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    by Joshua J. Mark 

    published on 13 November 2013

    D e f i n i t i o n          

    Greece is a country in southeastern Europe, known in Greek as Hellas or Ellada, and

    consisting of a mainland and an archipelago of islands. Greece is the birthplace of Western

    philosophy (Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle), literature (Homer and Hesiod), mathematics

    (Pythagoras and Euclid), history (Herodotus), drama (Sophocles, Euripedes, and

    Aristophanes), the Olympic Games, and democracy. The concept of an atomic universe

    was first posited in Greece through the work of Democritus and Leucippus. The process of 

    today's scientific method was first introduced through the work of Thales of Miletus and

    those who followed him. The Latin alphabet also comes from Greece, having been

    introduced to the region by the Phoenicians in the 8th century BCE, and early work in physics

     A n c i e n t G r e e c e   

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     when Hellen and his sons became powerful in Phthiotis, their aid was

    invoked by other cities, and those who associated with them gradually 

     began to be called Hellenes, though a long time elapsed before the

    name was prevalent over the whole country. Of this, Homer affords the

     best evidence; for he, although he lived long after the Trojan War,

    nowhere uses this name collectively, but confines it to the followers of 

     Achilles from Phthiotis, who were the original Hellenes; when

    speaking of the entire host, he calls them Danäans, or Argives, or

     Achaeans.

    MINOAN BULL LEAPING

    EARLY HISTORY OF GREECE

    Greek history is most easily understood by dividing it into time periods. The region wasalready settled, and agriculture initiated, during the Paleolithic era as evidenced by finds at

    Petralona and Franchthi caves (two of the oldest human habitations in the world). The

    Neolithic Age (c. 6000 - c. 2900 BCE) is characterized by permanent settlements (primarily in

    northern Greece), domestication of animals, and the further development of agriculture.

    Archaeological finds in northern Greece (Thessaly, Macedonia, and Sesklo, among others)

    suggest a migration from Anatolia in that the ceramic cups and bowls and figures found there

    share qualities distinctive to Neolithic finds in Anatolia. These inland settlers were primarilyfarmers, as northern Greece was more conducive to agriculture than elsewhere in the region,

    and lived in one-room stone houses with a roof of timber and clay daubing.

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    The Cycladic Civilization (c. 3200-1100 BCE) flourished in the islands of the Aegean Sea

    (including Delos, Naxos and Paros) and provides the earliest evidence of continual human

    habitation in that region. During the Cycladic Period, houses and temples were built of 

    finished stone and the people made their living through fishing and trade. This period is

    usually divided into three phases: Early Cycladic, Middle Cycladic, and Late Cycladic with a

    steady development in art and architecture. The latter two phases overlap and finally merge

    with the Minoan Civilization, and differences between the periods become

    indistinguishable.

    The Minoan Civilization (2700-1500 BCE) developed on the island of Crete, and rapidly

    became the dominant sea power in the region. The term `Minoan' was coined by the

    archaeologist Sir Arthur Evans, who uncovered the Minoan palace of Knossos in 1900 CE

    and named the culture for the ancient Cretan king Minos. The name by which the people

    knew themselves is not known. The Minoan Civilization was thriving, as the CycladicCivilization seems to have been, long before the accepted modern dates which mark its

    existence and probably earlier than 6000 BCE.

    The Minoans developed a writing system known as Linear A (which has not yet been

    deciphered) and made advances in ship building, construction, ceramics, the arts and

    sciences, and warfare. King Minos was credited by ancient historians (Thucydides among

    them) as being the first person to establish a navy with which he colonized, or conquered, the

    Cyclades. Archaeological and geological evidence on Crete suggests this civilization fell dueto an overuse of the land causing deforestation though, traditionally, it is accepted that they

    were conquered by the Mycenaeans. The eruption of the volcano on the nearby island of 

    Thera (modern day Santorini) between 1650 and 1550 BCE, and the resulting tsunami, is

    acknowledged as the final cause for the fall of the Minoans. The isle of Crete was deluged

    and the cities and villages destroyed. This event has been frequently cited as Plato's

    inspiration in creating his myth of Atlantis in his dialogues of the Critias and Timaeus.

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    Death Mask of Agamemnon

    THE MYCENAEANS & THEIR GODS

    The Mycenaean Civilization (approximately 1900-1100 BCE) is commonly acknowledged

    as the beginning of Greek culture, even though we know almost nothing about the

    Mycenaeans save what can be determined through archaeological finds and through Homer’s

    account of their war with Troy as recorded in The Iliad . They are credited with establishing

    the culture owing primarily to their architectural advances, their development of a writing

    system (known as Linear B, an early form of Greek descended from the Minoan Linear A), and

    the establishment, or enhancement of, religious rites. The Mycenaeans appear to have been

    greatly influenced by the Minoans of Crete in their worship of earth goddesses and sky gods,

    which, in time, become the classical pantheon of ancient Greece.

    The gods and goddesses provided the Greeks with a solid paradigm of the creation of the

    universe, the world, and human beings. An early myth relates how, in the beginning, there was

    nothing but chaos in the form of unending waters. From this chaos came the goddess

    Eurynome who separated the water from the air and began her dance of creation with the

    serpent Ophion. From their dance, all of creation sprang and Eurynome was, originally, the

    Great Mother Goddess and Creator of All Things.

    By the time Hesiod and Homer were writing (8th century BCE), this story had changed into

    the more familiar myth concerning the titans, Zeus' war against them, and the birth of theOlympian Gods with Zeus as their chief. This shift indicates a movement from a matriarchal

    religion to a patriarchal paradigm. Whichever model was followed, however, the gods clearly

    interacted regularly with the humans who worshipped them and were a large part of daily life

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    in ancient Greece. Prior to the coming of the Romans, the only road in mainland Greece that

    was not a cow path was the Sacred Way which ran between the city of Athens and the holy

    city of Eleusis, birthplace of the Eleusinian Mysteries celebrating the goddess Demeter and

    her daughter Persephone.

    By 1100 BCE the great Mycenaean cities of southwest Greece were abandoned and, some

    claim, their civilization destroyed by an invasion of Doric Greeks. Archaeological evidence is

    inconclusive as to what led to the fall of the Mycenaeans. As no written records of this period

    survive (or have yet to be unearthed) one may only speculate on causes. The tablets of 

    Linear B script found thus far contain only lists of goods bartered in trade or kept in stock.

    No history of the time has yet emerged. It seems clear, however, that after what is known as

    the Greek Dark Ages (approximately 1100-800 BCE, so named because of the absence of 

    written documentation) the Greeks further colonized much of Asia Minor, and the islands

    surrounding mainland Greece and began to make significant cultural advances. Beginning in c.585 BCE the first Greek philosopher, Thales, was engaged in what, today, would be

    recognised as scientific inquiry in the settlement of Miletus on the Asia Minor coast and this

    region of Ionian colonies would make significant breakthroughs in the fields of philosophy

    and mathematics.

    The Parthenon

    FROM THE ARCHAIC TO THE CLASSICAL PERIODS

    The Archaic Period (800-500 BCE) is characterized by the introduction of Republics instead

    of Monarchies (which, in Athens, moved toward Democratic rule) organised as a single city-

    state or polis, the institution of laws (Draco’s reforms in Athens), the great Panathenaeic

    Festival was established, distinctive Greek pottery and Greek sculpture were born, and thefirst coins minted on the island kingdom of Aegina. This, then, set the stage for the

    flourishing of the Classical Period of Greece given as 500-400 BCE or, more precisely, as 480-

    323 BCE, from the Greek victory at Salamis to the death of Alexander the Great. This was

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    the Golden Age of Athens, when Pericles initiated the building of the Acropolis and spoke

    his famous eulogy for the men who died defending Greece at the Battle of Marathon in 490

    BCE. Greece reached the heights in almost every area of human learning during this time and

    the great thinkers and artists of antiquity (Phidias, Plato, Aristophanes, to mention only three)

    flourished. Leonidas and his 300 Spartans fell at Thermopylae and, the same year (480

    BCE), Themistocles won victory over the superior Persian naval fleet at Salamis leading to

    the final defeat of the Persians at Plataea in 379 BCE.

    Democracy (literally Demos = people and Kratos = power, so power of the people) was

    established in Athens allowing all male citizens over the age of twenty a voice in government.

    The Pre-Socratic philosophers, following Thales' lead, initiated what would become the

    scientific method in exploring natural phenomena. Men like Anixamander, Anaximenes,

    Pythagoras, Democritus, Xenophanes, and Heraclitus abandoned the theistic model of the

    universe and strove to uncover the underlying, first cause of life and the universe.

    Their successors, among whom were Euclid and Archimedes, continued philosophical inquiry

    and further established mathematics as a serious discipline. The example of Socrates, and the

    writings of Plato and Aristotle after him, have influenced western culture and society for over

    two thousand years. This period also saw advances in architecture and art with a movement

    away from the ideal to the realistic. Famous works of Greek sculpture such as the Parthenon

    Marbles and Discobolos (the discus thrower) date from this time and epitomize the artist's

    interest in depicting human emotion, beauty, and accomplishment realistically, even if thosequalities are presented in works featuring immortals.

    All of these developments in culture were made possible by the ascent of Athens following

    her victory over the Persians in 480 BCE. The peace and prosperity which followed the

    Persian defeat provided the finances and stability for culture to flourish. Athens became the

    superpower of her day and, with the most powerful navy, was able to demand tribute from

    other city states and enforce her wishes. Athens formed the Delian League, a defensive

    alliance whose stated purpose was to deter the Persians from further hostilities.

    The city-state of Sparta, however, doubted Athenian sincerity and formed their own

    association for protection against their enemies, the Peloponnesian League (so named for the

    Peloponnesus region where Sparta and the others were located). The city-states which sided

    with Sparta increasingly perceived Athens as a bully and a tyrant, while those cities which

    sided with Athens viewed Sparta and her allies with growing distrust. The tension between

    these two parties eventually erupted in what has become known as the Peloponnesian Wars.

    The first conflict (c. 460-445 BCE) ended in a truce and continued prosperity for both parties

    while the second (431-404 BCE) left Athens in ruins and Sparta, the victor, bankrupt after her

    protracted war with Thebes.

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    This time is generally referred to as the Late Classical Period (c. 400-330 BCE). The power

    vacuum left by the fall of these two cities was filled by Philip II of Macedon (382-336 BCE)

    after his victory over the Athenian forces and their allies at the Battle of Chaeronea in 338

    BCE. Philip united the Greek city states under Macedonian rule and, upon his assassination in

    336 BCE, his son Alexander assumed the throne.

    Alexander the Great

    ALEXANDER THE GREAT & THE COMING OF ROME

    Alexander the Great (356-323 BCE) carried on his father's plans for a full scale invasion of 

    Persia in retaliation for their invasion of Greece in 480 BCE. As he had almost the whole of 

    Greece under his command, a standing army of considerable size and strength, and a full

    treasury, Alexander did not need to bother with allies nor with consulting anyone regardinghis plan for invasion and so led his army into Egypt, across Asia Minor, through Persia, and

    finally to India. Tutored in his youth by Plato’s great student Aristotle, Alexander would

    spread the ideals of Greek civilization through his conquests and, in so doing, transmitted

    Greek philosophy, culture, language, and art to every region he came in contact with.

    In 323 BCE Alexander died and his vast empire was divided between four of his generals.

    This initiated what has come to be known to historians as the Hellenistic Age (323-31 BCE)

    during which Greek thought and culture became dominant in the various regions under these

    generals' influence. After a series of struggles between the Diodachi (`the successors' as

    Alexander's generals came to be known) General Antigonus established the Antigonid

    Dynasty in Greece which he then lost. It was regained by his grandson, Antigonus II Gonatus,

    by 276 BCE who ruled the country from his palace at Macedon.

    The Roman Republic became increasingly involved in the affairs of Greece during this time

    and, in 168 BCE, defeated Macedon at the Battle of Pydna. After this date, Greece steadilycame under the influence of Rome. In 146 BCE the region was designated a Protectorate of 

    Rome and Romans began to emulate Greek fashion, philosophy and, to a certain extent,

    sensibilities. In 31 BCE Octavian Caesar annexed the country as a province of Rome

    following his victory over Mark Antony and Cleopatra at the Battle of Actium. Octavian

    became Augustus Caesar and Greece a part of the Roman Empire.

    Ancient Greece in a 3D travel

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    ABOUT THE AUTHOR

     JOSHUA J. MARK

    A freelance writer and part-time Professor of Philosophy at MaristCollege, New York, Joshua J. Mark has lived in Greece and Germany and

    traveled through Egypt. He teaches ancient history, writing, literature,

    and philosophy.

     

    HELP US WRITE MOREWe're a small non-profit organisation run by a handful of volunteers. Each article

    costs us about $50 in history books as source material, plus editing and server

    costs. You can help us create even more free articles for as little as $5 per

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    BECOME A MEMBER

    BIBLIOGRAPHY

    The Internet Classics Archive | The History of Herodotus by Herodotus

    Thucydides Book I

    Brendan Nagle, D, The Ancient World  (Pearson, 2009).

    http://www.ancient.eu/books/0205637442/http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/ancient/thuc-hellenes.asphttp://classics.mit.edu/Herodotus/history.htmlhttp://www.ancient.eu/membership/?utm_source=ahe&utm_medium=button&utm_campaign=membership-message-largehttp://www.ancient.eu/membership/http://www.ancient.eu/membership/http://www.ancient.eu/static/help-us/http://www.linkedin.com/pub/joshua-j-mark/38/614/339https://plus.google.com/102570966791370271297http://twitter.com/https://twitter.com/JoshuaJMarkhttp://www.facebook.com/https://www.facebook.com/joshuahttp://www.ancient.eu/user/JPryst/

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    Durant, W, Caesar and Christ  (Simon and Schuster, 1972).

    Durant, W, The Life of Greece (Simon & Schuster, 2011).

    Graves, R, The Greek Myths (Penguin, NY, 1993)

    Waterfield, R, The First Philosophers (Oxford University Press, USA, 2009).

    CITE THIS WORK

    LEGAL NOTICEWritten by Joshua J. Mark, published on 13 November 2013 under the following license: Creative

    Commons: Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike   . This license lets others remix, tweak, and build

    upon this content non-commercially, as long as they credit the author and license their new creations under

    the identical terms.

    M a p       

    GREEK CITY-STATES - 1100 BCE

    1100 BCE · 800 BCE · 800 BCE · 700 BCE · 700 BCE · 700 BCE · 700 BCE · 600 BCE · 513 BCE · 478 BCE ·

    403 BCE · 377 BCE · 361 BCE · 337 BCE

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    T i m e l i n e      

    c. 6000 BCE - 2900 BCE

    Neolithic Age settlements in Greece, beginning of agriculture. .

    c. 3200 BCE - 1100 BCE

    The Cycladic Civilization in Greece.

    2700 BCE - 1500 BCE

    The Minoan Civilization flourishes on Crete, Greece. King Minos establishes the first

    navy in the region.

    2300 BCE

    Bronze is used in the Aegean.

    2000 BCE

    Early Greeks settle the Peloponnese.

    2000 BCE - 1450 BCE

    Minoan civilization in Crete and the Aegean.

    1900 BCE - 1100 BCE

    Mycenaean civilization in Greece and the Aegean.

    1650 BCE - 1550 BCE

    Eruption of Thera and consequent tidal waves, destruction of Akrotiri and other

    Aegean centres.

    1100 BCE

    Dorian peoples occupy Greece.

    c. 1100 BCE

    Greeks implement use of individual tombs and graves.

    c. 1000 BCE

    The first distinctive Greek pottery is produced, the Proto-geometric style.

    c. 900 BCE

    Sparta is founded.

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    c. 900 BCE

    The Geometric style of Greek pottery is first produced.

    c. 800 BCE - c. 700 BCE

    Homer of Greece writes his Iliad  and Odyssey .

    800 BCE - 500 BCE

    Greek colonization of the Mediterranean and Black Sea.

    c. 800 BCE - 500 BCE

    Archaic period of Greece.

    c. 740 BCE - c. 433 BCEGreek poleis or city-states establish colonies in Magna Graecia.

    733 BCE

    Corinth founds the colony of Syracuse in Sicily.

    683 BCE - 682 BCE

    List of annual archons at Athens begins.

    c. 660 BCE

    Pheidon is tyrant in Argos.

    c. 657 BCE - 585 BCE

    The Kypselidai are tyrants of Corinth.

    c. 650 BCESparta crushes Messenian revolt.

    650 BCE

    Earliest large scale Greek marble sculpture.

    650 BCE - 600 BCE

    Age of law-givers in Greece.

    c. 625 BCE

    Black-figure pottery created in Corinth.

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    c. 625 BCE - 600 BCE

    The orientalizing style of Greek pottery becomes popular in Corinth.

    594 BCE - 593 BCE

    In Athens the archon Solon lays the foundations for democracy.

    580 BCE - 376 BCE

    Carthage and Greece fight for dominance in Sicily.

    c. 560 BCE

    Pisistratos becomes tyrant in Athens for the first time.

    c. 550 BCE - c. 366 BCEPeloponnesian League alliance between Sparta, Corinth, Elis and Tegea which

    establishes Spartan hegemony over the Peloponnese.

    546 BCE - 545 BCE

    Persian conquest of Ionian Greek city-states.

    539 BCE

    Etruscan & Carthaginian alliance expels the Greeks from Corsica.

    535 BCE - 522 BCE

    Polycrates rules as tyrant of Samos.

    c. 530 BCE

    Red-figure pottery style takes precedent over black-figure.

    530 BCE

    The Andokides Painter invents red-figure pottery.

    c. 525 BCE - c. 456 BCE

    Life of Greek tragedy poet Aeschylus.

    521 BCE

    Darius I (Darius the Great) succeeds to the throne of Persia after the death of 

    Cambyses.

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    514 BCE

    Fall of the Peisistratid tyranny in Athens.

    514 BCE

    The tyrant of Athens Hipparchos is killed by Harmodios and Aristogeiton - the

    'tyrannicides'.

    c. 508 BCE

    Reforms by Cleisthenes establishes democracy in Athens.

    499 BCE - 494 BCE

    Ionian cities rebel against Persian rule.

    c. 498 BCEIonians and Greek allies invade and burn Sardis (capital of Lydia).

    c. 496 BCE - c. 406 BCE

    Life of Greek tragedy poet Sophocles.

    c. 495 BCE

    Birth of Pericles.

    492 BCE

    Darius I of Persia invades Greece.

    11 Sep 490 BCE

    A combined force of Greek hoplites defeat the Persians at Marathon.

    487 BCE - 486 BCE

    Archons begin to be appointed by lot in Athens.

    486 BCE

    Xerxes succeeds to the throne of Persia after the death of Darius I.

    c. 484 BCE - 407 BCE

    Life of Greek tragedy poet Euripides.

    c. 483 BCE

    Themistocles persuades the Athenians to significantly expand their fleet, which saves

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    them at Salamis and becomes their source of power.

    480 BCE - 323 BCE

    The Classical Period in Greece.

     Jul 480 BCE

    Xerxes I makes extensive preparations to invade mainland Greece by building depots,

    canals and a boat bridge across the Hellespont.

    Aug 480 BCE

    Battle of Thermopylae. 300 Spartans under King Leonidas and other Greek allies

    hold back the Persians led by Xerxes I for three days but are defeated.

    Aug 480 BCEThe indecisive battle of Artemision between the Greek and Persian fleets of Xerxes I.

    The Greeks withdraw to Salamis.

    Sep 480 BCE

    Battle of Salamis where the Greek naval fleet led by Themistocles defeats the

    invading armada of Xerxes I of Persia.

    479 BCE

    Xerxes' Persian forces are defeated by Greek forces at Plataea effectively ending

    Persia's imperial ambitions in Greece.

    479 BCE - 432 CE

    The period of Thucydides' Pentecontaetia in ancient Greece.

    478 BCE

    Sparta withdraws from alliance against Persia.

    478 BCE - 404 BCE

    The Delian League in Greece, led by Athens.

    c. 469 BCE - 399 BCE

    Life of Socrates.

    c. 462 BCE - 458 BCE

    Pericles introduces democratic institutions in Athens.

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    460 BCE - 445 BCE

    First Peloponnesian War.

    c. 460 BCE - c. 380 BCE

    Life of Greek comic poet Aristophanes.

    c. 460 BCE - c. 320 CE

    Period of full and direct citizen democracy in Athens.

    457 BCE

    Hegemony of Athens over central Greece.

    451 BCEThirty years peace between Argos and Sparta.

    c. 451 BCE - c. 403 CE

    Life of Athenian statesman and general Alcibiades.

    449 BCE - 448 BCE

    Peace between Greece and Persia.

    448 BCE

    Ionian cities become independent from Persia.

    448 BCE

    The Peace of Callias with Persia.

    447 BCE - 432 BCEThe construction of the Parthenon in Athens by the architects Iktinos and Kallikrates

    under the direction of Pheidias.

    446 BCE - 445 BCE

    Thirty years peace between Athens and Peloponnesians.

    431 BCE - 404 BCEThe 2nd Peloponnesian War between Athens and Sparta (the Delian League and

    the Peloponnesian League) which involved all of Greece.

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    427 BCE - 347 BCE

    Life of Plato.

    421 BCE

    Peace of Nicias, a truce between the Delian and Peloponnesian Leagues.

    420 BCE

    Democritos develops an atomic theory of matter.

    c. 415 BCE

    The Histories of Herodotus is published. The work is divided into nine chapters, each

    dedicated to one of the Muses.

    412 BCESparta allies with Persia.

    404 BCE

    End of the Peloponnesian war, Athens defeated By Sparta at Aigospotamoi, Rule of 

    the Thirty Tyrants in Athens.

    403 BCEPlato turns away from politics toward philosophy.

    400 BCE

    Pepper is known in Greece.

    400 BCE - 330 BCE

    The Late Classical Period in Greece.

    399 BCE

    Trial and death of the philosopher Socrates, who taught in the court of the Agora.

    c. 398 BCE - c. 380 BCE

    Plato travels in Egypt, Cyrene, Italy, Syracuse and Sicily.

    395 BCE - 386 BCEThe Corinthian Wars between Sparta and an alliance of Athens, Corinth, Argos,

    Boeotia and Thebes.

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    384 BCE - 322 BCE

    Life of Aristotle.

    c. 384 BCE - 322 CE

    Life of Athenian statesman Demosthenes.

    380 BCE

    Plato founds his Academy outside of Athens.

    371 BCE

    Thebes, led by Epaminondas, defeats Sparta in the Battle of Leuctra.

    371 BCE - 362 BCE

    Thebes is the dominant city-state in Greece.

    359 BCE - 336 BCE

    Reign of Philip II of Macedon.

    356 BCE

    Third Social War in Greece.

    21 Jul 356 BCE - 11 Jun 323 BCE

    Life of Alexander the Great.

    350 BCE

    The Scythians have absorbed a lot of Greek culture, Scythian artefacts show Greek-

    style depictions.

    347 BCE

    Plato dies at his Academy.

    343 BCE

    Aristotle becomes tutor of young Alexander.

    336 BCE - 323 BCE

    Reign of Alexander the Great.

    334 BCE

    Alexander invades the Persian empire.

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    331 BCE

    Egypt is conquered by Alexander the Great without resistance.

    323 BCE - 31 BCE

    Hellenistic civilization in Greece, the Mediterranean and Asia.

    323 BCE - 31 BCE

    The Hellenistic Age.Greek thought and culture infuses with indigenous people.

    320 BCE

    Last recorded examples of Attic Red-Figure Pottery.

    310 BCEAssassination of Roxanne and Alexander IV, wife and son of Alexander the Great.

    c. 280 BCE

    Founding of the Achaean League in the Peloponnese of Greece.

    270 BCE

    Aristarchus of Samos proposes a heliocentric world view.

    168 BCE

    Rome defeats Macedon at Battle of Pydna.

    146 BCE

    Rome sacks Corinth and dissolves the Achaean league. Greece is ruled by Rome.

    146 BCERoman influence over Greece begins to rise.

    140 BCE

    Venus of Milo is completed.

    88 BCE - 63 BCE

    Mithridates of Pontus fights three wars to free Greece from Rome.

    86 BCE

    The Roman general Sulla sacks Athens and the port of Piraeus.

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    31 BCE

    Greece absorbed into Roman Empire.

    42 CE - 62 CE

    St. Paul goes on missionary journeys across Asia Minor, Greece, and Rome.

    c. 50 CE - c. 60 CE

    Establishment of various Christian communities in the Eastern Mediterranean, Greece,

    Egypt, and at least the city of Rome.

    257 CE - 263 CE

    The Goths raid Greece.

    267 CE

    The Goths sack Athens, Corinth, Sparta, and Argos.

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