1. HISTORY OF
ANCIENT GREECE
Peter Erik Hansen
May 2016

2. MAJOR PERIODS
• 3650 – 1100 BC Early Civilizations
• 1100 – 750 BC Greek Dark Ages
• 750 – 500 BC Archaic Greece
• 500 – 338 BC Classical Greece
• 338 – 146 BC Hellenistic Greece

3. Early Civilizations
3650 – 1100 BC

4. CYCLADIC CIVILIZATION
• Cycladic Civilization on Delos, Naxos and
Paros built houses and temples of finished
stone.
• Marble sculptures are characteristic from
this period.
Ca. 3200-1100 BC
Marble seated harp player
2800-2700 BC

5. MINOAN CIVILIZATION
• Minoan Civilization was named
after King Minos, and developed a
writing system and became the
dominant sea power in the region.
• It was possible destroyed by a
volcano eruption at Thera in 1450
BC.
ca. 2000-1450 BC
Knossos Palace, Crete
ca. 1900 BC

6. MYCENAEAN GREECE
• Mycenaean Civilization originated from
Mycenae in Peloponnese and extended
through Crete and the Cycladic Islands.
• They build large palace complexes and
art of fresco, pottery and jewellery.
1900-1100 BC
Terracotta chariot krater
ca. 1375-1350 BC

7. Greek Dark Ages
1100 – 750 BC

8. GREEK DARK AGES
• The Greek Dark Ages is so named because of the absence of
written documentation.
• The collapse of the Mycaneans yielded little cultural progress
or growth.
1100-800 BC

9. Archaic Greece
700 – 500 BC

10. THE OLYMPIC GAMES
• The Olympic Games was one of four major
panhellenic games, and first celebrated in
776 BC in Olympia in honour of the god
Zeus.
• The sports included running, wrestling,
boxing, pankration, equestrian and
pentathlon, and there could only be one
winner.
• A crown of olive branches was awarded to
the winner, who became the hero of his
hometown.
776 BC
Ancient Olympic Games
Olive branch

11. HOMER
• Homer composed two major works, ‘the
Iliad’ and ‘the Odyssey’ about the time of
the Trojan War.
• His works acts as a great pool of information
for the Greeks about their gods, and has a
great influence on Greek culture.
ca. 750 BC
Homer

12. DEMOCRACY IN ATHENS
• Laws by Draco (622/621 BC) was the
first written-down laws in Athens.
• Solon (ca. 594 BC) gave a lower
classes a fairer chance, and
democracy began to develop.
• Cleisthenes (508/507 BC) introduced
isonomia (equal laws) in Athens, and
is called the father of democracy.
• Democracy in Athens allowed all
male citizens over 20 a voice in
government.
622-508 BC
Democracy in Athens

13. Classical Greece
500 – 323 BC

14. PERSIAN WARS
• The Greek colonization of Asia Minor
prompted the Persian Empire to invade
Greece, but failed at the ‘Battle of
Marathon’ in 490 BC, and finally lost at
Plataea in 379 BC.
• The wars meant the sacking of the
Athenian Acropolis and Agora.
490-379 BC
Battle of Marathon
490 BC

15. ATHENS
• The victory over the Persians gave peace
and prosperity to Athens providing the
city to flourish.
• Athens was with its powerful navy able
to demand tribute from other city states
and formed a defensive alliance, the
Delian League (477 BC).
• Under Pericles the Athenian Empire
dictated the laws, customs and trade of
all neighbours in Attica and the islands
of the Aegean.
• Great thinkers, writers and artists
flourished the city.
Athens city-state
Pericles

16. SPARTA
• Sparta was famous for its military prowess
with the best most feared fighters in
Greece.
• Sparta doubted Athenian sincerity and
formed the Peloponnesian League (ca-.
505-365 BC), and preceived Athens as a
bully and tyrant, while Athens viewed
Sparta with growing distrust.
• Rivalry with Athens at the Peloponnesian
Wars (431-404 BC) and Corinth at the
Corinthian Wars (396-387 BC).
• Sparta joined the Achaean Confederacy
(195 BC) and came under Roman rule.
Sparta city-state

17. GREEK ARCHITECTURE
• The Greeks build Doric and Ionic temples
like the Parthenon in Athens (447-432 BC)
and the Temple of Zeus at Olympia (472-
456 BC).
• The temples housed statues of Greek gods
and was symbolic buildings to be admired
from far afar.
• The Greek theatre was used for
presentation of plays and hosted poetry
recitals and musical competitions.
• Famous stadiums were built at Olympia
and Nemea holding up to 45,000
spectators.

18. GREEK THINKERS
• Socrates (469-399 BC) is considered the father of
western philosophy. Known for creating the ‘Socratic
method’, which is based on asking questions to
stimulate critical thinking.
• Plato (428-348 BC) was a student of Socrates, and
founder of the ‘Academy of Athens’, traditionally
considered as the first university of the western
world.
• Aristotle (384-322 BC) pioneered systematic, scientific
examination in many areas including biology, politics,
metaphysics, litterature, botany and etnics.

19. PELOPONNESIAN WARS
• Athens and Sparta and their respective
allies were the two major powers in
Greece.
• Athens encourage an arrogance that
was intolerable to its neighbours
provoking the Peloponnesian Wars
between Athens and Sparta (460-446
BC and 431-404 BC).
• Athens was defeated by Sparta, and its
empire and wealth was gone, but Sparta
was dragged into conflicts against
Thebes at the Corinthian Wars (396-387
BC) and ended bankrupt.
434-404 BC
Peloponnesian War

20. Hellenistic Greece
338 – 146 BC

21. ALEXANDER THE GREAT
• The fall of Athens and Sparta was filled by Philip
II of Macedon who beats the Athenian forces at
the Battle of Chaeronea (338 BC), and Athens
came under Macedonian rule.
• His son Alexander took over after his death (336
BC), and as Alexander the Great he conquered
Persia, Egypt, Asia Minor and India (336-323 BC)
and spread the ideals of Greek civilization
through his conquests.
338-323 BC
Alexander the Great

22. ROMANS CONQUER GREECE
• After the death of Alexander the Great
his empire was divided between four of
his generals.
• The Roman Republic became interested
in Greece, and defeated Macedon at the
Battle of Pydna (168 BC).
• Greece became a Protectorate of Rome
(146 BC), and part of the Roman Empire.
168-146 BC
Roman Empire