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750 BCE
Homer
Homer was a renowned poet in ancient Greece. Though, blind he created stories that are still read today. In 750 BC he wrote The Iliad and The Odyssey among others. Homer wrote stories about the gods and goddesses of Greece as well. -
Period: 500 BCE to 300 BCE
The Golden Age
After The Persian Wars Greece was at the peak of it’s power. They defeated one of the largest armies in the world! Athens became very wealthy and emerged as the leader of the Delian league. They became greedy and starting charging colonies and countries of Greece to pay taxes. This led to The Peloponnesian Wars. -
Period: 499 BCE to 449 BCE
Persian wars
Persia tried to conquer Greece three times but failed. Athens helped one of their Greek colonies with a rebellion. As a result, Darius vowed to defeat Athens. It started with The Battle of Marathon which Athens won, then the Battle of Thermopylae; Sparta and Athens joined forces to seize a mountaintop, Lastly, there was The Battle of Salamis; The Athenian and Persian navy’s fight until Athens finally wins. -
Period: 431 BCE to 404 BCE
Peloponnesian War
The Peloponnesian war started because Athens misused its power causing Sparta to get angry. Sparta started the Peloponnesian League countering Athens Delian League. They started the Peloponnesian Wars. Athens had a stronger navy but Sparta's army was far greater. After years of fighting Sparta eventually won mainly because of the plague in Athens that killed thousands of people. -
430 BCE
Athens Plague
Near the middle/ beginning of the Peloponnesian War Athens suffered a deadly plague that killed thousands of people. This devastated Athens and ultimately was the reason they lost The Peloponnesian War. -
425 BCE
Herodotus writes about the war
Herodotus was a soldier in the war who got kicked out because of a costly loss in The Peloponnesian War. Afterwards he wrote about the horrors of the war and The plague of Athens. He was a historian who is known today and helped us know more about the war. -
359 BCE
Philip II of Macedonia conquers Greece
Both Sparta and Athens were so weakened by the war Philip the II had no trouble conquering them. Sparta and Athens military power was so weak they didn't stand a chance. Unfortunately he was assassinated at his daughter's wedding. -
339 BCE
Alexander the Great conquers Persia and expands the Greek empire
After his father's assassination Alexander took control of the empire at only age 20. He is considered one of the greatest generals of all time. He conquered Persia the largest empire in the world and some of Africa. He adopted different cultures and is an important part of Greek history even today. -
Period: 323 BCE to 31 BCE
Hellenistic Age
Alexander’s empire combined the knowledge of 4 great empires (Greece, Persia, Egypt, India). This created a new culture knows as Hellenistic Culture. Alexandria Egypt was very important and a city of knowledge for many years. Many famous mathematicians, physicians, and philosophers studied there. Hellenistic art made people look more real and emotional as well. This culture would last in Greece for many years.