Greece Timeline and History Highlights
Greece Timeline Highlights
B.C.
3000 – Bronze Age begins in Greece.
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1240 – Beginning of the Trojan War.
1130 – Iron is introduced. Iron Age begins.
700s – The city-states of Athens and Sparta rise and become major powers in the region.
776 – The first Olympic Games are held at Olympia.
750 – Homer writes his epics The Odyssey and the Iliad.
650 – Greek tyrants come to power.
570 – Mathematical genius Pythagoras is born. He would develop the Pythagorean theorem.
508 – Athens develops its first democracy.
490 – The Greeks defeat the Persians at the Battle of Marathon, ending the First Persian War.
480 – The Second Persian War ends with the Greeks defeating the Persians at the Battle of Salamis.
450 – The Golden Age of Athens begins with the reign of Pericles.
432 – The Parthenon is completed in Athens.
430 – A plague strikes Athens, killing thousands, including Pericles.
404 – Athens is defeated by Sparta, ending the Peloponnesian War.
399 – Socrates is executed for corrupting the youth of Athens.
371 – Sparta is defeated by city-states such as Athens and Thebes.
386 – Plato founded the first Western university, the Academy.
338 – Athens and Thebes are defeated by Philip II of Macedon.
336 – Alexander the Great becomes king.
332 – Alexander the Great conquers much of Asia, including Persia and Egypt.
323 – Alexander the Great dies. The Greek Empire is the largest empire in world history. After his death, the empire split and began to decline.
300 – Euclid writes his famous mathematical book, The Elements.
146 – The Roman Empire conquers Macedonia and becomes part of the Roman Empire.
86 – Athens is burned by Roman soldiers in response to a Greek rebellion.
30th – All of Greece becomes part of the Roman Empire after Marc Antonius is defeated at the Battle of Actium.
CE 324 – Byzantium is founded by Constantine the Great. Greece is part of the Western Roman Empire, also known as Byzantium.
393 – The Olympic Games are ended by the Roman Emperor Theodosius.
1453 – The Ottomans conquer Constantinople and overthrow the Byzantine Empire. Greece becomes part of the Ottoman Empire.
1821 – The Greek War of Independence begins with British and French aid.
1822 – Greece declares independence from the Ottoman Empire.
1827 – The Ottoman Empire is defeated by Britain, France, and Russia at the Battle of Navarino.
1832 – King Otto becomes the first modern king of Greece. The Greek War of Independence ends.
1914 – World War I begins. Greece is initially neutral.
1917 – Greece joins the Allies in their fight against the Central Powers.
1919 – World War I ends. Greece gained several territories as a result of the war.
1924 – The Greek monarchy is abolished and a republic is established.
1936 – John Metaxas seizes power and becomes dictator of Greece.
1939 – World War II begins. Greece initially remains neutral.
1941 – Germany invades Greece. Greece will be occupied by German forces for the next four years. Many Greeks died of hunger during this period.
1944 – Greece is liberated from Germany by the Allies.
1946 – The Greek Civil War begins between the Communists and the Royalists. In 1949 the communists were defeated.
1952 – Greece forms a democracy with a new constitution and parliament. The years that followed saw a series of coups and changes of government from parliament to monarchy.
1975 – Greece establishes a new parliamentary republic with a new constitution.
1981 – Greece joins the European Union. Andreas Papandreou is elected prime minister for the first time.
2002 – The euro replaces the drachma as the official currency.
2004 – The Olympic Games are held in Athens.
2009 – The country plunges into an economic crisis.
2013 – Unemployment rises above his 26%. Youth unemployment is almost 60%.
Greece History Highlights
Greece is a country full of ancient history and civilization. Already in 3000 BC Cycladic civilization inhabited the territory of Greece. Over time, other civilizations will emerge. Ancient Greek city-states such as Athens and Sparta built one of the most advanced ancient civilizations in history. This gave rise to many advanced concepts in government and philosophy that are still used today. In 332 BC Alexander the Great seized power. He will unite the Greek people and conquer the Persian Empire. For more information on Ancient Greece, see Ancient Greece for Kids.
Around 30 BC, all of Greece became part of the Roman Empire. With the partition of the Roman Empire, Greece became part of the Byzantine Empire. Greek culture had a great influence on both Roman and Byzantine culture. Greece was part of the Byzantine Empire until the arrival of the Ottoman Empire in the 15th century.
The Greeks were liberated from the Ottoman Empire after the Greek War of Independence. From the 18th century through the rest of her 20th century, Greece gradually added the surrounding islands to its territory. During World War II, Greece was invaded by Italy and occupied by Germany. After Germany was defeated and the war ended, Greece joined NATO. Greece is now a member of the European Union.