Unit 2 Part 1 Timeline

Pheidon becomes tyrant of Argo

660 BCE

Pheidon became the tyrant of Argo. It is unknown how he became a tyrant, but because of his power, he became the Olympic Games president. A major thing he did as a tyrant was eliminate his rivals. He also killed his wife and used castration as a punishment. Under his rule as a tyrant, Argos flourished.

Earliest Greek statue structure

650 BCE

The oldest Greek statue was built in Thera. During this period, finding these giant statues in major cities was way more common. Most of the time the statues were of soldiers, musicians, and even charioteers. Usually, these statues meant worship of their Gods and Goddesses.

Sparta crushes Messenian revolt

650 BCE

Under the rule of Alcamenes and Theopompus, a war broke out between Sparta and the Messenians. It was a 2-decade war that ended with the Messenians getting captured and became enslaved. The Spartans would pay the Messenians half of their soil and produce to Sparta. When they were enslaved Sparta made them helots and serfs of the state. Spartans did fear the Messenians before they enslaved them because of how much wealth and the influence they had on Greek cities.

Black-Figure pottery

625 BCE

Black-Figure pottery was important to Greek culture because they would use it to show Greek history mainly Ancient Greek history. They also liked to use this pottery to show the myths and legends of Ancient Greece. The black pigment they used for the pottery was made from grape pomace. Polygnotus and Micon painted the pottery.

Age of Law-givers in Greece

621 BCE

During this time of Law-givers for Greece, there was a big one named Draco. He had a harsh legal code. The main punishment he would give people if they broke his code was death. They called the legal code The Draconian Constitution. It was written in response to the unfair interpretation and modified the oral law by the Athenian aristocrats.

Solon lays foundation for democracy

594 BCE

Solon started democracy by eliminating debt slavery in Athens. He established the Council of 400. He let every citizen appeal the verdicts of magistrates before assemblies. He also created a court for all citizens called The Heliaia. All citizens were admitted into The Ekklesia (the assembly of the citizens in city-states of ancient Greece).

Carthage and Greece fight for dominance in Sicily

580 BCE

This war was fought between Ancient Carthage and Greek states led by Syracuse all for control of Sicily and the western Mediterranean. Whoever did dominate Sicily would have the resources and supplies that Athens would need to win its war against Sparta. There were many battles during these Sicilian Wars that lasted from 580-376 BCE. Carthage retained Western Sicily from the war and the Greeks had the eastern part up until the Punic Wars.

Pisistratus becomes tyrant in Athens

560 BCE

Pisistratus was a tyrant of Athens due to using force. He had a mercenary bodyguard. He disarmed the citizens and kept hostages from major families in safekeeping on an island called Naxos. He also kept the constitutional forms of the Athens government and helped it run more efficiently. He improved the water supply of Athens by building an aqueduct that fed a fountain at the edge of the agora (a meeting ground for various activities of the citizens).

Peloponnesian League alliance between Sparta

550 BCE

The Peloponnesian League was an alliance of Ancient Greek city-states. They were dominated by Sparta. It is known as being one of the 2 rivals in the Peloponnesian War. They were against the Delian League which was dominated by Athens. The Peloponnesian League was used for decisions on questions about war, and peace. or alliance they were determined though by the federal congress. They can only be summoned by Sparta whenever Sparta thought they were needed.

Persia conquest of Ionia

546 BCE

One major reason why Ionia was conquered by Persia was because after the Peloponnesian War Sparta ceded Ionia back to Persia which made Ionia under Persian rule for a while. Ionia didn't like being under Persian rule so after about 40 years they went on a revolt. But sadly they were under Persian rule up until Alexander the Great in 334 BC

Polycrates rule as tyrant of Samos.

540 BCE

Polycrate (who was the son of Aeaces) was the tyrant of Samos from 540s BCE to 522 BCE. His reputation as a tyrant was both a fierce warrior and an enlightened tyrant. Polycrate became a tyrant because he gained control of Samos when there was a celebration festival going on for Hera outside of the city halls.

Etruscan & Carthaginian alliance expels the Greeks from Corsica

539 BCE

The Greeks were gone from Corsica after the Battle of Alalia. The Etruscan took control of Corsica. Carthage put all of their attention on Sardinia making sure that there is no Greek presence on the island. It took them roughly 5 years to just finish the Battle of Alalia so they could start taking over the land.

The Andokides Painter invents red-figure pottery.

530 BCE

Red-figure pottery first was invented it was a huge thing because it was this whole new technique on how to do pottery. This technique helped out black-figure pottery because it allowed for a more realistic representation of the figures on the pottery. It also allowed the artist to depict bodies in any turning or twistings that would be happening on the pot. With black-figure pottery, it was hard to overlap figures and foreshortening but with red-figure pottery, it got rid of those problems.

Life of Greek tragedy poet Aeschylus.

525 BCE

A person named Valerius Maximus wrote about Aeschylus' death. Valerius said that he was killed outside Sicily by a tortoise dropped by an eagle and the eagle mistook Aeschylus' head as a rock suitable for shattering the shell of the tortoise. Aeschylus was a very respected poet by the Athenians and after he died his tragedies were the only ones that were allowed to be restaged.

Darius succeeds to the throne of Persia after the death of Cambyses II

522 BCE

Darius rose to power after Cambyses II died and the assassination of Smerdis (who crowned himself kind during a revolt in Persia). Cambyses died of an accidental self-inflicted wound. People in Persia regarded him as blasphemous, cruel, and mad. Darius was defeated by the Greeks at the Battle of Marathon.

Fall of the Peisistratid tyranny in Athens

514 BCE

Cleisthenees of Athens win the power over the tyrants. They divided the Athenian citizens into 10 new tribes. They created a Council of Five Hundred as a representative assembly. The 10 tribes were, Erechthesis, Aegeis, Pandianis, Leontis, Acamantis, Oeneis, Cecropis Hippothontis, Aeantis, and Antiochis .

Reforms by Cleisthenes establishes democracy in Athens

508 BCE

Cleisthenes' reforms included reorganizing the Bould so that 50 people from each region were members. They rearranged the political system from 4 family clans to 10 groups based on where they lived. They also banned patronymics in favor of Athenian democracy. Cleisthenes called all of these reforms demokratia which means rule by the people. This was the first known democracy in the world.

Ionian cities rebel against Persian rule

499 BCE

The Ionian revolt started because they didn't like that Persia supported having tyrants by demands for tribute and service. It was Asia Minor against Persian overlords. They first deposed their tyrants and they tried but failed to throw off the Persians' domination even when they had help from Athens. This all lead to the Persians starting to invade Greece which is the next phase of the Greco-Persian War.

Alexander I reigns as king of Macedon

497 BCE

Alexander ruled as king from 498 BCE until he died in 454 BCE. As kind Alexander conquered the eastern Mediterranean, Egypt, the Middle East, and even parts of Asia in a very impressive short amount of time. His empire had significant cultural changes in the lands he conquered which changed the course of the history of those regions.

Birth of Pericles

495 BCE

Pericles was born in 495 BCE. He was very responsible for the full development of the Athenian statesman. He established democracy in Athens and even created the Athenian Empire. He built the Parthenon and ushered in the beginning of the Athenian Golden Age. Under Pericles' leadership, the Athenian democracy flourished which made Athens the political and even cultural focus of Greece.