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500 BCE
Peloponnesian league forms
Athens starts to abuse its power as the leader of the Delian league. They conquer anyone who attempts to leave the Delian league. Many of the polis didn’t think the Delian league was needed anymore because persia had been defeated. Eventually they got tired of Athens and formed the Peloponnesian league, with Sparta as their leader,to fight against Athens. -
Period: 499 BCE to 449 BCE
Persian wars
There were three battles in the Persian wars the battle of marathon, the battle of thermopylae, and the battle of salamis. The battle of marathon was won by the Greeks because they used the phalanx formation. Persia won the battle of thermopylae with the help of a Greek traitor who found them a route around the mountain ass where the battle took place. The battle of salamis was the final battle, the Greeks won because of their superior navy even though they were greatly outnumbered. -
Period: 479 BCE to 431 BCE
Golden age of Athens
After Greece won the Persian wars they became the leader of the Delian league and were very rich and powerful. With their newfound wealth they became very interested in the arts and made Athens beautiful. During this period of time the current leader of Athens, Pericles, made many advancements in democracy. This was also when Athens had its strongest navy and when the Parthenon was constructed. Athens started to tax members of the Delian league and conquered them if they left. -
Period: 431 BCE to 404 BCE
Peloponnesian wars
After the Peloponnesian league was formed they attacked Athens. The people of Athens were terrified because although their navy was superior Sparta had a much stronger army. All of Athens hid within the city walls in an attempt to avoid the Spartans. All of the fighting happened outside the city walls, keeping the residents safe from the Spartans. Eventually Sparta defeats Athens and wins the war. Although Sparta won the war they sustained heavy casualties. -
Period: 430 BCE to 427 BCE
Plague in Athens
During the Peloponnesian wars the people of Athens gather inside the city walls for protection from Spartans. While they were all crowded together a plague came up from Ethiopia on a trade route. Since all of the Athenians were crowded together inside the city the plague spread quickly. The plague killed one-third of the people in Athens, including their leader at the time, Pericles. The plague greatly weakened Athens forcing them to surrender to Sparta. -
359 BCE
Philip the second conquers Greece
The Peloponnesian war had greatly weakened all of Greece making them vulnerable to attack. Philip the second from Macedonia had always wanted to conquer the Persian empire, so he took this opportunity to start and conquered Greece. Although he conquered Greece he never fulfilled his dream as he died shortly after conquering Greece. The Greeks didn’t like being ruled by the Macedonians so they fought back, but Philip the second’s son, Alexander the great, reconquered them quickly. -
334 BCE
Alexander the great conquers the Persian empire
After reconquering the Greeks Alexander the great went on to conquer Persian empire. He was brutal killing all the men even if they ran, and enslaved the remaining women and children. India was the only place that he couldn’t fully conquer, his army refused to go any further so he was forced to return home. After he conquered Egypt he had a city built in it called Alexandria, which became a melting pot of different cultures. -
Period: 323 BCE to 31 BCE
Hellenism
After the construction of Alexandria the age of Hellenism began. Hellenism was a mix of all the different cultures found in Alexandria. Since there were so many cultures there it caused art to see drastic changes from the classical art of Greece. Art was the only big change that the Hellenistic age brought forth. For example the statues were given faces, clothing, and were more realistic.