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Ancient Greece

Greek civilization from 1200 BC to 600 AD

85 dated entries naming Ancient Greece, drawn from 72 separate years between 1500 BCE and 83 BCE. Nothing here is written by us: each line is the sentence a Wikipedia year article used, and the link beside it opens the exact revision.

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15th century BC

  • 1500 BCEc. 1500 BC — Eleusinian Mysteries start in Ancient Greece.source
  • 1500 BCEc. 1500 BC — Mycenaean civilization starts in Ancient Greece.source

7th century BC

  • 635 BCE635 BC—Birth of Thales, Greek philosopher (d. 543 BC) (approximate date)source
  • 625 BCEOrientalizing period of vases ends in Ancient Greece (approximate date).source

6th century BC

  • 566 BCEThe first known Panathenaic Games of Ancient Greece are conducted in Athens.source
  • 540 BCEGreek city of Elea of southern Italy is founded (approximate date).source
  • 515 BCEPheretima (Cyrenaean Queen), wife of the Greek Cyrenaean King Battus III and the last recorded queen of the Battiad dynasty in Cyrenaicasource

5th century BC

  • 499 BCEAfter a failed attack on the rebellious island of Naxos in c. 501 BC (on behalf of the Persians), Aristagoras, tyrant of Miletus, to save himself from the wrath of Persia, plans a revolt with the Milesians and the other Ionians. With the encouragement of Histiaeus (his father-in-law and former tyrant of Miletus), Aristagoras induces the Ionian cities of Asia Minor to revolt against Persia, thus instigating the Ionian Revolt and beginning the Greco-Persian Wars between Greece and Persia. The pro-Persian tyrant of Mytilene is stoned to death.source
  • 494 BCEHaving successfully captured several of the revolting Greek city-states, the Persians under Artaphernes lay siege to Miletus. The decisive Battle of Lade is fought at the island of Lade, near Miletus' port. Although out-numbered, the Greek fleet appears to be winning the battle until the ships from Samos and Lesbos retreat. The sudden defection turns the tide of battle, and the remaining Greek fleet is completely destroyed. Miletus surrenders shortly thereafter, and the Ionian Revolt comes to an end.source
  • 492 BCEThe first expedition of King Darius I of Persia against Greece commences under the leadership of his son-in-law and general, Mardonius. Darius sends Mardonius to succeed his satrap (governor) in Ionia, Artaphernes, with a special commission to attack Athens and Eretria.source
  • 490 BCEEmpedocles, Greek philosopher (d. c. 430 BC)source
  • 490 BCEZeno of Elea, Greek philosopher (d. c. 430 BC)source
  • 487 BCEGorgias, Greek philosopher (approximate date) (d. c. 376 BC)source
  • 484 BCEAchaeus of Eretria, Greek tragediansource
  • 484 BCEHerodotus of Halicarnassus, Greek historian (approximate date) (died c. 425 BC)source
  • 483 BCEXerxes I of Persia is encouraged by his cousin and brother-in-law, Mardonius, supported by a strong party of exiled Greeks, to take revenge for the defeat that Darius I suffered at the hands of the Greeks at Marathon in 490 BC. In response, Xerxes prepares for a major expedition to crush the Greeks. To avoid a repeat of the significant losses to the Persian fleet that occurred in 492 BC, Xerxes has a canal cut through the promontory of Mount Athos.source
  • 481 BCEThe Persian King Xerxes I arrives at Sardis and begins to build up his great army and navy for the invasion of Greece. Egypt contributes 481 ships.source
  • 481 BCEProtagoras, Greek presocratic philosopher (d. c. 420 BC)source
  • 480 BCEKing Alexander I of Macedon is obliged to accompany Xerxes in a campaign through Greece, though he secretly aids the Greek allies. With Xerxes' apparent acquiescence, Alexander seizes the Greek colony of Pydna and advances his frontiers eastward to the Strymon, taking in Crestonia and Bisaltia, along with the rich silver deposits of Mount Dysorus.source
  • 480 BCEBreaking through the pass at Thermopylae from Macedonia into Greece, the Persians occupy Attica.source
  • 480 BCEThe archaic period of sculpture ends in Greece and is succeeded by the Severe (Early Classical) period (approximate date).source
  • 480 BCEAugust 20 or September 8-10 – The Battle of Thermopylae ends in victory for the Persians under Xerxes. His army engulfs a force of 300 Spartans and 700 Thespiae under the Spartan King, Leonidas I. The Greeks under Leonidas resist the advance through Thermopylae of Xerxes' vast army. For two days Leonidas and his troops withstand the Persian attacks; he then orders most of his troops to retreat, and he and his 300-member royal guard fight to the last man.source
  • 480 BCESeptember 22 (traditional date) – Euripides, Greek playwright (d. 406 BC)source
  • 479 BCEAugust 27 – The Battle of Plataea in Boeotia ends the Persian invasions of Greece as the Persian general Mardonius is routed by the Greeks under Pausanias, nephew of the former Spartan King, Leonidas I. The Athenian contingent is led by the repatriated Aristides. Mardonius is killed in the battle and the Greeks capture enormous amounts of loot. Thebes is captured shortly thereafter and the Theban collaborators executed by Pausanias.source
  • 477 BCEThe Spartan co-ruler Leotychides and the Athenian leader Themistocles lead a fleet and army to reoccupy northern Greece and to punish the aristocratic family of the Aleuads for having aided the Persians. Leotychides is caught accepting a bribe during the operations in Thessaly.source
  • 466 BCEThe Greek colony of Taras, in Magna Graecia, is defeated by the native population of Apulia. As a result, the Tarentine monarchy falls, with the installation of a democracy.source
  • 454 BCEHostilities between Segesta and Selinunte, two Greek cities on Sicily, take place over access to the Tyrrhenian Sea.source
  • 450 BCEThe Severe (Early Classical) period of sculpture ends in Ancient Greece and is succeeded by the Mature Classical period (approximate date).source
  • 449 BCEThe Greek city-states make peace with the Persian Empire through the Peace of Callias, named after Callias II, the chief Greek ambassador to the Persian Court, an Athenian who is a brother-in-law of Cimon. Athens agrees to end its support for the Egyptian rebels still holding out in parts of the Nile Delta, while the Persians agree not to send ships of war into the Aegean Sea. Athens now effectively controls all the Greek city states in Ionia.source
  • 447 BCEAchaeus of Eretria, a Greek playwright, produces his first play.source
  • 441 BCEThe Greek playwright, Euripides, wins his first victory in a dramatic festival.source
  • 438 BCEThe Greek playwright Euripides' play Alcestis is performed in the Dionysia, an Athenian dramatic festival.source
  • 432 BCEThe Greek colony of Heraclea in Southern Italy is founded by colonists from Tarentum and Thurii.source
  • 431 BCEThe Greek philosopher Empedocles distinguishes the four elements - earth, fire, water, and air - that he claims all substances are made of. He explains the development of the universe by the forces of attraction and repulsion known as Love and Strife.source
  • 428 BCEThe Greek colony of Cumae in Italy falls to the Samnites, who begin to take control of the Campanian plain.source
  • 425 BCEWhat some historians call the Rich style begins in Greece.source
  • 425 BCEHerodotus of Halicarnassos, Dorian Greek historian (b. 484 BC)source
  • 421 BCEThe city of Cumae, the most northerly of the Greek colonies in Italy, falls to the Samnites.source
  • 420 BCEProtagoras, Greek presocratic philosopher (b. c. 490 BC)source
  • 412 BCEThe Persians under Darius II see their opportunity to play off one Greek city-state against another and to recover control of the Greek cities of Asia Minor, which have been under Athenian control since 449 BC. The satraps of Asia Minor, Tissaphernes and Pharnabazus, are ordered to collect overdue tribute.source
  • 405 BCEDionysius the Elder ruthlessly consolidates and expands his power. He builds a wall around Syracuse and fortifies Epipolae. The Greek citizens of Naxos, Catana, and Leontini are removed from their cities; many of them are enslaved and their homes are given to Sicilian and Italian mercenaries. Dionysius prepares his army to fight against Carthage, which now occupies western and southern Sicily.source
  • 401 BCECyrus the Younger uses a quarrel with Tissaphernes over the Ionian cities as a pretext for gathering a large army and also pretends to prepare an expedition to Pisidia, in the Taurus Mountains. Cyrus starts out with about 15,220 men, of whom 10,400 are Greek mercenaries. When he reaches the Euphrates River at Thapsacus, he announces that he is marching against Artaxerxes II. He advances unopposed into Babylonia; but Artaxerxes, warned at the last moment by Tissaphernes, hastily gathers an army. The two forces meet in the Battle of Cunaxa, north of Babylon, where Cyrus is slain.source

4th century BC

  • 400 BCEThe catapult is invented by Greek engineers.source
  • 400 BCEThe Mature classical period of sculpture ends in Ancient Greece and is succeeded by the fourth-century (Late Classical) period (approximate date).source
  • 399 BCESocrates, Greek philosopher (b. c. 470 BC)source
  • 399 BCEFebruary 15 – The Greek philosopher Socrates is sentenced to death by Athenian authorities, condemned for impiety and the corruption of youth. He refuses to flee into exile and dies by drinking hemlock.source
  • 373 BCEThe ancient Greek city of Helike is destroyed by a massive earthquake and tsunami.source
  • 370 BCETheophrastus, Greek philosopher, a native of Eressos in Lesbos, the successor of Aristotle in the Peripatetic school (d. c. 285 BC) Chanakyasource
  • 360 BCECallisthenes of Olynthus, Greek historian (d. 327 BC)source
  • 325 BCEThe fourth-century (Late Classical) period of sculpture ends in Ancient Greece and is succeeded by the Hellenistic period (approximate date).source
  • 318 BCECassander, who has allied himself with Ptolemy and Antigonus, declares war on the regent, Polyperchon. Most of the Greek states support him, including Athens. Cassander further effects an alliance with Eurydice, the ambitious wife of King Philip III Arrhidaeus of Macedon.source
  • 315 BCEAntigonus drives out Cassander's Macedonian forces of occupation from the Greek islands and forms the island cities in the Aegean into the "League of the Islanders", preparatory to his invasion of Greece. His ally, the city of Rhodes, furnishes him with the necessary fleet.source
  • 314 BCEAs Cassander fights to retain control over central Greece, Antigonus promises freedom to the Greek cities in a bid to gain support from them against Cassander.source
  • 310 BCEAristarchus of Samos, Greek astronomer and mathematician (approximate date) (d. c. 230 BC)source
  • 308 BCEPtolemy crosses from Asia Minor into Greece, where he takes possession of Corinth, Sicyon and Megara.source

3rd century BC

  • 297 BCEDemetrius Poliorcetes returns to Greece with the aim of becoming master of Macedonia. While Demetrius is in Greece, Lysimachus seizes his possessions in Asia Minor.source
  • 287 BCEArchimedes of Syracuse, Greek mathematician, physicist, engineer, astronomer and philosopher (approximate date) (d. c. 212 BC)source
  • 286 BCEAs Demetrius Poliorcetes and his army are chased across Asia Minor to the Taurus Mountains by the armies of Lysimachus and Seleucus, in Greece his son Antigonus meets with success. Ptolemy's fleet is driven off and Athens surrenders to Antigonus.source
  • 285 BCEDicaearchus, Greek philosopher, cartographer, geographer, mathematician and author (b. c. 350 BC)source
  • 281 BCEAlthough he has only a few bases in Greece, Antigonus II Gonatas lays claim to Macedonia. His claim is disputed by Antiochus I.source
  • 281 BCEFollowing the Battle of Corupedium, Lysimachus's widow, Arsinoe, flees to Cassandrea, a city in northern Greece, where she marries her half-brother Ptolemy Keraunos. This proves to be a serious misjudgement, as Ptolemy Keraunus promptly kills two of her sons, though the third is able to escape. Arsinoe flees again, this time to Alexandria in Egypt.source
  • 280 BCEResponding to an appeal from Tarentum, King Pyrrhus of Epirus uses his army of over 20,000 men against the Romans. In the Battle of Heraclea he defeats a Roman army led by consul Publius Valerius Laevinus. Pyrrhus's judicious use of his elephants plays a large part in his victory. Several tribes including the Lucani, Bruttii and the Messapians as well as the Greek cities of Crotone and Locri join Pyrrhus.source
  • 271 BCEWith the restoration of the territories captured by Pyrrhus, and with grateful allies in Sparta and Argos, and garrisons in Corinth and other Greek key cities, Antigonus II securely controls Macedonia and the other states of Greece. Antigonus becomes the chief of the Thessalian League and is on good terms with neighbouring Illyria and Thrace. He secures his position in central and south Greece by keeping Macedonian occupation forces in the cities of Corinth, Chalcis on the island of Euboea, and Demetrias in Thessaly, the three "shackles" of Hellas.source
  • 270 BCEEpicurus, Greek philosopher, author of an ethical philosophy of simple pleasure, friendship, and retirement (b. 341 BC)source
  • 270 BCEPyrrho, Greek philosopher from Elis, credited as being the first skeptic philosopher and inspiration for the school known as Pyrrhonism (b. c. 360 BC)source
  • 243 BCEWithout a declaration of hostilities, Greek statesman, Aratus of Sicyon, who has gradually built up the Achaean League into a major power in Greece, makes a surprise attack on Corinth and forces the withdrawal of the Macedonian occupation troops. Megara, Troezen, and Epidaurus also desert the Macedonian King Antigonus II.source
  • 222 BCEAlmost all of Greece falls under Macedonian suzerainty after Antigonus III re-establishes the Hellenic Alliance as a confederacy of leagues, with himself as president.source
  • 220 BCETogether with fellow Illyrian, Scerdilaidas, Demetrius of Pharos attacks Illyrian cities under Roman protection and leads a piratical squadron into Greek waters. They unsuccessfully attack Pylos, an Achaean town on the Messenian coast, in the Peloponnesus of Greece.source
  • 216 BCEThe Roman historian Quintus Fabius Pictor is sent to Delphi in Greece to consult the Oracle for advice about what Rome should do after its defeat in the Battle of Cannae.source
  • 212 BCEArchimedes of Syracuse, Greek mathematician and scientist, who has calculated formulae for the areas and volumes of spheres, cylinders, parabolas and other plane and solid figures. He has also founded the science of hydrostatics, including the principle of the upthrust on a floating body which has led to his cry, "Eureka". Thirdly, he has invented siege-engines for use against the Romans and the Archimedean screw to raise water (b. c. 287 BC)source
  • 208 BCEPolybius, Greek historian, famous for his book called "The Histories" or "The Rise of the Roman Empire", covering in detail the period between 220 and 146 BC (d. 120 BC)source
  • 205 BCEHannibal erects a bilingual Punic/Greek inscription describing his accomplishments in the temple of Juno Lacinia near Crotone.source

2nd century BC

  • 200 BCEThe Roman ambassador to Greece, Syria, and Egypt, Marcus Aemilius Lepidus delivers an ultimatum to Philip V warning Macedonia not to make war on any Greek state. Philip decides to reject the Roman ultimatum and the Romans declare war on Macedon, thus starting the Second Macedonian War.source
  • 198 BCETitus Quinctius Flamininus' forces manage to push Philip V out of most of Greece, except for a few fortresses. He then defeats Philip V in the Battle of the Aous, near modern Tepelenë in Albania.source
  • 194 BCEAfter checking the ambitions of Nabis, the tyrant of Sparta, the Roman forces under proconsul Titus Quinctius Flamininus finally withdraw from Greece.source
  • 193 BCEEumenes II of Pergamum appeals to Rome for help against the Seleucid king Antiochus III who is threatening to conquer Greece. The Roman proconsul Titus Quinctius Flamininus supports the Roman championship of Greek autonomy in Anatolia.source
  • 188 BCEThe leader of the Achaean League, Philopoemen, enters northern Laconia with his army and a group of Spartan exiles. His army demolishes the wall that the former tyrant of Sparta, Nabis, has built around Sparta. Philopoemen then restores Spartan citizenship to the exiles and abolishes Spartan law, introducing Achaean law in its place. Sparta's role as a major power in Greece ends, while the Achaean League becomes the dominant power throughout the Peloponnese.source
  • 184 BCEWith concerns rising in Rome over whether Philip V of Macedon is preparing for a new war with the Romans, Appius Claudius Pulcher is sent at the head of an embassy into Macedonia and Greece to observe Philip's activities.source
  • 179 BCEPhilip V, king of Macedonia from 221 BC, whose attempt to extend Macedonian influence throughout Greece has occurred at a time of growing Roman involvement in Greek affairs and resulted in his military defeat by Rome (b. 238 BC)source
  • 174 BCETitus Quinctius Flamininus, Roman general and statesman whose skillful diplomacy has enabled him to establish a Roman protectorate over Greece (b. c. 227 BC) (approximate date)source
  • 167 BCEPrivate documents collected by the Romans when they capture Perseus of Macedon incriminate political leaders of the Achaean League. Many influential Greeks are deported to Rome.source
  • 162 BCEWith the aid of the Greek statesman and historian Polybius, the son of the former Seleucid king Seleucus IV Philopator, Demetrius escapes from Rome, where he has been held as a hostage for many years, and returns to Syria to claim the throne from his cousin Antiochus V. In the resulting dispute, Antiochus V and his regent, Lysias, are overthrown and put to death. Demetrius then establishes himself on the Seleucid throne.source
  • 151 BCEAt Polybius' request, Scipio Aemilianus manages to gain the support of the Roman statesman Cato the Elder (whose son has married Scipio's sister Aemilia) for a proposal to release (and return to Greece) the 300 Achaean internees who are still being held without trial after being deported to Rome in 167 BC.source
  • 146 BCEAchaean War: The Romans conquer the Achaean League and southern Greece becomes a Roman province.source

1st century BC

  • 83 BCESpring – Lucius Cornelius Sulla returns to Italy from his campaigns in Greece and lands with his legions unopposed at Brundisium. He defeats the popular forces of Gaius Norbanus in the Battle of Mount Tifata.source

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