Timeline: Greek history

2000 BCE

first settlers

wandering tribes begin to settle in Greece

1600 BCE

Mycenaean

Bronze Age Greece was inhabited by the Mycenaean people. They took their name from the capital city of their land, Mycenae.

1194 BCE

Trojan war (begins)

The Trojan war between the Greeks and the Trojans (inhabitants of Troy) began

1184 BCE

Trojan war (ends)

The Trojan war ends when the Greeks used a wooden horse to invade and overturn the Trojan city of Troy.

1100 BCE

Dorian Invaders

Mycenaean Greece was invaded by Dorian tribesmen from the north. The Dorians had iron weapons which they used to good effect to defeat and conquer the Mycenaeans.

850 BCE

Alphabet

The Greek Alphabet was developed from the Phoenician alphabet.

800 BCE

Homer

Homer composed his poems – the Iliad and the Odyssey. The Iliad is an epic poem set in the Trojan War while the Odyssey tells the story of the adventures of Odysseus on his return from the Trojan war.

776 BCE

First Olympic Games

First recorded Olympic games. The games were held at Olympia. There was one event – the men’s 200m sprint.

743 BCE

First Messenian War (begins)

This was a disagreement between the Messenians and the Spartans that led to war

724 BCE

First Messenian War (ends)

The first Messenian war ended in victory for the Spartans

650 BCE

Rise of the Tyrants

The rule of aristocratic leaders was challenged by lesser aristocrats or wealthy tradesmen who wanted to overthrow the monopoly of the aristocrats. Known as tyrants they seized power from the aristocracy and took over rule in their stead.

621 BCE

Draco’s Code of Law

The laws of Athens had previously been a set of oral laws. Draco introduced a new set of harsher laws which were written down for all to read. For many crimes the punishment was death.