| 70,000 BC | Human habitation in Greece |
| 6218+-150
BC | Neolithic site at Nea Nikomedheia in Macedonia |
| 5520+-70 BC | Drakhmani(Elateia) site in
Central Greece |
| 4480 BC | Neolithic
A site near Sesklo in southern Thessaly |
| 3000 to
1400BC | Minoan Crete
|
| 2500 BC
| Early Helladic II on the Mainland |
| 2500 BC | First human settlements on Cyclades |
| 1900 BC
| Transition from Early to Middle Helladic phase of Bronze
Age. Change of population on Continental Greece, 'Minyan' pottery,
Greek-speakers |
| 1600 to 1550 BC | Beginning of Late Helladic and Late Minoan Age; mainlanders
adopted many elements of Minoan civilization |
| 1600
to 1100 BC | Mycenean Civilization |
| 1480 to 1450 BC |
Cultural differentiation between Knossos and the rest of Crete |
| 1480 to 1450 BC | Occupation of
Knossos by Myceneans |
| 1400 BC | Destruction of Knossos |
| 1480/50 to
1400 BC | Late Minoan II style is confined to Knossos.
Since the discovery that the language of the Knossos tablets inscribed in the
'Linear B' script is Greek, it has been inferred that it was the product of an
occupation of Knossos by Greek-speaking invaders. |
| 1400
BC | Earliest inscriptions of Linear B |
| 1400 BC | Knossos documents in language
earlier than Homeric Greek. |
| 1400 to 1100 BC | Late Helladic phase III(Mycenean Age)
|
| 1300 BC | Troy VI wrecked
probably by earthquake |
| 1260 BC | Fall of Troy VIIa
|
| 1200 | All mainland
palace-fortresses sacked except acropolis of Athens, Mycenae alone re-occupied
|
| 1200 | Last examples of
'Linear B' found 1200 Pylos documents in language earlier than Homeric Greek. |
| 1200 to 1100
| Cyprus sacked for second time; two migrations (1200&1150)
of Mycenean refugees to Cyprus |
| 1200 to 750
| Post-Mycenean 'Dark Ages', Iron Age, Dorian Invasion |
| 1184
| Fall of Troy; believed by some Hellenistic scholars |
| 1100
| Destruction of Mycenae, Iolkos & Miletus |
| 800 to 700 | Composition of Iliad and
Odyssey and the adoption of the alphabet by the Greeks from the Phoenicians |
| 776BC to 393AD
| Olympic Games |
| 750
| First examples of inscriptions in Hellenic Greek alphabet |
| 750-650
| Hoplite phalanx adopted by cities of southern Greece.
Previously fighting was carried out by a relatively few warriors with a shield,
sword and spear with no armor and were not organized in a phalanx. Hoplites had
defensive armor and fought in close formation, phalanx, a series of rows. |
| 750 to 550
| First period of Hellenic colonization(Marsellies, Asia
Minor, Black Sea) |
| 736 to 716 | First Messinian war(Peloponese)
|
| 734
| Naxus, first colony in Sicily established by Chalcis of
Euboea |
| 733
| Sicilian colony of Syracuse established by Corinth |
| c.700 | Hesoid, epic poet, wrote
Theogony, 1022 lines on of the origins of the Gods, and Works and Days , 828
lines of friendly advice for the working man |
| 668 | Pheidon, tyrant of Argos, expelled the presiding
officers at the games in Olympia and presided himself at the competition. |
| 658 to 628
| Tyrant Cypselus rules Corinth |
| 657 | Byzantium(later Constantinople) founded
by sailors from Megara
|
| 632 | Monarchy in Athens
replaced by the Council of Areopagus, wealthy aristocrats, and an annual board
of nine archons, elected officials by the Council of Areopagus. Outgoing
archons became members of the Council of Areopagus and kept the archons in
check. Sparta had council of 30 called gerousia,
including two kings. Its 28 non-royal members had to be at least 60 years old,
were chosen by acclamation in the public assembly and held office for the rest
of their lives. Sparta also had another group of
executive officers, the five ephors, elected annually by public acclamation |
| 632 | Cylon, Olympic victor who
married daughter of the tyrant of Megara, and friends seize the acropolis;
Athenians besieged him; Cylon fled, his friends were promised their lives if
they gave up; nine archons killed them. |
| 628 to
588
| Tyrant Periander rules Corinth |
| 621
| Dracon establishes Athenian laws; Solon rewrote all laws
except laws on homicide. |
| ca. 600
| Tyrant Cleisthenes ruled Sicyon. Invited suitors to
compete for his daughter, Agariste. Tested suitors for a year; two finalists
were Hippocleides and Megacles from Athens. Preferred the former until, at the
feast at the end of the year Hippocleides danced Attic and Laconian dances on a
table then stood on his head on the table and danced with his legs in the air. |
| 595 to 590
| First Sacred War concerning the Delphic sanctuary |
| 594
| Solon, eponymous archon of Athens, founder of Athenian
democracy |
| 590/580 to 560/550 | Sparta fights war with Tegea
resulting in alliance
|
| 588 to 585 | Tyrant
Psammetichus, Periander¹s nephew and successor, rules Corinth
|
| 585 | Thales of Miletus
predicts solar eclipse |
| 582 | Pythian
games established in Delphi and Isthmian games established in Corinth |
| 581 to 497 | Pythagoras of Samos,
mathematician and religious leader; lived in Sicily
|
| 580 to 570 | Solon reforms
Athenian constitution and the laws. 1) Athens did not establish colonies in the
sixth century, land was overtilled, farmers forced to borrow from rich using
their person as security; when could not pay loans, were "enslaved,"
forced to till landowners land for five-sixth return to landowner. People
revolted and Solon banned loans by personal security. 2) standardized weights,
measures and minted coins 3) Replaced birth with wealth as the qualification
for political office. Before Solon, board of nine archons, elective officials,
ruled Athens. Solon divided Athenian citizens into four property classes which
established each class¹s political privileges and established the Council
of 400, 100 member from each of the four Athenian heriditary tribes, along with
the nine archons to administer the state. Archons, members of top property
class, chosen by lot out of candidates previously chosen by tribes. Council of
400 acted as steering group for business to be brought up at assembly. Members
of top three tribes could bear arms if they had weapons. All four classes
included in Athenian assembly and as a juror. 4) committed to writing customary
laws 5) created law courts |
| 575
| A sixth century inscription implies that Hios had a
'democratic' council of 50 member council from each tribes and an aristocratic
council |
| 573
| Nemean games established at Cleonae between Sicyon and
Argos |
| 570
| First coins minted by Athens |
| 561
| Peisistratus first attempt at tyranny in Athens that
lasted four years |
| 556 | Peisistratus
second failed attempt to take over Athens that lasted a few months
|
| 549 to 546
| Cyrus the Great, king of Persia, conquers Medes, Lydia
and Greek city-states in Asia Minor |
| 546 to 527
| Peisistratus takes over Athens with private wealth,
foreign support and wide-based Athenian support; rules as "benevolent"
tyrant in Athens |
| 546 to 479 | Persian Wars |
| 546
| Spartans gains leadership over most of Peloponese; formed
the Peloponnesean League |
| 540
| Persians overcome Greek cities in Asia Minor which pay
tribute and a tyrant supported by the Persians to control the city. |
| 528 to 510
| Peisistratus sons, Hippias and Hipparchus, ruled Athens |
| 520 to 480
| King Cleomenes, one of the two kings of
Sparta |
| 518 to 438
| Pindar, greatest lyric poet |
| 514
| Hipparchus, brother of the tyrant Hippias, assassinated
by Harmodius and Aristogeiton |
| 513 | Darius and Persian army invade Europe in Thrace but not Greek
peninsula |
| 510 | Hippias
deposed by Spartans and Alcmaeonidae clan. Athens becomes part of Peloponesean
League. Hippias receives Persian asylum
|