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Period: 1260 BCE to 1180 BCE
Trojan War
The Greeks fought and ended up winning a war with Troy. The war lasted from 1260-1180 B.C. It was supposedly started over a kidnapped princess (Helen), but that has not been confirmed. The majority of the key battles were fought at or outside the Trojan walls - the Greeks were camped on the shore of Troy. The war ended when Greece tricked Troy into taking a huge wooden statue of a horse inside their walls, which actually contained hidden Greek soldiers who burned Troy from the inside. -
Period: 594 BCE to 410 BCE
Growth of Athenian government
Athens' government has had several major changes made to it. It started off as a monarchy, but transformed into an oligarchy, then a tyranny, then finally a democracy, where every citizen can vote on proposed laws. This reform for democracy started in 594 B.C. with king Solon and lasted until about 410 B.C.. Athens' government also changed more towards democracy with the wealth from the Persian Wars. With this wealth and freedom in the government, Athens’ culture changed as well. -
Period: 499 BCE to 449 BCE
Persian Wars
The Persian Empire tried 3 times from 499-449 B.C. to conquer Greece, but ultimately failed. The war started when Athens helped a colony residing in the Persian empire to rebel. King Darius wanted revenge against Athens. However, due to Greece’s incredible strategy, Persia lost the war. In different battle, the Greeks used the phalanx formation, the mountains, and their advanced ships all tactically to eventually win the war. After this victory, Athens started to prosper economically. -
Period: 449 BCE to 431 BCE
Golden Age of Athens
After Greece’s victory in the Persian wars from 499-449 B.C., Athens became economically prosperous from the Delian League. Their government evolved into a democracy, giving all men almost equal power. Additionally, they took on a more luxurious and fantasy-oriented lifestyle. The artwork portrayed perfection, not reality, and they had more celebrations and excuses to have fun. However, this lavish spending AND charging the other city-states for the Delian League angered other city-states. -
Period: 431 BCE to 404 BCE
Peloponnesian War
Because of Athens’ lavish spending and forced fees of the other city-states for the Delian League, Sparta started the Peloponnesian League in 431 B.C. to fight back against the Athenians. They started a war with the Delian League and won in 404 B.C. due to a plague in Athens, but not without cost. After later battles that resulted from the Peloponnesian war, Greece was weakened enough for Philip II to conquer Greece. -
Period: 359 BCE to 336 BCE
Philip II conquers Greece
After the Peloponnesian war and its resulting later battles, Philip II came down from Macedonia and invaded Greece from 359-336 B.C.. Since Greece was weakened from the war, Philip II was able to conquer it. This started a conquest for his son, Alexander the Great, who later conquered Persia and the rest of the known world. -
Period: 336 BCE to 326 BCE
Alexander the Great takes control of Greece and conquers the known world
When King Philip II died after conquering Greece, his son Alexander took the Macedonian/Greek throne in 336 B.C.. He was very military savvy, even at a young age, due to his father’s teaching and training. With this vast military knowledge, Alexander went on a conquest to conquer the Persian empire. His conquest ended at India in 326 B.C.. The combination of culture of multiple nations from Alexander’s conquest drastically changed the ways of Greece. -
Period: 323 BCE to 31 BCE
Hellenism arises in Greece
Alexander’s united empire combined the knowledge of both Greece and more eastern empires, changing the culture of Greece from the luxurious, dreamy Golden Age to the realistic, scientific Hellenistic Era. Hellenistic artwork portrays realistic bodies as well as expressions - the people look natural, not supernatural. Additionally, the focus of study shifts more towards science and mathematics instead of philosophy.