The Greek Archaic Period (c. 800-479 BCE) started from what can only be termed uncertainty, and ended with the Persians being ejected from Greece for good after the battles of Plataea and Mykale in 479 BCE.
More about: Greek Archaic PeriodDefinition
Timeline
-
c. 800 BCE - c. 700 BCEHomer of Greece writes his Iliad and Odyssey.
-
800 BCE - 500 BCEGreek colonization of the Mediterranean and Black Sea.
-
c. 800 BCE - 500 BCEArchaic period of Greece.
-
c. 733 BCETraditional date when Corinth founds a colony on Corcyra.
-
733 BCECorinth founds the colony of Syracuse in Sicily.
-
683 BCE - 682 BCEList of annual archons at Athens begins.
-
c. 650 BCESparta crushes Messenian revolt.
-
650 BCE - 600 BCEAge of law-givers in Greece.
-
650 BCEEarliest large scale Greek marble sculpture.
-
594 BCE - 593 BCEIn Athens the archon Solon lays the foundations for democracy.
-
c. 580 BCEThe kouroi of Argos, thought to represent Cleobis & Biton, are sculpted.
-
546 BCE - 545 BCEPersian conquest of Ionian Greek city-states.
-
539 BCEEtruscan & Carthaginian alliance expels the Greeks from Corsica.
-
514 BCEFall of the Peisistratid tyranny in Athens.
-
499 BCE - 493 BCEIonian cities rebel against Persian rule.
-
c. 498 BCEIonians and Greek allies invade and burn Sardis (capital of Lydia).
-
c. 495 BCEBirth of Pericles.
-
492 BCEDarius I of Persia invades Greece.
-
11 Sep 490 BCEA combined force of Greek hoplites defeat the Persians at Marathon.
-
487 BCE - 486 BCEArchons begin to be appointed by lot in Athens.
-
c. 483 BCEThemistocles persuades the Athenians to significantly expand their fleet, which saves them at Salamis and becomes their source of power.
-
480 BCEThebes sides with Persia during Xerxes invasion of Greece.
-
Aug 480 BCEBattle 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.
-
Sep 480 BCEBattle of Salamis where the Greek naval fleet led by Themistocles defeats the invading armada of Xerxes I of Persia.
