| 2000 |
Ancestors
of Greeks probably in Greece by now. Minoan Palace society
begins on Crete |
| 1750 |
Peak
of Minoan civilization in Crete. |
| 1700 |
Knossos
destroyed by earthquake or war |
| 1600 |
Knossos
rebuilt within a century; brilliant civilization flourishes |
| 1500 |
Peak
of Mycenaean civilization. Hittite Empire in Asia Minor. |
| 1470 |
Volcano
destroys Cretan civilization through ash, poisonous vapors,seismic
250 meter high waves. Mycenae established as new cultural center |
| 1250 |
Decline
and eclipse of Mycenaean civilization. |
| 1200 |
Trojan
war begins |
| 1184 |
City
of Troy falls to the Greeks under Agamemnon |
| 1000 |
Greek
colonization of eastern coasts of Aegean. |
| 850 |
Iliad
and Odyssey |
| 790
circa |
Greek
trading settlement at Al Mina in Syria |
| 776 |
First
recorded Olympic games held; they are open only to pure Greeks
with no police record |
| 760 -
750? |
Euboean
foundation of Cumae in Italy |
| 750 |
Geometric
Pottery. Beginning of Greek colonization in Mediterranean and
Black Sea. |
| 735
onwards |
Greek
colonization of Sicily and south Italy |
| 735 -
715? |
Spartan
conquest of Messenia |
| 700 |
Lelantine
War between Chalcis and Eretria |
| 700 -
650 |
Cimmerian
raids in Asia Minor |
| 700 |
Homer. |
| 700 |
Milesian
colonization of Black Sea and approaches; continuous contact with
Egypt opened |
| 665 |
Egypt
independent under Psamtek I (XXVI Dynasty) |
| 664 |
Naval
battle between Corinth and Corcyra, the first sea battle known to
Thucydides |
| 650 |
Messenian
revolt against Sparta. Tyrtaeus. 'Lycurgan' reform at Sparta.
Early Lyric poets. Early sculpture. |
| 650 |
Cypselus
overthrows Bacchiad aristocracy at Corinth. Tyranny at Sicyon.
Archilochus |
| 632 |
Cylon
unsuccessfully attempts tyranny at Athens |
| 630 |
Thera
founds Cyrene |
| 621 |
Draco,
Athenian lawgiver, issues a code making nearly every offense a
capital crime ("draconian") |
| 600 |
End
of Assyria. Lydia powerful in western Asia Minor. Alcman |
| 597 |
Athenian
statesman Solon established government by the rich |
| 595 -
586 |
Sacred
War for control of Delphi |
| 594 |
Archonship
of Solon at Athens |
| 590 -
580 |
Pittacus'
rule at Mytilene. Poet Sappho flourishes on island of Lesbos. Poet
Alcaeus |
| 585 |
Battle
between Medes and Lydians interrupted by solar eclipse, allegedly
foretold by Thales |
| 583 |
Overthrow
of Corinthian tyranny |
| 582 |
First
regular celebration of Pythian games at Delphi |
| 581 |
Isthmian
games |
| 573 |
Nemean
games |
| 565 |
General
Peisistratus organizes political party of farmers, shepherds,
artisans, and the poor; later he will confiscate his enemies'
wealth and give it to the poor |
| 561 |
Peisistratus'
first attempt at tyranny at Athens |
| 560 ? |
Spartan
defeat in Arcadia |
| 550 ? |
Sparta
dominant in Peloponnese. Treaty with Tegea |
| 550 |
Rise
of Persian Empire. |
| 546 ? |
Final
establishment of Peisistratus' tyranny at Athens |
| 545 |
Cyrus
overthrows Croesus of Lydia and conquers Ionia |
| 528 -
527 |
Hippias
succeeds Peisistratus at Athens |
| 510 |
Sparta
expels Hippias from Athens. Conflict between Isagoras and
Cleisthenes |
| 507 |
Reforms
of Cleisthenes at Athens |
| 506 |
Spartan
expedition against Athens frustrated by mutiny of Corinthians and
others |
| 500 |
First
known conference of Peloponnesian League. Heraclitus. Empedocles.
Threat of Persian Empire to Greece. Persian invasion of Greece
defeated. |
| 499 -
494 |
Ionian
Revolt against Persia |
| 498 -
491 |
Hippocrates
tyrant of Gela |
| 498 |
Earliest
dated poem of Pindar |
| 490
c. |
Birth
of Herodotus |
| 490 |
Athens
wins battle of Marathon against Persians led by Darius.
Gelon tyrant at Gela |
| 485 -
478 |
Gelon
tyrant at Syracuse |
| 483 |
Themistocles
persuades Athens to build large fleet |
| 480 |
Battle
of Thermopylae and Artemisium won by Persians under Xerxes;
Persians occupy Attica and sack Athens; Battle of Salamis returns
victory to Greeks. Gelon defeats Carthaginians at Himera |
| 479 |
Greek
victories over Persians at Plataea and Mycale ends Persian
invasions |
| 478 -
477 |
Pausanias
recalled to Sparta. Athens founds Confederacy of Delos. Hieron
succeeds Gelon at Syracuse |
| 478 |
Pausanias'
campaign to Cyprus and Byzantium |
| 475 -
465 |
Anti-Spartan
movement in Peloponnese |
| 474 |
Hieron
defeats Etruscans at Cumae |
| 472 |
Aeschylus
presents his first surviving play, The Persae (The Persians)
thereby founding a classical tragedy through use of heroic
infusions into previously simple form |
| 470 ? |
Revolt
of Naxos against Athens |
| 469 ? |
Cimon's
victory over Persians at R. Eurymedon |
| 468 |
Sophocles
wins first tragedy drama prize defeating Aeschylus. Death of
Simonides |
| 467 |
Death
of Hieron |
| 466 -
465 |
Revolt
of Thasos from Athens |
| 464 |
Earthquake
at Sparta. Messenian revolt |
| 462 |
Reforms
of Ephialtes at Athens. Murder of Ephialtes. Exile of Cimon |
| 460 -
454 |
Athenian
expedition to Egypt |
| 459 -
454 |
Fighting
in Greece (First Peloponnesian War) |
| 458 |
Oresteian
trilogy by Aeschylus |
| 457 |
Golden
age in Athens begins as Pericles promotes architecture and art and
studies philosophy with Anaxagoras |
| 455 |
Euripides'
first play. Approximate date of Thucydides' birth |
| 454 |
Treasury
of Confederacy moved from Delos to Athens |
| 451 |
Pericles'
law restricting Athenian citizenship |
| 450 |
Great
age of Attic tragedy. Parthenon. Herodotos. |
| 449 |
Herodotus's
l History |
| 449 |
Peace
between Athens and Persia |
| 448 |
Rebuilding
of Persian-destroyed Acropolis |
| 447 |
Parthenon
begun |
| 446 |
Boeotia
and Megara revolt from Athenian control. Federal constitution of
Boeotia. Spartan invasion of Attica. Thirty Years' Peace between
Athens and Sparta |
| 441 |
Euripedes
wins drama prize |
| 440 |
Heracleitus
forms theory of universal flux |
| 440 |
Revolt
of Samos against Athens |
| 438 |
Parthenon
completed |
| 437 |
Athens
founds Amphipolis in Thrace |
| 436 |
Birth
of Isocrates |
| 432 |
Peloponnesian
wars begin |
| 431 |
Theory
of four humors of the body formed by Empedocles |
| 431 |
Outbreak
of Peloponnesian War |
| 429 -
427 |
Peloponnesian
siege of Plataea |
| 429 |
Death
of Pericles; plague destroys a third of the population.
Birth of Plato |
| 427 -
424 |
First
Athenian expedition to Sicily |
| 427 |
Aristophanes'
first play |
| 425 |
Spartan
detachment cut off on Sphacteria near Pylos and forced to
surrender |
| 424 |
Oedipus
Rex by Sophocles. Expedition of Brasidas to Thrace.
Athenian defeat at Delium in Boeotia Brasidas captures Amphipolis.
Thucydides exiled from Athens |
| 422 |
Battle
outside Amphipolis, Cleon and Brasidas killed |
| 421 |
Alcibiades
comes to the fore of political and military intrigue |
| 421 |
Peace
of Nicias |
| 420
onwards |
Sporadic
fighting in Peloponnese |
| 418 |
Sparta
defeats Athens and Argos at Mantineia |
| 416 |
Alcibiades
urges conquest of Sicily and Carthage |
| 415 |
Alcibiades
accused of destroying religious statues and is called to stand
trial; he joins Spartans against Athens. Athenian expedition
against Syracuse |
| 413 |
Sparta
formally resumes war against Athens, and fortifies Deceleia in
Attica. Destruction of Athenian force in Sicily |
| 412 |
Spartans
lose confidence in Alcibiades; he goes to Persia |
| 411
– 410 |
Oligarchic
revolution of the Four Hundred at Athens |
| 411 |
Democracy
overthrown by oligarchic extremists Antiphon, Peisander and
Phrynichus; Alcibiades recalled and reelected general |
| 410 |
Spartans
and Persians crushed under leadership of Alcibiades |
| 409 |
Recapture
of Byzantium. Carthaginian invasion of Sicily |
| 408 |
Alcibiades
enters Athens in triumph is given autocratic powers |
| 407 |
Alcibiades
defeated at Notium; is replaced |
| 406 |
Athenian
victory over Spartan fleet at Arginusae Six of the victorious
generals condemned to death for not picking up survivors |
| 405 |
Aristophanes
produced The Frogs. Dionysius I tyrant at Syracuse. Athenian
fleet defeated at Aegos potami in Hellespont |
| 404 |
Athens
capitulates to Sparta; ends Peloponnesian war; Athens is starved
into submission; plague sweeps city |
| 404 |
Surrender
of Athens. Revolt of Egypt from Persia. Oligarchy of the Thirty
set up at Athens |
| 403 |
Restoration
of democracy at Athens |
| 401 |
Thucydides
dies. March of Cyrus the Younger against Artaxerxes II.
Cyrus killed at Cunaxa. Retreat of the Ten Thousand to the sea
with Xenophon one of their leaders |
| 400 -
395 |
Spartan
campaigns against Persians in Asia Minor |
| 400 |
Peloponnesian
War. Socrates. Thucydides. Aristophanes. |
| 399 |
Socrates
condemned and executed for flouting conventional ideas and
corrupting youth |
| 396 |
Siege
of Syracuse by Carthaginians who withdraw after plague in their
camp |
| 395 |
Alliance
of Thebes/Athens/Argos against Sparta. Battle at Haliartus and
death of Lysander |
| 394 |
Corinthian
War. Spartan victories at Nemea River and Coroneia |
| 392 |
Spartan
victory at Lechaeum outside Corinth. Negotiations for
peace;first mention of 'Common Peace'. Democratic revolution in
Corinth |
| 390 |
Iphicrates
destroys Spartan mora |
| 387 -
386 |
King's
Peace |
| 384 |
Birth
of Aristotle |
| 383 |
Spartans
seize citadel of Thebes |
| 379 -
378 |
Liberation
of Thebes |
| 378 -
371 |
Athens
and Thebes at war with Sparta |
| 378 |
Sphodrias'
march against Peiraeus. His acquittal at Sparta. Formation of
Second Athenian Confederacy |
| 373 |
Destruction
of temple of Apollo at Delphi |
| 371 |
Thebes
defeats Sparta at Leuctra |
| 370 |
Murder
of Jason of Pherae |
| 367 |
Death
of Dionysius I; succession of Dionysius II. Plato at Syracuse |
| 362 |
Battle
of Mantineia; death of Epameinondas |
| 359 |
Accession
of Philip II of Macedona |
| 357 -
355 |
Social
War between Athens and her allies |
| 357 |
Dion
'liberates' Syracuse |
| 356 |
Philomelus
of Phocis seizes Delphi. Outbreak of Sacred War |
| 354
c. |
Death
of Xenophon |
| 354 |
Tomb
for King Mausolus built at Halicarnassus. Demosthenes' first
public speech |
| 350 |
Plato. |
| 347 |
Plato's
Academy founded and will continue for 876 years; Plato formulates
The Republic. Death of Plato. Aristotle leaves Athens |
| 346 |
Peace
of Philocrates between Athens and Philip. Philip ends Sacred War |
| 344 |
Expedition
of Timoleon to Sicily |
| 343 |
Demosthenes'
unsuccessful prosecution of Aeschines. Aristotle goes to Macedon
as tutor to Alexander |
| 342 |
Aristotle,
pupil of Plato, arrives in Macedon where his father is physician
to King Philip |
| 340 |
Resumption
of war between Athens and Philip |
| 338 |
Philip
of Macedon defeats Athenians and Thebans at Battle of Chaeronea.
Death of Isocrates. Formation of League of Corinth |
| 336 |
Philip
assassinated; succeeded by Alexander |
| 335 |
Aristotle
returns to Athens, opens a Lycaeum; develops a deductive system
and scientific method. Alexander destroys Thebes |
| 334 |
Alexander
invades Asia |
| 333 |
Alexander
is victorious over Persia |
| 332 |
Alexander
is victorious over Egypt |
| 331 |
Alexander
is master of the Persian empire |
| 330 |
Alexander
takes Persepolis; atomic theory of Democritus is developed |
| 329 |
Alexander
enters Samarkand |
| 327 |
Alexander
takes southern India |
| 325 |
The
Persae by Tinotheus of Miletus is the earliest papyrus written in
Greek that will survive |
| 324 |
Meander
writes "new comedy" in a lighter vein than the plays of
Aristophanes |
| 323 |
Alexander
dies of typhoid fever; wars of Diadochi (successors) begin for
control of his empire |
| 30O |
End
of the Persian Empire. |
| 250 |
Hellenistic
kingdoms. |