Timeline of Ancient Greece

Timeline of Ancient Greece

Timeline of Ancient Greece

Learn about the events and timeline of the history of Ancient Greece from its founding, to the rise of the city-states, Athens and Sparta, to its fall

Periods can be used to categorize the history of Ancient Greece. The Archaic Period, the Classical Period, and the Hellenistic Period are the three main eras we shall discuss in this article.

With the establishment of city-states like Sparta and Athens during the Archaic Period, the Greek government started to take shape. The Greeks also started investigating philosophy and theater during this time.

The advent of democracy in Athens signaled the start of the Classical Era. In terms of philosophy and art, Athens also attained unprecedented heights. The Peloponnesian Wars, which involved Athens and Sparta, took place during this time. Alexander the Great ascended to power during the end of the Classical Era, capturing most of Western Asia and Europe.

The Hellenistic Period began with Alexander the Great’s passing. Greece’s strength gradually waned over this time until Rome finally took control of it.

Greek Archaic Period (800 BC – 480 BC)

• 776 BC – The first Olympic Games takes place. The games would take place every 4 years in honor of the Greek god Zeus.
• 750 BC – Homer begins to write the Iliad and Odyssey. These epic poems become two of the most famous literary works in Greek literature.
• 743 BC – First Messenian War begins. This is a war between Sparta and Messenia that will last many years.
• 650 BC – The Greek Tyrants come into power. Cypselus is the first Tyrant of Corinth.
• 621 BC – A lawyer named Draco introduces strict new laws in Athens that are punishable by death. These are called Draconian laws.
• 600 BC – The first Greek coins are introduced.
• 570 BC – Pythagoras is born. He will make major advances in science, math, and philosophy. We still use the Pythagorean Theorem today to help with geometry.
• 508 BC – Democracy is introduced in Athens by Cleisthenes. He establishes a constitution and is often called the “Father of Athenian Democracy”. This is one of the great accomplishments of the Greek culture.

(480 BC – 323 BC) Greek Classical Period

• 490 BC – The Greeks fight the Persians in the Greek/Persian Wars. Two famous battles are the Battle of Marathon in 490 BC and the Battle of Salamis in 480 BC. The Greeks win and the Persians retreat.
• 468 BC – Sophocles begins to write plays for the theatre. Soon the theater becomes a very popular form of entertainment in Greece.
• 440 BC – Famous playwright Euripides wins first prize for the best play in Athens.
• 432 BC – The temple to Athena, the Parthenon, is completed in Athens on the Acropolis. Today this is the most famous surviving building of Ancient Greece.

• 431 BC :  The wars between Sparta and Athens begin. They are called the Peloponnesian Wars. The wars will last 27 years with Sparta eventually conquering Athens in 404 BC.

• 399 BC – The famous Greek philosopher Socrates is put to death for corrupting the youth of Athens with his teachings.
• 386 BC – Greek philosopher and student of Socrates, Plato, founds the first institution of higher learning in the western world. It’s called the Academy.
• 342 BC – The great philosopher, scientist, and mathematician, Aristotle, begins to tutor Alexander (later to be called Alexander the Great).
• 336 BC – Alexander the Great becomes king when his father, Philip of Macedon is assassinated.
• 333 BC – Alexander begins his conquests and defeats the Persians.
• 332 BC – Alexander conquers Egypt. He establishes the new capital of Egypt at Alexandria. Over the next several years Alexander would greatly expand his empire, conquering much of Persia on the way to India.

Greek Hellenistic Period (323 BC – 31 BC)

• 323 BC – The Hellenistic period begins when Alexander the Great dies. The Ancient Greek civilization begins its decline and the Ancient Romans start to gain power.
• 300 BC – Euclid, a Greek mathematician, writes Elements. This famous writing will have an impact on mathematics for years to come.
• 146 BC – Rome defeats the Greeks at the Battle of Corinth making it part of the Roman Empire.
• 31 BC – Rome defeats Egypt at the Battle of Actium ending the Hellenistic Era.

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