Events, People, and Ideas of Ancient Greece

By kzacharkiw

  • 776 BCE, The first Olympic Games take place.

    The games were dedicated to the Olympian Gods, and were staged on the ancient plains of Olympia. They continued for nearly 12 centuries until 393 AD when Emperor Theodosius decreed that all the "Pagan cults" should be banned. After the winner was announced, a Hellanodikis (Greek judge) would place a palm branch in his hands and tie red ribbons on his hands and head.

  • 545 BCE, The Persians conquer Greek city-states in Asia Minor.

    The Persian empire expanded rapidly and conquered the Greek city-states that rebelled against their Persian rulers. King Darius I of Persia sent his army to punish Athens, which had aided the rebels. The Athenian army was outnumbered by the Persians, but still defeated them at the Battle of Marathon in 490 BC.

  • 400s BCE, Hippocrates practises and studies medicine.

    Medical historians look to Hippocrates as the father of medicine. He freed medicine from the shackles of magic and the supernatural. Hippocrates collected data and conducted experiments to show that disease was natural and the signs and symptoms were natural reactions of the body.

  • 447 BCE, The construction of the Parthenon is completed in Athens.

    The Parthenon was built to replace a temple that was destroyed by Persians in 480 BCE. It was built out of ivory and gold and sculpted by Phidias. The Parthenon was finished in 432 BCE to show the world the power and dominance of Athens.

  • 399 BCE, Socrates is sentenced to death on charges of corrupting the young with his ideas and teachings.

    Socrate was charged with corrupting the youth and impiety. His accusers said that he failed to acknowledge the gods that the city acknowledges, and that he introduced new deities. Socrates was sentenced to death by drinking a hemlock based liquid.

  • c. 380 BCE, Plato opens an academy of learning in Athens.

    The Academy was founded by Plato in Athens. It was a skeptical school that persisted through the Hellenistic period. The site of the Academy is located near Colonus, and was sacred to Athena and sheltered her religious cult since the Bronze Age.

  • c. 300 BCE, Euclid studies and writes about mathematics and geometry.

    Euclid is known as the "father of geometry" because he discovered the subject and gave it its value. It is believed that he studied in Plato's school in Athens, then later moved to Alexandria in Egypt. Euclid created the most permanent mathematical works of all time, known as the 'Elements' that comprised of 13 volumes filled with geometrical theories and knowledge.