Classical Greece
A timeline of ancient Greek civilization from the rise of the city-states to the conquests of Alexander the Great — democracy, philosophy, and the birth of Western thought.
Solon's reforms in Athens
Solon cancels debts, frees debt slaves, and reorganizes the citizen body — laying the groundwork for Athenian democracy.
Cyrus the Great founds the Achaemenid Empire
Cyrus conquers Media, Lydia, and Babylon, creating the largest empire the world has yet seen.
Cleisthenes establishes democracy in Athens
Cleisthenes reorganizes Athenian politics into ten tribes, creating the world's first democratic system.
Battle of Marathon
Outnumbered Athenian forces defeat a Persian invasion force on the beach at Marathon — a victory that will define Athenian identity.
Battles of Thermopylae and Salamis
300 Spartans make their famous last stand at Thermopylae; the Greek fleet decisively defeats Persia at Salamis.
Age of Pericles
Under Pericles' leadership, Athens enters its Golden Age — the Parthenon is built, democracy reaches its peak, and philosophy flourishes.
Socrates begins teaching in Athens
Socrates develops his method of dialectical questioning, founding the Western philosophical tradition.
Peloponnesian War
Athens and Sparta fight a devastating 27-year war that ends Athenian supremacy and weakens all of Greece.
Plato founds the Academy
Plato establishes one of the Western world's first institutions of higher learning in Athens.
Battle of Chaeronea
Philip II of Macedon defeats Athens and Thebes, making himself master of Greece.
Alexander becomes king of Macedon
Following Philip II's assassination, twenty-year-old Alexander inherits the throne and the most powerful army in the Mediterranean.
Alexander's conquests
Alexander defeats the Persian Empire, conquers Egypt, marches through Central Asia to India — creating the largest empire the world has known.
Death of Alexander the Great
Alexander dies in Babylon at age 32. His empire immediately fragments as his generals fight over the succession.