| Date | Event | Significance |
|---|
| c. 3200–2000 BC | Flourishing of the Cycladic culture of the Aegean islands. | Widespread use of marble figurines and seaborne trade; the earliest distinctive "Greek-adjacent" island culture. |
| c. 2000 BC | Building of the first Minoan palaces on Crete (Knossos, Phaistos, Mallia, Zakros). | Beginning of the first great palace civilisation of the Aegean and of European "palace" society. |
| c. 1900–1450 BC | Height of Minoan civilisation; use of Linear A script. | Maritime trading empire; magnificent frescoes; the undeciphered Linear A records. |
| c. 1600 BC | The eruption of the volcano on Thera (Santorini). | One of the largest eruptions in history; its ash and tsunami devastated the Aegean and buried Akrotiri; long debated how much it damaged Minoan Crete. |
| c. 1600–1450 BC | Rise of the Mycenaean civilisation on the Greek mainland. | The earliest attested Greek-speakers built the citadels of Mycenae, Tiryns, Pylos; the shaft graves with their golden masks. |
| c. 1450 BC | Destruction of the Minoan palaces; Mycenaean conquest of Crete. | Crete passed to mainland Greek control; its script Linear A gave way to Mycenaean Linear B. |
| c. 1400 BC | Mycenaean expansion across the Aegean and to Cyprus and Anatolia. | Establishment of a Mycenaean thalassocracy and long-distance exchange. |
| c. 1250–1180 BC | The (legendary) Trojan War; destruction of Troy VIIa by fire. | The war of Homer's epics; the founding myth of Greek identity; Troy's archaeological destruction layer corresponds in date to the tradition. |
| c. 1200–1100 BC | The Bronze Age Collapse — destruction of the Mycenaean palaces; invasions; the "Sea Peoples." | End of the palace societies and of Mycenaean Greece; collapse across the eastern Mediterranean; onset of the Greek Dark Ages. |
| Date | Event | Significance |
|---|
| c. 1100–900 BC | The Greek Dark Ages; loss of writing; population decline. | Depopulation and the disappearance of Linear B; survival of oral epic poetry. |
| c. 900 BC | Growth of the Geometric style of Greek pottery, esp. at Athens. | Recovery of craftsmanship and the earliest visual record of Greek life after the collapse. |
| c. 800 BC | Adoption of the Phoenician alphabet by the Greeks. | The creation of the first full alphabet (with vowels), enabling the return of writing and all later Greek literacy and literature. |
| 776 BC | Traditional founding date of the Olympic Games at Olympia. | The games became the great panhellenic festival and the basis of Greek dating (the Olympiad). |
| c. 750–700 BC | Life of Homer; composition/fixing of the Iliad and Odyssey. | The foundational epics of Greek (and Western) civilisation; "the educator of Greece." |
| c. 700 BC | Life of Hesiod; composition of the Theogony and Works and Days. | The earliest systematic Greek theology and the first moral/agricultural poetry. |
| c. 750–550 BC | The Greek Age of Colonization (apoikiai on the coasts of the Mediterranean and Black Sea). | Foundation of many Greek cities (Syracuse, Cumae, Byzantium, Massalia, Cyrene); spread of Greek culture and trade around the whole Mediterranean. |
| Date | Event | Significance |
|---|
| c. 657 BC | Cypselus becomes tyrant of Corinth. | One of the earliest and most famous Greek tyrannies; founding of the Cypselid dynasty. |
| c. 621 BC | Draco publishes the first written law code at Athens. | Public, written law; the origin of the word "draconian." |
| 594 BC | Solon appointed sole archon of Athens; his reform programme. | Abolition of debt-bondage and reform of the constitution; a landmark on the road to Athenian democracy. |
| c. 570–495 BC | Life of Pythagoras at Croton. | Founder of a philosophical-religious school; numbers as the principle of reality. |
| 546 BC | Peisistratus becomes tyrant of Athens. | Stable popular tyranny; patron of art, religion and the cult of Dionysus (foreshadowing theatre). |
| c. 525–456 BC | Life of Aeschylus. | The "father of tragedy"; creator of the tragic form and the second actor. |
| 514 BC | Murder of Hipparchus, son of Peisistratus, by Harmodius and Aristogeiton. | An event romanticised as the rise against tyranny; celebrated in Athens as the birth of democracy folklore. |
| 510 BC | Expulsion of the tyrant Hippias from Athens (with Spartan help). | End of the Athenian tyranny. |
| 508/507 BC | Reforms of Cleisthenes ("father of Athenian democracy"). | Reorganised the citizen body into ten tribes and gave sovereignty to the Assembly; the creation of Athenian democracy. |
| c. 500–428 BC | Life of Anaxagoras. | Ionian philosopher who introduced the concept of Mind (Nous) at Athens. |
| c. 500 BC | Life and teaching of Heraclitus of Ephesus. | Philosophy of flux and the logos. |
| Date | Event | Significance |
|---|
| 499 BC | Outbreak of the Ionian Revolt under Aristagoras of Miletus. | The eastern Greeks rose against Persia; the spark of the Persian Wars. |
| 498/497 BC | Burning of Sardis by the rebels (with Athenian and Eretrian aid). | The event that won for Athens and Eretria the lasting enmity of Persia. |
| 494 BC | Battle of Lade; fall of Miletus to Persia. | Crushing of the Ionian Revolt; Miletus destroyed. |
| 492 BC | First Persian invasion of Greece under Mardonius; storm off Mount Athos. | Partial success and disaster by storm; the campaign aborted. |
| 490 BC | Battle of Marathon. | Athenian and Plataean hoplites under Miltiades defeat the Persians under Datis; the first great Greek victory over Persia; origin of the modern marathon. |
| 480 BC | Second Persian invasion under Xerxes; Battle of Thermopylae and Artemisium; sack of Athens; Battle of Salamis. | The heroic last stand of Leonidas; the destruction of Athens; the naval victory of Themistocles that turned the war. |
| 479 BC | Battles of Plataea and Mycale. | The defeat and destruction of the Persian army (Pausanias) and fleet; end of the Persian threat to Greece. |
| 478 BC | Founding of the Delian League. | The alliance, dominated by Athens, that became the Athenian empire. |
| c. 466 BC | Battle of the Eurymedon River (under Cimon). | The League's great victory driving Persia from the Aegean. |
| 462 BC | Reforms of Ephialtes; stripping of the Areopagus. | Completion of radical Athenian democracy; Pericles' party takes control. |
| 460–446 BC | The First Peloponnesian War (Athens vs. Sparta and allies). | First clash of the two powers; ended by the Thirty Years' Peace (446 BC). |
| 454 BC | Transfer of the Delian League treasury to Athens. | Formal transformation of the League into the Athenian empire. |
| 447–432 BC | Building of the Parthenon and the Acropolis monuments. | The supreme monument of classical art, built with imperial tribute. |
| 446 BC | Thirty Years' Peace between Athens and Sparta. | A fragile truce whose breakdown would lead to the Peloponnesian War. |
| 438 BC | Dedication of Phidias' gold-and-ivory Athena Parthenos. | The crowning cult statue of the Parthenon; one of the wonders of classical art. |
| 431 BC | Outbreak of the Peloponnesian War (attack on Plataea by Thebes). | The great war of Athens vs. Sparta that destroyed the balance of Greek power. |
| Date | Event | Significance |
|---|
| 430 BC | Outbreak of the Great Plague in Athens. | Killed perhaps a third of Athens' population, including Pericles (429 BC). |
| 427 BC | Fall of Plataea to Sparta after siege. | Destruction of an ally of Athens; emblematic atrocity of the war. |
| 425 BC | Athenian capture of the island of Sphacteria (Cleon, Demosthenes). | A rare Athenian triumph; capture of Spartan prisoners. |
| 422 BC | Battle of Amphipolis; deaths of Brasidas and Cleon. | The loss of both proponents of war, enabling the Peace of Nicias. |
| 421 BC | Peace of Nicias. | A nominal fifty-years peace; in reality an uneasy truce. |
| 415–413 BC | The Athenian Sicilian Expedition. | The catastrophic defeat of the Athenian invasion of Syracuse; the turning point and ruin of Athens. |
| 412 BC | Spartan alliance with Persia (Persian money for a fleet). | Persian gold tipped the naval balance against Athens. |
| 411 BC | Oligarchic coup of the Four Hundred at Athens. | Brief overthrow of the democracy; soon reversed. |
| 410 BC | Athenian naval victory at Cyzicus under Alcibiades. | Recovery of Athenian fortunes at sea. |
| 405 BC | Battle of Aegospotami (Spartan victory under Lysander). | Destruction of the Athenian fleet; end of the empire; the war decided. |
| 404 BC | Surrender of Athens; the Thirty Tyrants imposed. | End of the Peloponnesian War; collapse of Athenian power; a brutal pro-Spartan oligarchy. |
| 403 BC | Restoration of the Athenian democracy. | Overthrow of the Thirty; the democracy returned. |
| 401–399 BC | Xenophon's March of the Ten Thousand into Persia. | Revealed Persian weakness and the skill of Greek mercenaries. |
| 399 BC | Trial and death of Socrates at Athens. | The martyrdom of philosophy; immortalised by Plato. |
| 395–387 BC | The Corinthian War (Sparta vs. Athens, Thebes, Corinth, Argos). | Fought with Persian support; ended by the King's Peace. |
| 387 BC | The King's Peace (Peace of Antalcidas). | Persia dictated terms; exposed Greek dependence on Persia. |
| c. 387 BC | Plato founds the Academy at Athens. | The first institution of higher learning in the Western world. |
| 382 BC | Spartan seizure of the Theban Cadmea. | The oppressive act that provoked the liberation of Thebes. |
| 379 BC | Liberation of Thebes by Pelopidas and the exiles. | Rise of Thebes as champion of Greek freedom; creation of the Sacred Band. |
| 371 BC | Battle of Leuctra. | Epaminondas defeats the Spartans; the first defeat of a Spartan hoplite army; end of Spartan hegemony. |
| 370–369 BC | Epaminondas invades the Peloponnese; founding of Messene. | Liberation of the Messenian helots; destruction of the economic basis of Spartan power. |
| 359 BC | Philip II becomes king of Macedon. | Beginning of Macedonian greatness. |
| 357–356 BC | Philip II seizes the gold and silver mines of Mount Pangaeum. | The wealth that funded the Macedonian army and empire; founding of Philippi. |
| 355 BC | Outbreak of the Third Sacred War (Phocis vs. the Amphictyonic League). | Greece's self-inflicted crisis that let Philip intervene as champion of Delphi. |
| 353 BC | Battle of the Crocus Field (Thessaly). | Philip's victory as defender of Apollo; his entry into Greek politics. |
| 348 BC | Destruction of Olynthus by Philip. | End of the principal rival of the Macedonian foothold in the north. |
| 346 BC | End of the Third Sacred War; Peace of Philocrates. | Philip gains a seat on the Amphictyonic Council; mastery over central Greece. |
| 343 BC | Aristotle summoned to tutor the young Alexander. | The education of the future conqueror. |
| 338 BC | Battle of Chaeronea. | Philip defeats Athens and Thebes; the Sacred Band annihilated; the end of the independent great city-states. |
| 337 BC | Creation of the League of Corinth. | United Greece under Macedonian hegemony; declared war of revenge against Persia. |
| 336 BC | Assassination of Philip II at Aegae. | Alexander ascends the throne; the conquest of Asia begins. |
| Date | Event | Significance |
|---|
| 335 BC | Destruction of Thebes by Alexander. | A terrifying example to Greece; only the house of Pindar spared. |
| 334 BC | Alexander crosses the Hellespont; Battle of Granicus. | First great victory in Asia; beginning of the conquest of Persia. |
| 333 BC | Battle of Issus. | Defeat of Darius III; capture of his family; Syria secured. |
| 332 BC | Siege and capture of Tyre (seven months). | One of the greatest sieges in history; established Macedonian siege mastery. |
| 332–331 BC | Alexander in Egypt; founding of Alexandria; visit to the oracle of Ammon at Siwa. | Foundation of the greatest Hellenistic city; Alexander hailed as son of Ammon. |
| 1 Oct 331 BC | Battle of Gaugamela. | The decisive defeat of Darius III; end of the Achaemenid Persian Empire; Alexander "King of Asia." |
| 330 BC | Burning of Persepolis. | The symbolic end of the Persian empire at its ceremonial capital. |
| 327–326 BC | Conquest of Bactria and Sogdiana; marriage to Roxane. | Alexander's eastern campaigns and his policy of reconciling the East. |
| May 326 BC | Battle of the Hydaspes (vs. King Porus of India). | Hard-won victory against war-elephants; Alexander's furthest conquest. |
| 326 BC | Mutiny at the river Beas; retreat begins. | The army refused to march further east; Alexander turned back. |
| 325 BC | March through the Gedrosian desert. | The disastrous return phase, with huge losses. |
| 10/11 June 323 BC | Death of Alexander the Great at Babylon. | Death of the greatest conqueror of antiquity; the start of the Hellenistic Age. |
| 323–281 BC | Wars of the Diadochi (successors). | The partition of Alexander's empire into the Hellenistic kingdoms. |
| 306/305 BC | The Diadochi take the royal title (Ptolemy I and others). | Formal creation of the successor kingdoms. |
| 301 BC | Battle of Ipsus. | Death of Antigonus I; final division of the eastern empire among the victors. |
| c. 300 BC | Founding of the Museum of Alexandria; Euclid's Elements. | The birth of the great research centre and of systematic geometry. |
| c. 247 BC | Completion of the Lighthouse of Alexandria (Pharos). | One of the Seven Wonders; symbol of Hellenistic Egyptian glory. |
| 280 BC | Founding of the Achaean League (Peloponnese). | The federal league that became a major Greek power against Macedon. |
| 280–275 BC | The Pyrrhic War (Pyrrhus of Epirus vs. Rome). | "Pyrrhic" victories; Roman resilience against a Greek king. |
| 241 BC | Attalus I takes the royal title at Pergamon. | Rise of the Attalid kingdom. |
| 223–187 BC | Reign of Antiochus III the Great (Seleucid). | Brief reunification of much of the eastern empire. |
| 197 BC | Battle of Cynoscephalae. | Roman victory over Philip V; end of Macedonian hegemony. |
| 196 BC | Proclamation of Greek "freedom" at the Isthmian Games. | Roman suzerainty over Greece announced by Flamininus. |
| 191–190 BC | Roman defeat of Antiochus III at Thermopylae and Magnesia. | Break of Seleucid power in Asia Minor. |
| 168 BC | Battle of Pydna. | Defeat and capture of Perseus of Macedon; the end of the Antigonid kingdom. |
| 146 BC | Roman sack of Corinth; dissolution of the Achaean League. | The conquest of southern Greece and its organisation as the province of Achaea. |
| 133 BC | Attalus III of Pergamon bequeaths his kingdom to Rome. | Establishment of the Roman province of Asia. |
| 89–63 BC | The Mithridatic Wars (Mithridates VI vs. Rome). | The last great Hellenistic resistance to Rome; finally crushed by Pompey. |
| 63 BC | Roman annexation of Syria by Pompey; end of the Seleucid Empire. | The last of the great eastern Hellenistic kingdoms fell to Rome. |
| 2 Sep 31 BC | Battle of Actium. | Octavian's victory over Mark Antony and Cleopatra; the last Hellenistic kingdom (Egypt) was about to fall; formal end of the Hellenistic Age. |
| 30 BC | Suicides of Cleopatra VII and Mark Antony; Roman conquest of Egypt. | End of the Ptolemaic dynasty and of Hellenistic Egypt; completion of the Roman conquest of the Greek world. |
| Date | Event | Significance |
|---|
| 44 BC | Julius Caesar refounds Corinth as a Roman colony. | Restoration of Corinth as the capital of Roman Greece. |
| c. AD 51–52 | Apostle Paul preaches in Corinth. | Founding of the Corinthian church; his letters to it are part of the New Testament. |
| AD 324 | Constantine unites the empire and chooses Byzantium as the site of his new capital. | Beginning of the new Christian capital. |
| AD 330 | Dedication of Constantinople ("New Rome"). | The founding of the greatest city of the medieval world and the seat of Byzantine civilisation. |
| AD 395 | Permanent division of the Roman Empire; the eastern (Greek) empire survives. | The beginning of the Byzantine period proper. |
| AD 532–537 | Justinian I rebuilds the Hagia Sophia. | The masterpiece of Byzantine architecture; symbol of Greek Orthodox Christendom. |
| AD 1204 | Sack of Constantinople by the Fourth Crusade. | The ruinous blow to Byzantium by fellow Christians; never fully recovered. |
| 29 May 1453 | Fall of Constantinople to the Ottoman Sultan Mehmed II. | End of the Byzantine Empire and of the ancient Greek state; the beginning of Ottoman rule over Greece. |
| 1830 | Greek independence from the Ottoman Empire (recognised by the Great Powers). | The rebirth of the modern Greek state. |