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Period: 480 BCE to 404 BCE
Golden Age of Athens
The time period where Athenian culture thrived. With the surplus of money given to Athens through the Delian league, Athens was free to do great things like build the Parthenon, make sculptures, focus on philosophy, and theater. Not only did the Athenian culture increase, but the leader of Athens at the time, Pericles, made the strongest navy, and increased democracy. This is important because the navy that Pericles built up would aid Athens in the Peloponnesian war. -
449 BCE
Persian Wars
The war caused Sparta, Athens, and many other Greek city-states to unite forces and form the Delian League to defeat the Persian Empire. There were three battles, the battle of Marathon, the battle of Thermopylae, and the battle of Salamis. Each battle was won by Greece, despite the large disadvantage in numbers. This is important because Athens was the leader of the Delian league, which gave it a lot of money, which opened the doors to the Golden Age of Athens -
Period: 431 BCE to 403 BCE
Peloponnesian Wars
City States started to leave the Delian league after the Persian Wars. Because of this, Athens would massacre any city states that tried to leave, so Sparta made the Peloponnesian League opposing the Delian League. The Peloponnesian League eventually won the war due to a plague that killed 1/3 of Athens' population during a stalling period during the war. This is important because the Peloponnesian league was extremely weakened after the war, leading to Alexander the Great conquering Greece. -
336 BCE
Alexander the Great conquers Greece
After the Peloponnesian League defeated Athens because of the Plague of Athens, they were extremely exhausted. Alexander the Great took advantage of this and easily defeated, and conquered Greece. This event is extremely important because it shows how powerful Alexander the Great truly is. The Persian Empire attempted to conquer Greece 3 times, with their forces heavily outnumbering them, yet failed each time.