Ancient Greece Timeline

Petralona scull (Dating estimates vary widely from 700000 to 160000 years before present)		Paleolithic Period (2.5 million – 10000 BCE)

Apidima Cave scull fragment is the earliest example of modern humans (early Homo sapiens) found outside Africa.	210000 years ago

	13000 BCE	Mesolithic Period (13000 – 7000 BCE)

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	3200 BCE	Aegean Bronze Age or Early Bronze Age (3000 – 2000 BCE) Minoan Prepalatial or EMIA, EMIB (3000 – 2600 BCE) Early Cycladic Culture (3200 – 2000 BCE) Early Helladic Period (3000 – 2000 BCE)

	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 BCE)

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 BCE)

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 BCE)

Tholos Tomb at Mycenae	1550 BCE	Late Helladic Period (1500 – 1100 BCE)

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 BCE)

Palace of Knossos destruction	1370 BCE

“Sea Peoples” begin raids in the Eastern Mediterranean	1300 BCE	Mycenaean Culture (1300 – 1000 BCE)

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 BCE)
Destruction of Miletus and resettlement	1100 BCE	Sub-Minoan Period (1150 – 950 BCE) Dark Age of Greece (1100 – 700 BCE) Proto-Geometric Period (1100 – 900 BCE)

End of Mycenaean civilization Lefkandi: Toumba building	1000 BCE

	900 BCE	Geometric Period (900 – 700 BCE)

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 BCE)

	740 BCE	Orientalizing Period (circa 740 – 650 BCE)

First Messenian War Sparta invades Messenia (730-710) Naxos founded (734) Syracuse founded (733)	730 BCE

	700 BCE	Archaic Period (700 – 480 BCE)

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 BCE) Transitional (480 – 450 BCE)

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 BCE)

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 BCE)

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

Chapters

This history of Ancient Greece is divided into the following chapters:

History of Greece, Timelines

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