Ancient Greece: Minoans (3000 B.C.E.) to the rise of democracy (488 B.C.E.)

Ancient Cave

7250 BCE

The Franchthi cave was inhabited for 17,000 years. There are many reasons why Franchthi Cave is an important site; three of them are the length and period of occupation, the quality of preservation of the seed and bone assemblages, and the fact that it was excavated in modern times.

Agriculture

3500 BCE

Olives are cultivated in Crete, Olive Oil will become one of the staples of Mediterranean trade.

Stone Age Peoples

3000 BCE

The Dimini and Sesklo peoples of Greece reached a high level of development by 3000 BCE with advanced economies and complex social structure.

Art

3000 BCE

The sculptors of the Cyclades produce stylized and formal figures, mainly female, in white marble

Architecture

2000 BCE

Knossos, and other such palaces, are built for dynasties in Minoan Crete

Trade

2000 BCE

Trade is carried on from Crete round the Mediterranean as far west as Sicily and in the east down to Egypt

Language

2000 BCE

Administrative records and accounts at Knossos are kept in a script, as yet undeciphered, known as Linear A

Knossos: Art and Beliefs

1600 BCE

A bull-fighting fresco in the palace of Knossos is linked with the island's cult of the bull - The Minoans, along with other ancient cultures, held the bull in high regard and worshiped it as an idol.

Island Entombed

1525 BCE

The eruption of a volcano, on the island of Thera, entombs and preserves houses with frescoes in the Minoan city of Akrotiri

Language - Linear B

1500 BCE

Texts written at Mycenae, in the script known as Linear B, are the earliest surviving version of Greek

Fire

1425 BCE

All the towns and palaces of Crete, except Knossos itself, are destroyed by fire - probably by invaders from Mycenae

Mycenae Architecture

1400 BCE

The so-called Treasury of Atreus, at Mycenae, is the most spectacular of the beehive tombs of this period

Rise of Mycenae Power

1300 BCE

Mycenae prevails as the dominant power throughout the Peloponnese and the entire Aegean

Age of Bronze

1300 BCE

The earliest known suit of armour, made of bronze, survives from a tomb in Mycenaean Greece.

Trade Expands

1300 BCE

Mycenaean merchants trade as far west as Spain and have links with neolithic societies far away in the interior of Europe

Events in the Iliad and the Odyssey took place

1250 BCE

The events from the Iliad and the Odyssey were passed down orally until written by either a single person or more than one named Homer - some believe that Homer was a job title rather than an individual person.

The Dark Ages

1200 BCE

writing disappeared along with Mycenaean civilization, no written evidence exists for this period. Since it was extremely poor and primitive in other respects too, even the archeological remains are quite limited.

End Mycenaeans/Bronze Age

1200 BCE

Possible causes draught, earthquakes, or invasion by people from Eastern Mediterranean regions - possible system collapse with multiple factors leading to the end.

Athens Still Stands

1100 BCE

Athens, not reached by the invading Dorians, becomes a surviving outpost of Mycenaean civilization

Anatolia Colonies

900 BCE

With the encouragements of Athens, non-Dorian Greeks migrate to form colonies on the west coast of Anatolia

Olympic First

776 BCE

The traditional date for the first athletic contest at Olympia

Greek League

750 BCE

Ionia emerges as a political entity, forming a league of twelve Greek cities in Asia Minor

Homeric Text

750 BCE

The Homeric texts, the Iliad and the Odyssey, are written down - probably in Ionia

Sparta

750 BCE

The inhabitants of Sparta organize their society on military lines and consider themselves the descendants of the Dorians

Wrestling Added to Olympic Games

704 BCE

Wrestling is included in the Olympic games, followed by a terrifying form of all-in wrestling from 652 BC

Sicily Colonized

700 BCE

The island of Sicily is colonized from the eastern Mediterranean by both Phoenicians and Greeks

adding to the alphabet

700 BCE

The Greeks make the Phoenician alphabet much more flexible by the addition of vowels, from alpha to omega

Olympic Boxing

688 BCE

Boxing is included in the Olympic games, with each bout going on until one fighter gives up

Byzantium founded

667 BCE

Byzantium (the future Constantinople) is founded as a colony of Megara, a Greek city-state

Changes in Architecture, beliefs, and retaliation

650 BCE

The Greek city states make a habit of consulting the oracle at Delphi, hoping mainly for reassurance The capitals of Greek pillars are by now in the two basic patterns of Doric and Ionic The inhabitants of Messenia revolt against Spartan rule and are reduced, in retaliation, to the status of serfs or helots

Power in Nobility

630 BCE

The Areopagus, named from the hill on Athens where it meets, is the council through which the nobles keep power in their own hands

Land and Power

625 BCE

Hereditary aristocrats hold nearly all political power and own most of the land in Attica

Downfall for the peasants

600 BCE

The free smallholding peasants of Attica fall increasingly into debt, compelled to pay a sixth of all their produce to a creditor

Solon elected

594 BCE

Solon is elected archon in Athens, immediately cancelling the debts of the peasants of Attica and making it illegal to enslave a debtor Solon makes every Athenian citizen a member of the ecclesia, responsible for the election of archons, thus laying the first cornerstone of Athenian democracy

Thales predicts solar eclipse

585 BCE

Thales of Miletus, traditionally the first philosopher, is credited with the prediction of a solar eclipse

30 year Dictator Peisistratos

560 BCE

Peisistratos seizes power in Athens and rules as a benevolent dictator for more than thirty years

Zodiac developed

550 BCE

The Greeks develop the Babylonian theme of the zodiac, naming it the zodiakos kyklos or circle of animals

Changes in Gouvernement

550 BCE

An Etruscan dynasty rules in Rome and Etruscan influence is now dominant throughout central Italy
The hoplite - a Greek citizen, heavily armed in bronze and leather - proves a formidable fighting man
The phalanx, though not originally devised in Greece, is a devastating formation on the battlefield when composed of hoplites
The Greek city states pioneer the use of citizen armies, made up of free men who bring their own fighting equipment

Changes in art

550 BCE

The painters of Greek vases develop the black-figure style, with the scene depicted in black silhouette against a red ground The murals of Etruscan tombs, such as the Tomb of the Lionesses in Tarquinia, give a lively glimpse of an earlier tradition in Greek art

Ionia annexed

545 BCE

Cyrus annexes the Greek territory of Ionia as part of his empire, giving Persia a presence on the Aegean

Pythagoras

529 BCE

The Greek mathematician Pythagoras establishes himself, along with his followers, in southern Italy

Hippias toppled & Roman senate becomes executive body

510 BCE

The Athenian ruler Hippias is toppled by the nobles of Attica, with the help of Sparta The Roman senate becomes an executive body with two of its members elected annually as consuls, or joint heads of state

Council chosen in democratic fashion

508 BCE

The origins of democracy first developed in the form of an Assembly which entitled all Athenian citizens to attend and participate. The Reform of Solon in 594 BC permitted the Assembly to either approve or reject legislation introduced by the Council. But it was not until after 508 BC, that the Council was chosen in a democratic fashion. Every Athenian citizen is given a voice in the demos, the local council at village or town level.

Democracy begins

488 BCE

The Archons were also chosen in a democratic fashion, thereby eliminating a source of power from the nobility. Magistrates were elected by freemen, jurors in trials were paid fees. Though, Athenian democracy did not bring equality, it did provide for the right of all citizens to be involved in governing their city in some form.