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1524 BCE
Agamemnon
The king of Mycenae and leader of the Greek army in the Trojan War of Homer's Illiad. He is presented as a great warrior but selfish ruler, famously upsetting his invincible champion Achilles and so prolonging the war and suffering of his men. -
776 BCE
First Olympic Games
A competition of athletes from all around Greece. Held at Olympia in the Greek city-state of Elis. -
650 BCE
Rise of the Tyrants
Many different areas of Greece, tyrants (a ruler who seized power unconstitutionally or inherited such power) began ruling many areas. -
620 BCE
Draco’s Code of Law
The Draconian Law was created by King Draco for the Athenian people. It was harsh due to the fact that many things enabled the Death Penalty, including Minor Crimes -
519 BCE
Xerxes
The fourth King of Kings of the Achaemenid Empire. He is best known for his massive invasion of Greece from across the Hellespont, a campaign marked by the battles of Thermopylae, Salamis, and Plataea. -
508 BCE
Democracy
Led by Cleisthenes, Athenians established what is generally held as the first democracy. -
495 BCE
Pericles
Was a Athenian statesman. Under his leadership Athenian democracy and the Athenian empire flourished, making Athens the political and cultural focus of Greece between the Greco-Persian and Peloponnesian wars. -
492 BCE
First Persian War
Stemmed from a revolt by Greek Ionians. It was instigated by Aristagoras, economic burdens, and a feeling of being treated unfairly by the Empire. The Greeks overall won the battle -
490 BCE
Battle of Marathon
It was fought between the citizens of Athens, aided by Plataea, and a Persian force commanded by Datis and Artaphernes. The battle was the culmination of the first attempt by Persia, under King Darius I. Was fought because the Persian army wanted to defeat the Greek city-states that supported the uprising in, Ionia. -
480 BCE
Second Persian War
King Xerxes I of Persia sought to conquer all of Greece. The invasion was in response to the defeat of the first Persian invasion of Greece at the Battle of Marathon, which ended Darius I's attempts to subjugate Greece. -
480 BCE
Battle of Thermopylae
A battle fought between an alliance of Greek city-states, led by King Leonidas I of Sparta, and the Achaemenid Empire of Xerxes I over the course of three days, during the second Persian invasion of Greece. -
470 BCE
Socrates
A Greek philosopher from Athens, credited as one of the founders of Western philosophy. The first moral philosopher of the Western ethical tradition of thought. -
438 BCE
Parthenon Completion
Directed by the Athenian statesman Pericles, the Parthenon was built by the architects Ictinus and Callicrates under the supervision of the sculptor Phidias. It was a symbol of the power, wealth and elevated culture of Athens. -
431 BCE
Peloponnesian War
Fought in ancient Greece between Athens and Sparta. Sparta feared of the growing power and influence of the Athenian Empire, thus starting a war. -
428 BCE
Plato
Athenian philosopher during the Classical period in Ancient Greece, founder of the Platonist school of thought, and the Academy, the first institution of higher learning in the Western world. -
400 BCE
Catapult
Ancient siege machine that could hurl heavy objects or shoot arrows with great force and for considerable distances. -
387 BCE
The Academy in Athens
Founded and created by Plato. Aristotle studied there for twenty years before founding his own school, the Lyceum. -
385 BCE
Aristotle
Greek philosopher and polymath during the Classical period in Ancient Greece. Taught by Plato, he was the founder of the Lyceum, the Peripatetic school of philosophy, and the Aristotelian tradition. -
382 BCE
Phillip II
The king of the kingdom of Macedon. Said to have restored eternal peace in his country -
356 BCE
Alexander the Great
The king of the ancient Greek kingdom of Macedon and a member of the Argead dynasty. His reign was the beginning of a new era in history known as the Hellenistic Age. -
338 BCE
Battle of Chaeronea
Philip II and his son Alexander claimed a decisive victory, effectively uniting Greece under their control. The battle represented the end of independent Greek city-states, and led to the formation of the Macedonian Empire. -
338 BCE
League of Corinth
A confederation founded by Phillip II after the Battle of Chaeronea and succeeded by Alexander the Great -
12 BCE
Homer
He is famous for the epic poems The Iliad and The Odyssey, which have had an big effect on Western culture, but very little is known about the poems alleged author. -
550
Darius I
The third Persian King of Kings of the Achaemenid Empire. Noted for his administrative genius, his great building projects, and his benevolence toward the diverse peoples under his sovereignty.