Ancient GREECE=Hellas

2000 B.C.E.

Þ Greek speaking people settle the Peloponnese ( cs. 2000 B.C.E )

Þ Tribal communities (ca. 1200 B.C.E.)

Þ Dorians migrate (ca. 1200 B.C.E.)

1000 B.C.E.

Þ Ionians settle on the west coast of Asia Minor (ca. 1000 B.C.)

Þ Iron use ( ca. 1000 B.C. )

900 B.C.E.

Þ first Greek city-states ( ca. 900 B.C.E.)

800 B.C.E.

Ø Homer authors the Iliad and Odyssey ( ca. 800 B.C.E.)

Ø Greek alphabet first used ( c. 800 B.C.E.)

Ø Greeks settle on the Spanish coast and in southern Italy

Ø First recorded Olympic Games ( 776 B.C.E. )

700 B.C.E.

Ø Byzantium founded by the Greek sailor, Byzas (c. 700 B.C.E.)

600 B.C.E.

Ø Last Greek monarchies at Argos, Sparta, and Thera (c. 600 B.C.E. )

Ø birth of Pythagoras, Greek philosopher and mathematician ( c. 582 B.C.E.)

Ø Croesus of Lydia subjugates Greek Ionian colonies (c. 560 B.C.E.)

Ø Persia conquers Lydia (547 - 546 B.C.E.)

Ø Pythagoras introduces the octave in music

Ø democracy in Athens ( 509 B.C.E. )

“The Golden Age of Athens”

Ø Pericles of Athens (500 B.C.E.)

Ø Ionian War ( 499 B.C. - 494 B.C. E.)

Ø Persian King Darius I defeated by the Greeks at Marathon ( 490 B.C.E.)

The messenger who ran 26 miles to report the event is said to have died shortly thereafter. In the Greek world, this is a new twist on an old theme: the death of the messenger…

Ø Herodotus--One of the most prolific of the early Greek historians ( 485 B.C.E.)

Ø Persia, led by Xerxes, unsuccessfully invades Greece (480 B.C.E.)

Ø Persian expansion halted (479 B.C.E.)

Ø Socrates ( 470 B.C.E.)

Socrates and Plato discussing the meaning of life. Socrates called himself the gadfly of Athens. He loved to talk to people and question their thoughts and ideas. Because he was so effective at “stinging” people to life, those in power perceived him as a threat. Ultimately, he was given a death sentence for corrupting the youth (teaching them to think for themselves and challenging the presuppositions that shape their beliefs, morals, and practices) and for introducing false new gods into the pantheon, which amounted to high treason against Athens. In short, Socrates started a revolution of thought that still serves as a basis for education and culture in the western world today.

Ø Hippocrates, the father of modern medicine ( 460 B.C.E.)

Ø First Pelopennesian war between Athens and Sparta ( 457 B.C.E. - 445 B.C.E.)

Ø Second Peloponnesian War between Athens and Sparta ( 431 B.C.E. - 404 B.C.E. )

Ø plague in Athens—see Thucydides’ description of it ( 430 B.C.E. - 423 B.C.E. )

Ø Plato ( 427 B.C.E. )

Ø Thucydides exiled from Athens ( 424 B.C.E. )

Ø Plato becomes the pupil of Socrates ( 407 B.C. - 399 B.C. E.)

Ø Athens surrenders to Sparta to end the Peloponnesian War (404 B.C.E)

Ø After Socrates’ death, Plato goes to Egypt for a while to study and write.

400 B.C.

Ø Aristotle ( 384 B.C.E. )

Ø Philip of Macedon defeats an invading Athenian army at (338 B.C.E.)

ALEXANDER the GREAT, son of Philip of Macedon, was tutored by Aristotle himself. Legend has it that Alexander the Great was so fond of the Iliad that he kept a copy beside his bed. In his short reign, the young warrior king conquered a million miles of empire and hellenized much of the world by overlaying Greek ideas and language onto already existing cultures. This, in turn, promoted trade and facilitated communication throughout the Empire. There were originally 12 cities called Alexandria, the most famous of which was in Egypt. The Library of Alexandria was Alexander’s attempt to accumulate all of the wisdom of the ages under one roof. Alexandria was a hub of cultural and intellectual exchange. The result of Alexander’s introduction of a common currency to these other feats would mean increasing economic growth and burgeoning intellectual expansion. Though he was a ruthless warrior and formidable enemy, Alexander the Great was also a brilliant strategist with an ambitious vision. Rumor has it that there was only one image every made of him—his wedding portrait. The images we associate with him are actually the face of his devoted assistant. Furthermore, there is evidence that he was most likely at least bisexual if not outright homosexual. Remember, too, that at that time, homosexual relationships were the hallmark of masculinity (Man is the measure of all things…) rather than being associated with femininity as male homosexuality is today. In 332 B.C.E., Alexander died suddenly.

300 B.C.E.

Ø Archimedes, Greek mathematician ( 287 B.C.E. )

200 B.C.E.

Ø Greece falls under Roman control ( 147 B.C. E.)

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200 C.E.

Ø Goths sack Athens, Sparta, and Corinth ( 268 C.E. )

600 C.E.

Ø Greek fire invented by Kallinikos ( 671 C.E. )