Geography of Greece
Aegean Sea
Black Sea
Adriatic
Sea
Balkan
Peninsula
Peloponnesian
Peninsula
Asia Minor
Greece’s geography is defined by countless bodies of water,
peninsulas and mountains.
Please label the following
items on your map of
Ancient Greece:
- Aegean Sea
- Mediterranean Sea
- Black Sea
- Sea of Marmara
- Asia Minor
- Crete
- Balkan Peninsula
- Peloponnesian Peninsula
- Mt. Olympus
- Athens
- Sparta
The isolation created by
theses physical features led
to the a region composed
of many city-states rather
than one large unified
empire. The rocky uneven
ground throughout Greece
made agriculture difficult.
City-states around the
Aegean Sea were
constantly battling each
other for the control of the
scarce resources.
History of
Ancient Greece
Please draw the following timeline in your notebook.
743 B.C.
First Messenian
War begins.
Sparta conquers
neighboring
Messenia and
makes its
citizens serfs or
“helots”.
And this is Messenia.
621 B.C.
Draco becomes
the first
Athenian
legislator by
recording a
strict set of laws
in which many
actions were
punishable by
death.
Not this
Draco!
Thanks to his law
code, Draco now has
his own adjective!
500 B.C.
Ionian City
States Revolt
against the
Persian
Empire.
Athens and
Eretria send
forces to aid in
the revolt.
Ionia
492 B.C.
The first Persian Invasion of Greece led by Darius the
Great. He intended to punish the city states of Athens
and Eretria for coming to the aid of the Ionian Greeks.
In 490, Darius
besieged Eretria for 6
days before its
citizens were
betrayed by a group
of Eretrian nobles.
The city was looted
and burned, and its
citizens enslaved.
490 B.C.
The Greeks defeat the
Persian forces at the
battle of Marathon.
The battle of Marathon was a turning point
in the Greco- Persian wars because it
proved that the Persians could be defeated
by a Greek force. Many historians feel that
if the outcome of this battle had been
different, all subsequent European history
would be vastly different.
480 B.C.
The second Persian invasion of
Greece. This invasion was led by
Xerxes who intended to fulfill his
father’s dream of subduing Greece.
480 B.C. Battle of Thermopylae. The Persians are
held off for 7 days before finding an alternate route,
which allowed them to attack from both sides and
win the battle. (This battle is the inspiration for the movie 300)
480 B.C.
The Persians are defeated at the Battle of Salamis.
This victory for the Greeks destroyed the Persian
navy and dealt a serious blow to the Persians hopes
of conquering Greece.
479 B.C.
The Greeks defeat the Persians in
the Battle of Plataea which proved
to be the decisive victory in the
first stage of the Greco- Persian
wars. After this battle, the Persians
retreated and the Greeks went on
the offensive.
The serpent column pictured above was made to commemorate the victory at
Plataea. It was forged using melted Persian weapons and stood at Delphi until it was
transported to Constantinople (Istanbul) by Emperor Constantine in 324 A.D.
478 B.C.
Athens forms
the Delian
League and
Sparta forms
the
Peloponnesian
League.
461 B.C.
Pericles
becomes the
leader of
Athens and
ushers in the
Athenian
Golden Age.
He would die
of the plague
in 428 B.C.
“Just because
you do not take
an interest in
politics doesn't
mean politics
won't take an
interest in you.”
- Pericles
438 B.C.
The Parthenon in Athens is completed and dedicated
to Athena, the goddess of wisdom and warfare. This
temple has stood the test of time to become the most
important surviving structure from Classical Greece.
431 B.C.
The Peloponnesian Wars begin
when Sparta prepares to
destroy Athens.
404 B.C.
Athens surrenders to
Sparta bringing an end
to the Peloponnesian
wars. The Spartans
defeated the Athenians
by cutting off their food
supply and putting
Athens under siege.
Rather than starve,
Athens surrendered.
399 B.C.
Socrates is
condemned to
death. He was
convicted for
“corrupting
the youth”
and “impiety”.
Impiety is the lack of
respect for God or
religious traditions
“The Death of Socrates” is a 1787 oil on canvas
painting by the French painter Jacques-Louis David.
338 B.C.
All of Greece
(excluding
Sparta) is
unified as
the League
of Corinth
under Phillip
II of
Macedonia.
336 B.C.
Phillip II is murdered by one
of his bodyguards at his
daughter’s wedding. His son
Alexander who was 20 years
old, succeeds him. Alexander
is determined to fulfill his
father’s dream of conquering
the Persian Empire. He even
dreams of conquering the
entire world!
“Pausanias' assassination of Phillip II”
By Andre Castaigne- 1899
330 B.C.
After conquering
much of the Persian
Empire and
establishing many
cities, Alexander the
Great defeats the last
Achaemenid
Emperor, Darius III,
and burns the capital
city of Persepolis.
A portion of the Alexander Mosaic found in Pompeii.
Alexander traveled and fought for 11 years.
323 B.C.
A depiction of Alexander's funeral procession
based on the description of Diodorus.
Alexander the Great dies at the age of 32. The cause of his
death is still debated, but it was due to an illness of some
sort. When he died, Alexander had no heir to the throne.
Because Alexander had not declared an heir, his generals
divided his empire into the kingdoms shown on the map
above. This began the era known as the “Hellenistic Period”.
Ptolemy I Soter I
became ruler of
Egypt and
established the
Ptolemaic Kingdom.
Seleucus I claimed
most of the land that
had formerly
belonged to the
Persian Empire.
Antigonus
controlled the
Macedonian
homeland.
Alexander’s Empire continued to be divided. The map above
shows the Diadochi (land of the successors) 20 years after the
death of Alexander in 303 B.C.
“The Battle of Actium” by Lorenzo A. Castro, 1672
The Hellenistic Period would continue for 300 years until the
defeat of the Ptolemic Empire by the Romans in 31 B.C. This
defeat would lead to the establishment of the Roman Empire
which would become the new Mediterranean Power.