History of Greece from 2000BC to 410BC
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 built within a century,a briliant civilization starts flourishing
1500 Peak of Mycenaean civilization. Hittite empire in Asia Minor.
1470 Volcano destroys Cretan civilization. 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 Agamemmon
1000 Greek Colonization of eastern coasts of Aegean
850 Iliad and Odyssey
790 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 Euboean foundation of Cumae in Italy
750 Geometric Pottery. Beginning of Greek colonization in Mediterranean and Black Sea.
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. Cypselus overthrows Bacchiad aristocracy at Corinth. Tyranny at Sicyon.
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
600 End of Assyria. Lydia powerful in western Asia Minor. 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.
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
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
Click to go to previous page
Click to go to next page
Click to go to Home Page