Greek Timeline

The Minoans

3100 BCE

The Minoans were located on Crete in the Greek Peninsula. They were big sea traders, and big into pottery. The Minoans were eventually defeated by the Mycenaens.

Minoan Time Period

Period: 3100 BCE to 1400 BCE

The Minoans were around for 1700 years

The Mycenaens defeat the Minoans

1400 BCE

The Minoans were defeated by the Mycenaens, who were a society of warrior people who lived during the Bronze Age.

Mycenaean Time Period

Period: 1400 BCE to 1200 BCE

The Mycenaeans only lasted for about 200 years, much shorter than the Minoans.

Fall of the Mycenaeans.

1200 BCE

The Mycenaens fell into a dark age, and according to records, the Mycenaeans were defeated by "sea people", similar to the Egyptians.

The Dark age

Period: 1200 BCE to 900 BCE

This was a period in time, during which nothing was logged, recorded, or written down. It wasn't until about 900 BCE that most of what we know about Ancient Greece had started being recorded.

Ancient Greece.

Period: 1200 BCE to 323 BCE

Ancient Greece as we know it, from the fall of the Mycenaen civilization to the death of Alexander the Great. Ancient Greece was operated based on City-States, which all had their own government systems, laws, and militaries. Ancient Greeks had their own mythology and a culture in which they valued individuality, philosophy, mathematics, and sciences.

Greco-Persian Wars

Period: 499 BCE to 449 BCE

Persia grows in size, and wants to Assimilate nearby states into their Empire. Greece resists, with Athens taking charge in defending their coasts. Eventually the Greeks successfully ward off the Persians, which angers the King of Persia, Darius the Great. He vows to take revenge on Greece, but he dies before achieving that goal. His son, Xerxes, inherits the conquest, and leads the second invasion against Greece. The Greeks allied together, and after some time, they eventually won.

The First Persian Invasion of Greece

492 BCE

Persia Attacks the shores of Athens. The Athen warriors use the Phalynx formation to defend a narrow hill at the top, and fend off the Persians after a long battle. The Persian navy tries to attack again, but they are defeated in the Invasion.

Second Persian Invasion

480 BCE

Darius's son, Xerxes, launches a second invasion against Greece. The Combined efforts of the Spartan foot soldiers, the Athenian navy, and the cooperation of the Greek City-States is what led to a second victory for the Greeks.

Formation of the Delian League

478 BCE

Led by Athens, the Delian League was an alliance in between the City-States with the common goal of defeating Persia.

Rebellions in The Delian League

471 BCE

Athens wanted full control over the city-states within the Delian League. Naxos is the first to rebel, after which they were defeated and forced to take down their city walls.

The Peloponnesian War

Period: 431 BCE to 404 BCE

Tensions rose between Athens and Sparta. Sparta refused to join the Delian League, and thought that Athens had grown too powerful. The war started when Thebes (allied to Sparta) attacked Plataea (allied to Athens).

Plague within Athens.

428 BCE

Pericles was the leader of Athens at the time, over time he grew increasingly ill, before dying from his sickness. This plague ravaged Athens throughout the Peloponnesian War.

Start of the Peace of Nicias

421 BCE

After years of fighting, Sparta offers Athens an opportunity for peace, which Athens accepts since it has been significantly weakened.

End of Peace

415 BCE

Athens launched an attack against Sicily, which led to the second part of the Peloponnesian War.

Athens begins to fall

405 BCE

The Government within Athens began to fall apart. Their newly rebuilt navy was destroyed by Spartan forces with help from the Persians. Sparta forms a blockade around Athens, and after a year, Athens officially lost the war.

End of the Peloponnesian War

404 BCE

Sparta was victorious in the war. After Athens surrendered, Sparta imposed an Oligarchy in the government of Athens (the Thirty Tyrants), and claimed Dominion over the southern portions of Greece. Sparta's Dominion did not last long after the war had ended, however.

Battle of Leuctra

371 BCE

A battle within Greece between Thebes and Sparta. It started when Sparta refused to swear on behalf of the new Alliance of Thebes and their allies. It ended in the victory of Thebes

Alexander the Great is Born

356 BCE

Born in Pella, Macedonia. Alexander was born to a monarchy. His Father, King Philip II, had the goal of conquering the Persian Empire.

Alexander becomes King of Macedonia

336 BCE

King Philip II is assassinated. At the age of just 20, Alexander claims the throne of Macedonia and kills his political rivals. With Greece under his control, Alexander starts making preparations for conquering Persia.

Battle of Issus

333 BCE

Alexander's forces are faced with Persia's massive army, which is led by King Darius III, in the southern region of modern-day Turkey. Alexander would end up winning, and King Darius III would flee, leaving his wife behind. Darius's mother was so upset that she disowned her son, and adopted Alexander as her new son.

Battle of Tyre

332 BCE

After Alexander takes over more Persian land, King Darius III offers a plea for peace to Alexander, who then denies it and takes over Byblos and Sidon. In 332 BCE, Alexander begins to attack the island of Tyre. Since he had no navy, Alexander instructed his men to build a track over the water to move his forces to the island, but this plan had failed. Alexander then began to amass a navy, and breached Tyre's walls months after he first attacked the island. Many Tyrians were executed or enslaved.

Alexander takes over Persia.

331 BCE

After taking over Egypt (where he established Alexandria), Alexander faces Darius's troops at Gaugamela. Both sides suffer from heavy losses, and eventually, Darius is killed by his own men. Alexander then claims the throne to himself, but another Persian ruler, Bessus, had also claims to the throne. Alexander then pursues Bessus, and after some time, Bessus's troops betray their leader, and hand him over to Ptolemy (an ally to Alexander). After Bessus's death, Alexander becomes King of Persia.

Battle of Hydaspes

326 BCE

Alexander begins to march to India in 327 BCE. Some Indian tribes peacefully surrendered, while others did not. In 326 BCE, Alexander meets King Porus, and while his army is less experienced than Alexander's, he utilized elephants. After a huge battle, Porus is defeated, but Alexander ends up losing his horse, which devastates him. Alexander ends up naming the city Bucephala after his horse (Bucephalus). Alexander wants to take more of India, but he ends up returning to Persia to recover.

Death of Alexander the Great

323 BCE

It isn't clear how Alexander died. Some say it was from illness, others say it was from poison. After Alexander dies at the age of 32, many people fight for the power that Alexander left behind. The empire that Alexander built eventually splits into the Ptolemaic Kingdom, the Seleucid Empire, and the Kingdom of Macedon, among others.