-
499 BCE
Battle of Marathon
The Persian Empire declared war on Athens and tried to conquer them. The battles that ensued would be known as the Persian Wars in.The first battle was the Battle of Marathon. The Persians attacked but Greece won through a phalanx formation.This formation is soldiers side by side with a spear and shield. After the victory a man ran all the way from Marathon to Athens to inform them of the good news. This was one of the first major battles and gave Greece hope that they could win. -
499 BCE
Battle of Salamis
The last battle of the Persian Wars was fought near Salamis.The Greeks were very skilled seafarers, because of their geographic location. The Battle of Salamis was fought in the sea. The Greeks, familiar with the sea, were able to sink one third of the Persian fleet. After the war was over Greece was freed from the over looming prospect of conquer by Persia. -
498 BCE
Delian League
After the Persian Wars were over Athens comes out as the leader of the Delian league. The Delian League was an alliance created to provide defence to Greek city-states against the Persian Empire. Athens became very wealthy because city-states had to pay them to be a part of this. Many city-states no longer wanted to be a part of this league without the threat of Persian conquer. Any city-states who rebelled would be conquered and turned to slaves. With these funds Athens became very powerful. -
Period: 461 BCE to 429 BCE
Golden Age
Athens having money lead to the Golden Age. They had arts, including theatre and sculpture, and democracy. The Golden Age was between the Persian and Peloponnesian Wars. The leader at this time was Pericles, he made Athens beautiful, increased their democracy, and made the strongest navy seen at that time. This made Athens even more powerful and respected. -
449 BCE
Battle of Thermopylae
After was the Battle of Thermopylae, where the Greeks were greatly outnumbered. There were 7300 Greeks against 10000 Persian soldiers. 300 Greek soldiers held off the Persians at a mountain pass, Thermopylae, for three days. The Persians found a way around the pass, given to them by a Greek traitor. After the Persians found a way around the mountain pass the Greeks were conquered and lost this battle.This battle forced the Greeks to rethink their strategy and the Persians to gain more control. -
428 BCE
Peloponnesian league
The Peloponnesian league was created as a counter to the Delian League. Athens had become too powerful as the leader of the Delian League. This created tension between other city-states and Athens, Sparta created the Peloponnesian League for city-states to join who wanted out of the Delian League. This opens an opportunity for in-fighting and war. -
Period: 425 BCE to 404 BCE
Peloponnesian Wars
The Peloponnesian wars started in consequence to the Peloponnesian League countering the Delian League. Athens built city walls and brought all the citizens into them to protect from Spartan attack. Being crammed into these close quarters, a plague breaks out, killing a third of the Athenian population. Athens, having been crippled by the plague, loses the war to Sparta. The war left both sides weakened and tired. -
345 BCE
Phillip the II of Macedonia conquers
Phillip the II of Macedonia conquered Greece after Athens and Sparta were weakened by the war and easy to conquer. Because both sides were impaired they could not fight back and were taken in Phillip’s control. After Phillip died he left his son, Alexander the Great, in charge. Alexander was a good king and had positive effects on Greece. He was educated. By Aristotle, and a trained military leader. ALexander went on to conquer Anatolia, Egypt, Persia, then India.