Ancient Greek History timeline
Outline from your course outlineYour notes from your notesGeneral standard knowledge (double-check)
- c. 550–530 BCGeneral
Cyrus the Great builds the Persian Empire
He conquers Media, Lydia (c. 546 BC) and Babylon (539 BC).
Why did Greeks and Persians see the world differently? - 530–522 BCGeneral
Reign of Cambyses
He conquers Egypt in 525 BC.
Why did Greeks and Persians see the world differently? - c. 520–500 BCYour notes
- The bronze figurine of a running girl (British Museum 1876,0510.1, D64), c. 520–500 BC: a girl in a short tunic, running. It is archaeological evidence for athletic girls. However, its Spartan origin and its purpose (a
Was Sparta built on freedom or oppression? - c. 506 BCYour notes
- After the quarrel between Cleomenes and Demaratus at Eleusis (c. 506 BC), a law said only one king should lead an army (Hdt. 5.75).
Who held power in Sparta? - 506 BCYour notes
- But they were constrained by the ephors and by the law of 506 BC (only one king leads an army).
Who held power in Sparta? - 506 BCYour notes
- But it is qualified by the law of 506 BC on one king leading an army (Hdt. 5.75), the ephors' control, and the trials of Pleistoanax and Agis.
Who held power in Sparta? - 499–494 BCGeneral
Ionian Revolt
Ionian Greek cities revolt against Persia, with help from Athens and Eretria. Sardis is burned (498 BC). The revolt ends after the Persian naval victory at Lade (494 BC).
Why did Greeks and Persians see the world differently? - 499–494 BCYour notes
Topic 11: The Ionian Revolt (499–494 BC) and Darius' motives for invasion
Why did Greeks and Persians see the world differently? - 492–404 BCYour notes
A: Period study – "Relations between Greek states and between Greek and non-Greek states, 492–404 BC" (your Greece in conflict / Persian Wars topics) – One of two 30-mark essays (AO1 5 / AO2 10 / AO3 15), plus one compul
- 490 BCGeneral
Battle of Marathon
Athenians and Plataeans under Miltiades defeat Darius' expedition.
How did a small collection of Greek city-states resist the Persian Empire? - 490 BCYour notes
Topic 12: The Battle of Marathon (490 BC)
How did a small collection of Greek city-states resist the Persian Empire? - 486 BCGeneral
Darius dies; Xerxes becomes king
How did a small collection of Greek city-states resist the Persian Empire? - c. 484 BCYour notes
Herodotus, Histories – Born in Halicarnassus, c. 484 BC; wrote c. 440s–420s BC – Inquiry (*historia*) into the Persian Wars; uses oral tradition and his own travels – Close to the events; open about his sources ("I repor
Who held power in Sparta? - c. 484 BCYour notes
Life: born at Halicarnassus (Bodrum, Turkey) in Caria, c. 484 BC. He was a Greek from a city under Persian rule.
Why did Greeks and Persians see the world differently? - 480 BCGeneral
Battles of Thermopylae and Artemisium
Leonidas holds the pass. The Greek fleet fights at Artemisium at the same time.
How did a small collection of Greek city-states resist the Persian Empire? - 480 BCGeneralbeyond the Y12 outline
Battle of Salamis
Greek naval victory over Xerxes' fleet (Year 13 topic).
- 480 BCYour notes
*Example question: "How far were Xerxes' motives for invading Greece in 480 BC driven by revenge?"
- 480–479 BCYour notes
*Format: you are given a passage by a modern historian, e.g. on the reasons for Greek victory in 480–479 BC. The question asks: "How convincing is the interpretation in this passage?"
- 480 BCYour notes
Battle of Thermopylae (480 BC): the core of the Spartan reputation
Did Sparta deserve its military reputation? - 480 BCYour notes
Topic 13: Xerxes' motives for invasion (480 BC)
- 480 BCYour notes
*Question: "Revenge was the main reason why Xerxes invaded Greece in 480 BC." How far do you agree?
- 480 BCYour notes
Topic 15: The Battles of Thermopylae and Artemisium (480 BC)
How did a small collection of Greek city-states resist the Persian Empire? - 480 BCYour notes
*Question: "Why were the Greeks able to resist the Persians in 480 BC?" (Year 12 focus: up to and including Thermopylae and Artemisium)
How did a small collection of Greek city-states resist the Persian Empire? - 479 BCGeneralbeyond the Y12 outline
Battles of Plataea and Mycale
Final defeat of Xerxes' invasion (Year 13 topic).
- 478–404 BCYour notes
B: Depth study – "The Society and Politics of Sparta, 478–404 BC" – One compulsory 12-mark source question (AO1 6 / AO3 6), plus one of two 36-mark essays (AO1 6 / AO2 12 / AO3 18) –
- c. 475 BCYour notes
Hetoemaridas (Diodorus 11.50, c. 475 BC): a respected member of the gerousia. He persuaded the Spartans not to go to war to take control of the sea from Athens, even though the younger men and the assembly were keen. Thi
Who held power in Sparta? - 446 BCYour notes
- Kings were tried and fined, e.g. Pleistoanax (exiled in 446 BC, accused of being bribed) and Agis II after his failure in 418 BC.
Who held power in Sparta? - 432 BCYour notes
Sthenelaidas (Thuc. 1.86–87, 432 BC): the ephor whose short, blunt speech urged war against Athens, in contrast to King Archidamus' long, cautious speech.
Who held power in Sparta? - 431–404 BCGeneralbeyond the Y12 outline
Peloponnesian War between Athens and Sparta
Year 13 topic. It ends with Athens' surrender in 404 BC.
- 424 BCYour notes
Thucydides, History of the Peloponnesian War – An Athenian general, exiled in 424 BC (Thuc. 5.26), which gave him access to both sides – Rigorous, contemporary political and military history – Generally very reliable on
Who held power in Sparta? - 371 BCYour notes
Aristotle, Politics 2.9 – A philosopher, 4th century BC – Political analysis of constitutions – Critical and analytical. But he wrote after Sparta's decline (post-371 BC), so he may read later problems back. –
Who held power in Sparta? - 369 BCYour notes
- He claims the Spartans were "ruled by women" (*gynaikokratia*, "gynocracy"), and that women caused great harm during the Theban invasion (369 BC).
Was Sparta built on freedom or oppression? - c. 354 BCYour notes
Xenophon, Constitution of the Spartans (*Lak. Pol.*), Hellenica – An Athenian (c. 430–c. 354 BC); exiled; lived on an estate near Olympia granted by the Spartans; friend of King Agesilaus – A treatise praising Lycurgan i
Who held power in Sparta? - 227 BCYour notes
Plutarch wrote much later. Some "Lycurgan" features may be Hellenistic revivals: the agoge was reinstituted after Cleomenes III (227 BC) and again in the Roman period.
Did Sparta deserve its military reputation? - 7 BCYour notes
- Democracy (*demos* = people, kratos = power): rule by the citizen body. Example: Athens after Cleisthenes' reforms (508/7 BC).
Who held power in Sparta? - AD 46–120Your notes
Plutarch, Lycurgus, Lysander, Sayings – A Greek from Chaeronea, c. AD 46–120 – Moralising biography – Uses earlier sources now lost. But he wrote more than 500 years later, when Sparta was a Roman-era "theme park". Much
Who held power in Sparta? - AD 100Your notes
- Date: e.g. Plutarch wrote around AD 100, more than 500 years after the events.
- AD 100Your notes
*A: He wrote around AD 100, more than 500 years later. He wrote moralising biography rather than history. He relied on earlier sources of varying quality, and he describes a Sparta that had been "restored" as a tourist a
Who held power in Sparta?