History of Greece

When it was inhabited

2000 BCE

Tribes who were wandering looking for animals to hunt stumbled upon Greece. Here they were able to hunt and survive. Therefore they stayed there. This happened around 2000 BCE.

Trojan War

1194 BCE

This was the war between Greece and Troy. It started when the princess of Greece ran off with the prince of Troy. Greece invaded Troy and the war was over when the Greeks hid in a wooden horse to open the gates so the Greek army could enter. It was from 1194 BCE to 1184 BCE.

First Olympic games

776 BCE

These were held at Olympia. However, there was only one event, the 200m sprint. Happened at 776 BCE.

Democracy

508 BCE

In 508 BCE Athens were the first to create democracy. The same government we use today. We adopted our form of government from these people.

Battle of Thermopylae

480 BCE

This was a legendary battle in which 1000 Spartans held off a Persian army 15 times their size. They lost, however, this battle was so famous that a movie and a documentary were made about it. The story has been changed to 300 Spartans vs 1 million Persians. It’s said that when their weapons broke they fought with their fist. Happened in 480 BCE.

When Greece became an actual country

1829

There was a war lasting from 1821 to 1829. That is when Greece was a country and not just a place. The people of Greece were fighting the Ottoman empire.

First Balkan War

1912

This was a war against Turkey lasting 1912-1913. There were 6 battles and Greece won all of them. There were territory adjustments after Greece had won.

Second Balkan war

1913

This one, not even a year 1913 June- 1913 August. There were 3 battles 2 victories and the other a stalemate. In one battle Greece had sent a single regiment to invade the capital. When they were marching there 2 Bulgarian regiments had ambushed the Greeks and had them nearly encircled. However, the Greeks won the battle pushed further into Bulgarian territory and took the capital. Bulgaria loses territory and Greece gains territory.

WW1

1917

In 1917 Greece had sided with the Axis Powers in WW1. They were fighting Macedonia and won. Greece was surprisingly good at war.

Italy invades Greece

1940

Mussolini dictator of Italy had been told by Hitler to Invade North Africa. His generals had all told him not to invade Greece, yet he still invaded They invaded from Albania and in just one week they were in a 3-month defensive battle fighting for their lives. Hitler sent half his army to easily overrun Greece. Mussolini had been humiliated. Hitler had sent a massive paratrooper attack on Crete the attack was devastating for Germany he had taken heavy casualties for a small for a small reward.

Civil war 1946-1949

1946

This civil war was a war between communists within the country and the government which opposed them. In 1947 Greece kills nearly 1,200 communist militants. In 1948 the communists reach their maximum power. In 1949 Greece’s top general Alexander Papagos begins a major counter-offensive bringing the communists to the Albanian border. A few months after the communist commander announced a ceasefire. The efficiency of the Greek military amazes me. The country of Greece has a win loss ratio of 3/4.