian Wars Greece creates the Delian League and Athens becomes leader of it. -
490 BCE
Battle of Marathon
The first battle won by Greece was the Battle of Marathon in the year 490 BCE. Greece won by using the Phalanx formation. The Phalanx formation is when Greek foot soldiers fight side by side with their spears and shields. After Greece won the battle, Pheidippides ran 26 miles to inform Athens of the victory at Marathon. The marathon race is named after this battle. -
479 BCE
Battle of Salamis
In the year 479 BCE Greece and The Persian Empire had a sea battle. In this battle The Greeks were outnumbered. Even Though the Greeks were outnumbered they were skilled with naval battle. The Greeks sank one third of the Persian Empire’s fleet. This was the last battle fought in the Persian Wars and it was a Greek victory. After this war Greece became very wealthy. -
Period: 461 BCE to 429 BCE
Golden Age
After the Persian Wars the city states of Greece created the Delian League which is an alliance of Greek City-states that provided common defense against the Persians Empire. Athens became the leader of the Delian League. Because of this Athens became very wealthy and went into a golden age of culture. Pericles was leader of Athens during the Golden Age. he increased democracy, built the strongest navy, and built the parthenon. They also created doric, ionic, and corinthian columns. -
Period: 431 BCE to 405 BCE
Peloponnesian War
Athens became very powerful as the leader of the Delian League. Some of the city-states want to leave the League because the membership fees were high. Athens punished the city-states that leave by conquering them, making them into slaves, and colonizing the area. Sparta then creates the Peloponnesian League to counter the Delian League. During the war Athen undergoes a plague which weakens the city-state. This makes Sparta the winner of the Peloponnesian War. -
430 BCE
Athens Plague
During the Peloponnesian Wars Pericles, who is the leader of Athens at this time, decides to bring all of his citizens in Athens for protection. The City-state of Athens has a large wall surrounding it and a walled path leading to a harbor so that it will not run out of supplies. However, Athens undergoes a plague in the 2nd year of the war. After some time one third of the Athens population dies from the plague including Pericles. -
338 BCE
Philip II conquers Greece
After the peloponnesian war Athens was weakened and so was Sparta. Phillip the II, King of Macedonia (Alexander the Great’s father) conquered Greece. Macedonia was a region north of Greece that was mountainous and cold. Macedonia lived mountain villages instead of city-states and they considered themselves Greek. Phillip the II later died at his daughter's wedding which made Alexander the Great king of Macedonia at the age of 20. -
Period: 334 BCE to 323 BCE
Alexander the Great's Empire
Alexander the Great became king of Macedonia at age 20. He was well educated and well trained as a military officer. He was also tutored by the philosopher Aristotle. During his rule Alexander the Great conquered Greece, anatolia, Egypt, Persia, and India. Alexander the Great turned back after reaching India because his soldiers wanted to go home. He then died of malaria at the age of 33 shortly after turning back. His empire split among his generals after he died.