Greece Timeline

  8000 BCE Mesolithic Period
(8300-7000)
     
Earliest evidence of burials found in Franchthi Cave in the Argolid, Greece 7250 BCE  
     
Evidence of food producing economy, simple hut construction, and seafaring in mainland Greece and the Aegean 7000 BCE Neolithic Period
(7000-3000 BCE)
     
First "Megaron House" at Sesclo, in central Greece 5700 BCE  
     
Evidence of earliest fortifications at Dimini, Greece 3400 BCE  
     
Houses of Vasiliki and Myrtos
Messara Tholoi
House of Tiles at Lerna

 

 

3000 BCE Aegean Bronze Age
or Early Bronze Age

(3000-2000)

Minoan Prepalatial
or: EMIA, EMIB (3000-2600 BCE)

Early Cycladic Culture
(3200-2000)

Early Helladic Period
(3000-2000)

     
  2600 BCE Minoan Prepalatial Period
or: EMIIA, EMIIB, MMIII
(2600-2000 BCE)
     
Destruction of Minoan settlements 2000 BCE Minoan Protopalatial Period
or: MMIA, MMIB, MMI IA, MMI IB, MMI IIA, MMI IIB, LMIA Early
(1900-1700 BCE)

Early Middle Cycladic (2000-1600 BCE)

Middle Helladic Period
or Middle Bronze Age
(2000-1550)

     
Destruction of Minoan palaces
Settlement of Akrotiri, Thera
Grave Circle B at Mycenae
1700 BCE Minoan Neopalatial Period
or: LMIA Advanced, LMIA Final, LMIB Early, LMIB Late, LMII
(1700-1400)
     
Eruption of Thera volcano (sometime between 1627 and 1600) 1627 BCE  
     
Grave Circle A at Mycenae
Legends:
Argo Voyage, Heracles, Oedipus
1600 BCE Late Bronze Period
or The Heroic Age
(1600-1100)
     
Tholos Tomb at Mycenae 1550 BCE Late Helladic Period
(1500-1100)
     
Linear B writing (1450-1180) 1450 BCE  
     
Mycenaean Palaces
Evidence of expanded Mycenaean trade at Levand
1400 BCE Minoan Postpalatial Period
or: LMIIIA1, LMIIIA2, LMIIIB, LMIIIC
(1400-1100)
     
Palace of Knossos destruction 1370 BCE  
     
"Sea Peoples" begin raids in the Eastern Mediterranean 1300 BCE Mycenaean Culture
(1300-1000)
     
Trojan War (1250 or 1210)
1250 BCE  
     
Destruction of many Mycenaean palaces
Doric Invasions? (1200-1100)
Sea Peoples (1200-1100)
1200 BCE  
     
  1180 BCE Sub-Mycenaean Period
(1180-1050)
Destruction of Miletus and resettlement 1100 BCE Sub-Minoan Period
(1150-950)

Dark Age of Greece
(1100-700)

Proto-Geometric Period
(1100-900)

     
End of Mycenaean civilization
Lefkandi: Toumba building
1000 BCE  
     
  900 BCE Geometric Period
(900-700)

 

     
First Olympic Games 776 BCE  
     
Greek colonies established in Southern Italy & Sicily
Invention of Greek alphabet
Homeric poems recorded in writing (750-700)
750 BCE Late Geometric
(circa 760-700)
     
  740 BCE Orientalizing Period
(circa 740-650)
     
First Messenian War
Sparta invades Messenia
(730-710)
Naxos founded (734)
Syracuse founded (733)
730 BCE  
     
  700 BCE Archaic Period
(700-480)
     
Earliest Lyric Poets 650 BCE  
     
Second Messenian War
Sparta invades Messenia (640-630)
Cyrene founded (630)
640 BCE  
     
Sappho born in Lesbos 630 BCE  
     
Thales (625-545) born in Miletos 625 BCE  
     
Pythagoras (ca. 569-475) born in Samos 569 BCE  
     
Solon replaces the Draconian law in Athens and lays the foundation for Democracy.
He introduced to Athens the first coinage and a system of weights and measures
594 BCE  
     
Pisistratos becomes tyrant of Athens 546 BCE  
     
Pesistratos Dies. His sons become tyrants of Athens 527 BCE  
     
Red-figure pottery developed in Athens 525 BCE  
     
Alcmaeonid family and Spartans free Athens from tyranny.
Introduction of Democracy in Athens
510 BCE  
     
Kleisthenes begins reforming Athenian code of laws, and establishes a democratic constitution 508 BCE  
     
Ionian revolt 499 BCE  
     
Ionian revolt defeated by Persians 494 BCE  
     
Persian Wars 497-479 BCE  
     
Battle of Marathon
Athenians defeat Darius and his Persian army
490 BCE  
     
Silver mines discovered near Athens.
Athens begin building naval fleet
483 BCE  
     
Aristides ostracized 482 BCE  
     
Xerxes marches on Greece
Battle of Thermopylae
Persians burn the Acropolis
Athens and allies defeat Persian fleet at naval battle of Salamis
480 BCE Classical Period
(480-323 )

Transitional (480-450)

     
Battle of Plataea
Greeks defeat Persian army
479 BCE  
     
Delian league lead by Athens 477 BCE  
     
Earthquake in Lakonia
Helot revolt against Sparta in Messenia
465 BCE  
     
Peloponnesian Wars:
"First Peloponnesian War"
461-445  
     
Perikles leads Athens through its "Golden Era" (ca. 460-429) 460 BCE  
     
Aeschylus produces "the Oresteia" trilogy of tragedies (Agamemnon, Libation Barers, Eumenides) in Athens
458 BCE  
     
Delian league treasury moved from Delos to Athens 454 BCE  
     
Sophist Protagoras visits Athens 450 BCE  
     
Acropolis and other major building projects begin in Athens
Construction of Parthenon (449-432)
Sophocles produces the tragedy "Ajax"
449 BCE  
     
Thirty-year peace treaty signed between Athens and Sparta in winter 446/445 446 BCE  
     
Sophocles produces "Antigone" in Athens 430-429 441 BCE  
     
Peloponnesian War (431-404) resumes
Euripedes produces "Medea" in Athens
431 BCE  
     
Plague epidemic in Athens 430 BCE  
     
Death of Perikles 429 BCE  
     
Peace of Nicias 421 BCE  
     
Construction of Temple of Athena Nike (420-410) 420 BCE  
     
Athenians resume hostilities
Spartans defeat Athens at Mantinea
418 BCE  
     
Athens razes Melos 416 BCE  
     
Athens expedition to Syracuse
Alcibiades defects to Sparta
415 BCE  
     
Syracuse defeats Athens 413 BCE  
     
Aristophanes produces "Lysistrata" 411 BCE  
     
Athens surrenders to Sparta
Thirty tyrants rule Athens
404 BCE  
     
Democracy restored in Athens 403 BCE  
     
Trial and execution of Socrates 399 BCE  
     
Plato establishes the Athens Academy 380 BCE  
     
Sparta defeated in Leuctra 371 BCE  
     
Thebes defeats Sparta at Mantinea 362 BCE  
     
Philip II, becomes King of Macedonia 359 BCE  
     
Macedonian army defeats Athens and its allies at Chaeronea
League of Corinth founded
338 BCE  
     
Phillip II Assassinated.
Alexander the Great becomes king of Macedonia
336 BCE  
     
Aristotle founds the Lyceum in Athens 335 BCE  
     
Alexander the Great defeats Persian army at Granicus river in Anatolia 334 BCE  
     
Alexander the Great defeats Persians at Issus 333 BCE  
     
Tyre capitulates to Alexander after siege 332 BCE  
     
Alexander invades Egypt
City of Alexandria founded in Egypt
Alexander defeats Persians at Gaugamela
331 BCE  
     
Alexander's army reaches Bactria (Afghanistan) 329 BCE  
     
Alexander marries Roxane (princes of Bactria) 327 BCE  
     
Alexander's army reaches India 326 BCE  
     
Death of Alexander the Great 323 BCE Hellenistic Period
(323-146)
     
Aristotle dies 322 BCE  
     
Stoic philosopher Zeno founds school in Athens 310 BCE  
     
Stoic philosopher Epicurus founds school in Athens 307 BCE  
     
Ptolemy I founds museum in Alexandria 300 BCE  
     
Archimedes (287-212) born in Syracuse 287 BCE  
     
Achaean League founded 284 BCE  
     
Invasion of Greece by Gauls 279 BCE  
     
Gauls defeated by king Attalus I 238 BCE  
     
First Macedonian War (214-204)
Rome defeats Philip V of Macedon
214 BCE  
     
Second Macedonian War (200-196)
Victory of Flamininus at Cynoscephalae
200 BCE  
     
Third Macedonian War (172-168/7)
Lucius Aemelius Paulus of Rome defeats Perseus of Macedon at Pydna.
Macedonia divided into four republics
172 BCE  
     
Roman Invasion of Greece
Mummius Achaicus sacks Corinth and dissolves the Achaean league.
Rome rules Greece henceforth
146 BCE Late Hellenistic or Greco-Roman (146-30)
     
Romans led by Sulla sack Athens 86 BCE  
     
Battle of Aktion
Octavian (later Augustus) defeats Mark Antony and Cleopatra
31 BCE  
     
Death of Cleopatra

30 BCE End of "Ancient Greece" period