Ancient Greece Timeline
It is undeniable that Greece contributed much too modern civilization. A look at an ancient Greece timeline reveals much of this occurred in a relatively short time.
Ancient Greece Timeline
The exact time period of ancient Greece is a debated topic. Should it start when the Greeks first came to be or when they first started to create things that formed the basis of modern society? On the other end of the scale, how does one exactly define where the end of ancient Greece and beginning of modern Greece occurs? Here is one timeline based primarily on significant events and contributions.
There are generally considered to be three time periods that make up ancient Greece. They are the Archaic from 750 to 490 BC, Classic from 490 to 323, and Hellenistic from 323 to 30 BC. Let’s take a closer look.
The Archaic period is noted primarily for the creation of the state in ancient Greece. These states, in truth, were often better defined as powerful cities. Nonetheless, this period saw the first building of significant cities with temples and sculptures. The period also saw the Greeks begin to make major contributions in the field of literature [Homer], philosophy and the Olympics.
The Classic period was more focused on conquest and conflict. This is the time of Alexander the Great. Great wars include the defeat of the Persians at Marathon, part of the larger Persian War and the Peloponnesian War in which Athens and Sparta duked it out repeatedly. Despite this violent period, the Greeks made major advances in philosophy, literature and political theory with the development of a crazy idea called Democracy.
The Hellenistic period begins with the death of Alexander the Great. Although the period covers the most years, it is the swan song of ancient Greece. Following Alexander’s death, Greece had a very large empire, but little stability. The military generals ended up dividing the empire and declaring themselves kings. As one might expect, this eventually led to the “kings” attacking one another. No single one could conquer all of Alexander’s Greece, but another party did. Taking advantage of the inability of the Greeks to unite, the Romans conquered one kingdom after another until all of Greece fell under its rule in 30 BC. Thus did Ancient Greece meet its terminus.
As this ancient Greece timeline reveals, the intellectual and military might of the Greeks evolved in a fairly short time period. The legacy of ancient Greece, however, lives on to this day.
