Ancient Greece

Archaic Period

Period: 800 BCE to 454 BCE

Outcome 1
Earliest phases of development of Greek Culture. Lasting from circa 800 BC to the second Persian invasion of Greece in 480 BC.

First Messenian War

Period: 734 BCE to 724 BCE

Spartans waged war against the Messenian people. The conflict dragged on for 10 years.The Messenian were reduced to helots under Spartan domain. Sparta gained a farmland for its people.

Spartan conquest of Messenia

724 BCE

The Messenian were reduced to helots under Spartan domain.

Taras Founded

706 BCE

Taras in southern Italy founded as a Spartan colony. They sent people to Tara who had illegitimate births.

Second Messenian War

Period: 685 BCE to 668 BCE

The Helots of Sparta rose up in rebellion, aided by the people of Argos.Messenians were once again defeated and forced into servitude.

Great Rhetra

650 BCE

The Great Rhetra in Sparta was the first in a series of legislative and constructional documents that had a fundamental reorganisation of Spartan life. These reforms cost Spartan citizens many personal freedoms as every citizen was bound to the state.Ancient Greeks attributed the changes to the legendary figure of Lycurgus.

Draconian laws

621 BCE

Draconian laws were established in Athens. All people were equal, but punishments were harsh. Most crimes had a death penalty.

Solon reforms

594 BCE

Solon redefined the class structure where wealth was the basis of class rather than having Eupatrid ancestry. Solon redefined the government structure, expanding voice of free male citizens but allowing the wealthy to retain power. Solon placed controls and limits on trade and released the poor from all debts.

Peloponnesian League formed

550 BCE

During the 6th century BCE Sparta formed a sphere of influence that historians today call the Peloponnesian League.

Peisistratus becomes tyrant

546 BCE

Peisistratus regained power with the popular support of his supporters. Peisistratus maintained power for life, passing run to his sons, Hippias and Hipparchus. The family was known as the Peisistratids.

Cleisthenes' Reforms

507 BCE

The reforms of Cleisthenes helped turn Athens into a democracy. The old factions of family and tribes were replaced with new political structure. Citizens were now defined by their relationship to the polis, rather than their family or tribe.

Ionian Revolt

Period: 499 BCE to 494 BCE

Ionian states overthrow their Persian tyrants and declared their independence. Athens sent aid sent twenty ships. Persians systematically isolated and rushed the revolts one by one.

First Persian invasion of Greece

Period: 499 BCE to 490 BCE

Persian King Darius wanted vengeance on the Greeks for burning of the temple at Sardis. Athens and Sparta did not submit. The Persan invasion was resisted and Persians were forced to withdraw.

Persian Invasions

Period: 499 BCE to 479 BCE

A series of conflicts between the First Persian Empire and Greek city-states

Attack on Sardis

498 BCE

Greeks marched to the capital of Sardis.Greeks were unable to storm the fortress, they burned down the city, including the holy temple of the native goddess.

Battle of Ephesus

498 BCE

A Persian relief force caught up with the Greeks at the coastal city of Ephesus. The Greek forces were surrounded in the open and were quickly defeated.

Battle of Marathon

490 BCE

The Persians sailed south at the plain of Marathon. After 10 days, the Athenians eventually charge the unprepared Persians. The Athenians chase the fleeing Persians shops in a long-distance run through the night. The Persians withdraw and call off the invasion.

Battle of Salamis

480 BCE

A Greek fleet of over 300 triremes gathered in the straits dividing Salamis from Attica. Against all odds, the Athenian forces won by a smaller mainland Greek force.

Battle of Thermopylae

480 BCE

Spartan king Leonidas send a small force of 6000 hoplites to the Hot Gates of Thermopylae.For two days, the Persian charges failed against the disciplined Greek phalanx.While the Spartans failed, their bravery becomes a heroic example for Greece.

Battle at Artemisium

480 BCE

Athenian general Themistocles had breached his fleet of 271 triremes at the narrow strait of Artemisium to fight a Persian navy twice that number. Athenians had little choice but to retreat to Athens.

Golden Age of Athens

480 BCE

The later part being the Age of Pericles (450s-30BCE), prosperous age of political hegemony, economic growth and cultural flourishing

Second Persian invasion of Greece

Period: 480 BCE to 479 BCE

Persian king Xerxes spent several years planning for the second invasion, mustering an enormous army and navy. The Athenians and Spartans led the Greek resistance hold off the invasion and win independence.

Battle of Mycale

479 BCE

Greek navel fleet pursued the remnants of the Persian fleet and caught up with them at Mycale in Ionia. Amid the panic and confusion, the Persians were defeated.

Battle of Plataea

479 BCE

Persian forces wait for the Greeks near the town of Plataea. Persans outnumbered the Greeks by at least two to one.The Greeks used their tactics to make the Persians break rank. The Greeks claim victory.

Delian League formed

478 BCE

Representatives from Athens and dozens of other states mete at the island Delos and took oaths binding themselves into an organisation designed to fight the Persians.

Athenian long walls

461 BCE

461 and 456 BCE, Athens erected two walls roughly six kilometres long, connecting Athens and its two ports.

Defection of Megara

460 BCE

Megara defected to Athens in c.460 BCE, seeking protection from Corinth. In 446 BCE, Megara re-joined the Peloponnesian League, giving parta land access to Attica.

Ephialtes Reforms

460 BCE

Ephialtes was a radical democrat who saw Sparta as a rival and possible enemy. His reforms made some significant moves in the direction of democracy. Archons were selected by all citizens. Areopagus lost all its important political powers.

First Peloponnesian War

Period: 460 BCE to 445 BCE

War against the Peloponnesian League and Delian League, consisting of a series of conflicts and minor wars

The Peloponnesian Wars

Period: 460 BCE to 404 BCE

Outcome 2

Battle of Tanagra

457 BCE

An Athenian army of 14 000 met the Spartans at the battle of Tanagra, but were soundly defeated by Sparta.

Thirty Years Peace

Period: 445 BCE to 430 BCE

Athens and Sparta negotiated a peace treaty that put an end to the first Peloponnesian War.

Revolt of Samos

440 BCE

Pericles of Athens took control and placed a garrison on Samos, not wanting to have defiant allies. Samos revolted after Pericles left the island. It took a year for Athens to suppress the revolt and was costly.

Crisis in Corcyra: Battle of Sybota

433 BCE

Corcyra was in a Civil war with their colony Epidamnus. Corinth sends an army to help Epidamnus. Corcyra defeats Corinth in a naval battle. Athens debates their interface. Major naval battle between Corcyra and Corinth. Corinth had upper hand but withdrew due to Athenian ships. Both sides claim victory.

Crisis at Potidaea: Potidaea Revolt

432 BCE

Potidaea, a town on the Chalcidice Peninsula, was another Corinthian colony, but it had become a member of the Delian League. Athenians had their doubts about the reliability of the Potidaeans. They made some demands but Potidaea refused. Both the Athenians and the Corinthians sent forces to Potidaea. After two years Athens defeated the Corinthians and besieged the city.

The Megara Decree

432 BCE

Athens issued decree to block Megara from trading with Athens and marketplaces in their influence. This harsh law that excluded Megara from the markets and ports of the Athenian empire and meant starvation and ruin for its people.

Peloponnesian invasion of Attica

431 BCE

King Achidamus of Sparta leads two-thirds of his army into Attica, raiding the countryside. They burnt the land of famers, attempting to get them to come out and fight.

Thebes attacks Platea

431 BCE

Thebes (ally of Sparta), attacked Plataea, ally of Athens just on the boarder of Attica. Plataea wins a counter-attack, slaughtering the Thebans after they surrendered. Thirty-year treaty broken.

Second Peloponnesian War

Period: 431 BCE to 404 BCE

Archidamian War

Period: 431 BCE to 421 BCE

This first phase of the war was named for the invasions led by the Spartan king, Archidamnus, into Attica. A series of land invations by Sparta where Athens would stay behind their longwalls and lanch naval raids.

Great Plague in Athens breaks

430 BCE

With wost of the population behind Athenean long walls, plague spread quickly. According to Thucydides, approximately one-third of the populace of Athens died, including 4400 hoplites, 300 cavalry. Pericles died from the plague in 427 BCE.

Revolt of Mytilene

428 BCE

Mytilene, the capital of Lesbos, joined the Peloponnesian League and prepared to attack Athens. After a year of naval blockade and siege, Mytilene surrenders to Athens. Athens debated capital punishment for the peopple of Mytilene.1000 leaders were put to death and Athens took possession of the island.

The Pylos Campaign

425 BCE

The Athenians chose to attack the Spartans by occupying a part of Messenia near Pylos. After a day long battle, Spartans became stranded on an island of Sphacteria. After 72 days, Athens kept Spartan forces trapped until they were forced to surrender. 120 Spartiates were held as ransom under threat of death.

Battle of Amphipolis

422 BCE

Brasidas set off on an expedition to Amphipolis and took the city peacefully. Cleon sent a large force into Thrace and advanced on Amphipolis.Cleon was killed in the withdraw and Brasidas was mortally wounded

Peace of Nicias

Period: 421 BCE to 414 BCE

Athenian politician and general Nicias and Spartan King Pleistoanax developed a fragile peace intended to last 50 years. Neither side fully complied with the terms nor ceased hostilities. Athens and Sparta were in direct conflict after 2 years and the truce officially ended within seven years.

Siege of Melos

419 BCE

Melos was a minor island state that remained neutral. Athens demanded it join the Athenian empire, but Melos wanted to remain neutral. It was needlessly destroyed by Athens at the siege of Melos. They killed the adult men, sold the women and children into slavery. This is a great example of Athenian power politics.

The Sicilian Debate

416 BCE

Athenian Assembly debates helping Segesta. Nicias warms caution while Alcibiades advocates for great wealth and new lands.

Sicilian Expedition

415 BCE

414 BCE was the Athens besieged Syracuse and started building a blockading wall. The Syracusans blocked the Athenians in the harbour, forcing them into two momentous navel battles. This was a hard fought battle on both sides. The Syracusans eventually became the naval power and the Athenians resorted to land warfare from the decks of ships. Athens forced to withdraw.

The Sicilian Expedition

Period: 415 BCE to 412 BCE

Athenian military expedition to Sicily. Fought against Sparta, Syracuse and Corinth. The expedition ended in a devastating defeat for the Athenian forces, severely impacting Athens.

The Ionian/Decelean War

Period: 414 BCE to 404 BCE

The final stage of war. Consisted of significant and insignificant sea battles, small fleets from both sides patrolling seas, making assaults and taking cities. Athens falls in this conflict.

The occupation of Decelea

413 BCE

Spartan forces led by Spartan king Agis III invade Attica. They establish a garrison at the fortress overlooking Decelea, 20 kilometers from Athens.

Treaty of Miletus

412 BCE

The Treaty of Miletus was signed between Sparta and Persia. The pack forced all territories that ever belonged to Persia to be rightfully Persian again., including those in Ionia that originally started the Persian wars.

Oligarchic Revolution of 411

411 BCE

A delegation of Athenians and Alcibiades travelled from Samos to Athens. Using arguments, threats and violence, this anti-democratic faction in Athens changed the government in 411 BCE to an oligarch. This new government become known as the Four Hundred.

The battle of Cynossema

411 BCE

86 Peloponnesian ships snd 76 Athenian ships were on opposite sides of the strait. Spartan general Mindarus tried to outflank the Athenian line but left the centre exposed. This easy victory for Sparta turned into an Athenian victory.

Battle at Cyzicus

410 BCE

Spartan general Mindarus confronted Athenians near Abydos.
Alcibiades reinforced Athens with a squadron of ships from Samos. Three Athenian generals including Alcibiades with a combine force of 86 ships easily retake the city and send the Peloponnesian forces into a mad retreat.

Battle at Arginusae

406 BCE

The greatest second to last sea battle between the Athenian and Peloponnesian fleets. Athens wins the battle. Athenian commanders were tasked with retrieving the corpses and wreckage, but violent storms prevented them from completing their task. 6 of the 8 commanders were put to death, leaving the military with leaders lacking experience.

Battle of Aegospotami

405 BCE

Athenian generals anchored on the opposite shore at Aegospotami. The Athenians send out daily attacks to attempt to lure the Spartans into a fight but Lysander was patient. Athenian troops grow at the point of starvation. On the fifth day, the Athenians attempted to force the situation by sailing out with 30 ships. Lysander effectively ended the war.

The Fall of Athens

404 BCE

Spartan armies besieged Athens, their navy prevented supplies from getting through and Athens was forced to negotiate peace. The government known as ‘the Thirty Tyrants’ were installed, with a Spartan garrison to protect them.

Battle of Notium

406

Alcibiades brings his fleet to Ephesus to engage Lysander, anchoring at Notium. Inexperienced pilot Antiochus is eager for fame, disobeying orders and taunts Lysander with 10 ships. He is quickly overrun and the remainder of the fleet turns to disarray. Alcibiades races back to Notium, but Lysander refused to engage in another battle, forcing Alcibiades to return to Samos.