Ancient Greece Timeline

The short answer

Ancient Greece was not a single country but a collection of city-states and kingdoms sharing language, religion and culture. Its history is usually divided into the Minoan and Mycenaean Bronze Age civilisations, a Dark Age, the Archaic and Classical periods, the conquests of Alexander the Great, and the Hellenistic era under Greek successor kingdoms until Roman absorption.

Timeline of Ancient Greece

1. 1
   Minoan Crete

   c. 3000–1450 BC

   Europe's first advanced civilisation, centred on palaces such as Knossos. The Minoans traded across the Mediterranean and developed Linear A, a script still undeciphered.

2. 2
   Mycenaean Greece

   c. 1600–1100 BC

   Mainland Greek kingdoms with fortified citadels, warrior aristocracies and an early form of Greek written in Linear B. The Trojan War tradition dates to this era.

3. 3
   Greek Dark Ages

   c. 1100–800 BC

   A period of population decline, lost literacy and smaller settlements. Oral poetry such as the Iliad and Odyssey was composed and passed down during these centuries.

4. 4
   Archaic Period

   c. 800–480 BC

   The alphabet returned from Phoenicia, city-states formed, colonies spread across the Mediterranean, and the first Olympic Games were held in 776 BC.

5. 5
   Classical Period

   c. 480–323 BC

   The era of democracy in Athens, the Persian Wars, the Parthenon, and the great tragedians, comedians and philosophers. Greek culture became the standard for the Mediterranean world.

6. 6
   Persian Wars

   499–449 BC

   Greek city-states, led by Athens and Sparta, repelled two Persian invasions. Battles at Marathon, Thermopylae, Salamis and Plataea became defining myths of Greek identity.

7. 7
   Peloponnesian War

   431–404 BC

   A decades-long conflict between Athens and Sparta that exhausted the Greek mainland and opened the door to outside powers, above all Macedonia.

8. 8
   Alexander the Great

   356–323 BC

   The Macedonian king conquered Persia, Egypt and much of Central Asia, spreading Greek language and culture across a vast empire. His death marks the start of the Hellenistic period.

9. 9
   Hellenistic Period

   323–31 BC

   Greek kingdoms ruled from Egypt to Central Asia until Rome absorbed them one by one. Greek remained the lingua franca of the eastern Mediterranean under Roman rule.

Common questions

When was Ancient Greece founded?

There is no single founding date. The earliest Greek-speaking civilisations were the Minoans on Crete (c. 3000–1450 BC) and the Mycenaeans on the mainland (c. 1600–1100 BC). The city-states (poleis) that most people think of as 'Ancient Greece' emerged during the Archaic period, roughly 800–480 BC.

When did Ancient Greece start and end?

As a recognisable culture, Ancient Greece is usually traced from the Mycenaean period (c. 1600 BC) to the death of Alexander the Great in 323 BC, followed by the Hellenistic period ending with Rome's conquest in 31 BC. As a Roman province, Greece remained culturally influential long after political independence ended.

Who is the father of history?

Herodotus (c. 484–425 BC) is called the 'father of history' because his work 'The Histories' was the first known attempt to record events systematically and explain their causes. Thucydides, who wrote about the Peloponnesian War, is often seen as the father of scientific history for his more analytical approach.

What was Ancient Greece known for?

Ancient Greece is known for the invention of democracy in Athens, the Olympic Games, epic poetry by Homer, drama by Aeschylus, Sophocles and Euripides, philosophy by Socrates, Plato and Aristotle, advances in mathematics and medicine, and distinctive art and architecture such as the Parthenon.

How did Ancient Greece end?

Politically, Ancient Greece was absorbed by Rome. Macedonia fell to Rome in 168 BC, Corinth was destroyed in 146 BC, and the last Hellenistic kingdom, Ptolemaic Egypt, fell to Octavian in 31 BC. Greek language, culture and ideas continued to shape the Roman Empire and later Europe.

What was the difference between Athens and Sparta?

Athens was a naval power that developed democracy, philosophy, drama and the arts. Sparta was a land power focused on military discipline and a rigid social system. The two city-states fought together against Persia, then against each other in the Peloponnesian War (431–404 BC).