Athens, Greece, with its famous Acropolis, has come to symbolize the whole of the country in the popular imagination, and not without cause. It not only has its iconic ruins and the famous port of Piraeus but, thanks to ancient writers, its history is better documented than most other ancient Greek city-states.
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Definition
Timeline
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c. 7000 BCE - 5000 BCEHuman habitation on the Acropolis and around the Agora of Athens continues from Neolithic Period.
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c. 1700 BCE - c. 1100 BCEMycenaean Period. Agora established at Athens.
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c. 1100 BCE - c. 600 BCEIron Age Development, public buildings erected at the Agora in Athens.
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683 BCE - 682 BCEList of annual archons at Athens begins.
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600 BCE - 550 BCEThe Dionysia becomes a major Athenian festival in honour of Dionysos.
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c. 600 BCEThe Eleusinian Mysteries become part of the official Athenian religious calendar.
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600 BCE - 480 BCEAttic black-figure pottery dominates the greek ceramic market.
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594 BCE - 593 BCEIn Athens the archon Solon lays the foundations for democracy.
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c. 560 BCEPisistratos becomes tyrant in Athens for the first time.
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c. 546 BCEPisistratus lands his Argive mercenary force at Marathon and with victory at Pallene establishes himself once again as tyrant of Athens.
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c. 540 BCEAthens removes and prohibits further burials on Delos to purify the sacred island.
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525 BCECleisthenes is made archon at Athens.
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c. 524 BCE - c. 460 BCELife of Athenian general and statesman Themistocles.
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514 BCEFall of the Peisistratid tyranny in Athens.
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514 BCEThe tyrant of Athens Hipparchos is killed by Harmodios and Aristogeiton - the 'tyrannicides'.
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c. 508 BCEAccording to Aristotle, the institution of ostracism is introduced in Athens under Cleisthenes.
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c. 508 BCEReforms by Cleisthenes establishes democracy in Athens.
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c. 495 BCEBirth of Pericles.
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493 BCEThe first fortifications are constructed at Athens' port of Piraeus.
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493 BCEThemistocles is made archon in Athens.
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490 BCE - 480 BCEA 1.4 m (4 ft 7 in) tall Iris or Nike sculpture is erected on the Acropolis of Athens in memory of the general Kallimachos, killed in the Battle of Marathon.
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490 BCEAthens builds a treasury at Delphi following their victory at Marathon against Persia.
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11 Sep 490 BCEA combined force of Greek hoplites defeat the Persians at Marathon.
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487 BCE - 486 BCEArchons begin to be appointed by lot in Athens.
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c. 483 BCEThemistocles persuades the Athenians to significantly expand their fleet, which saves them at Salamis and becomes their source of power.
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480 BCEThe fortifications of Piraeus instigated by Themistocles are completed.
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480 BCESack of Athens by the Persians under Xerxes. The Agora is destroyed.
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Aug 480 BCEThe indecisive battle of Artemision between the Greek and Persian fleets of Xerxes I. The Greeks withdraw to Salamis.
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479 BCE - 432 CEThe period of Thucydides' Pentecontaetia in ancient Greece.
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479 BCEXerxes' Persian forces are defeated by Greek forces at Plataea effectively ending Persia's imperial ambitions in Greece.
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478 BCE - 454 BCEThe treasury of the Delian League is kept on Delos until its removal to Athens.
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478 BCE - 404 BCEThe Delian League in Greece, led by Athens.
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476 BCE - 463 BCEDelian League operations are led by Athenian commander Cimon
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c. 475 BCEAthenian general Cimon drives the Dolopian pirates out of the Aegean island of Scyros.
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475 BCECimon captures Eion in Thrace for Athens.
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c. 471 BCEThe general and statesman Themistocles is voted in an ostracism and exiled from Athens.
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470 BCEStatue group of Harmodius and Aristogiton in Athens.
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c. 469 BCE - 399 BCELife of Socrates.
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c. 466 BCEAthenian general Cimon twice defeats the Persians at Eurymedon on the southern coast of Asia Minor.
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c. 465 BCEConstruction of the Long Walls fortifications joining Athens to the port of Piraeus are begun.
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465 BCE - 463 BCEAthenian general Cimon conquers Chersonesus in Thrace and the north-Aegean island of Thasos.
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462 BCE - 461 BCERadicalisation of democracy in Athens; Cimon exiled, Pericles comes to exercise influence.
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c. 462 BCE - 458 BCEPericles introduces democratic institutions in Athens.
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461 BCECimon is voted in an ostracism in Athens and exiled from the city.
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461 BCE - 429 BCEPericles is ruler of Athens.
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c. 460 BCE - c. 320 CEPeriod of full and direct citizen democracy in Athens.
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460 BCE - 445 BCEFirst Peloponnesian War.
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460 BCE - 429 BCEThe Age of Pericles. Athenian Agora is rebuilt, construction of Parthenon.
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c. 460 BCE - 403 BCELife of Critias, one of the Thirty Tyrants of Athens.
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457 BCESparta wins the battle of Tanagra during the 1st Peloponnesian War with Athens.
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457 BCEHegemony of Athens over central Greece.
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454 BCEThe Athenians move the treasury of the Delian League from Delos to Athens.
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453 BCEPericles erects trophy at Nemea after Athenian victory over the Sikyonians.
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c. 451 BCE - c. 403 CELife of Athenian statesman and general Alcibiades.
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450 BCEAthenian general Cimon dies on Cyprus fighting the Persians.
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449 BCEThe Hephaisteion, temple to Athena & Hephaistos, built in Athens.
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447 BCE - 432 BCEThe construction of the Parthenon in Athens by the architects Iktinos and Kallikrates under the direction of Phidias.
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28 Jul 447 BCEReconstruction and creation of the Acropolis of the Classical Period begins under Pericles' leadership.
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446 BCEThe Middle Wall fortifications are added to the Long Walls which connect Athens and the port of Piraeus.
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c. 443 BCEThurii in Magna Graecia founded by Athenian settlers.
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438 BCEThe cult statue of Athena Parthenos is dedicated in the Parthenon of Athens.
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c. 437 BCE - 431 BCEThe Propylaea is constructed on the Acropolis of Athens under the supervision of Mnesicles.
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433 BCEA naval battle between the victorious combined forces of Corcyra and Athens against Corinth.
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433 BCEAlliance between Athens and Corcyra.
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432 BCESparta declares that Athens has broken the Thirty Year Peace and prepares for war.
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431 BCE - 404 BCEThe 2nd Peloponnesian War between Athens and Sparta (the Delian League and the Peloponnesian League) which involved all of Greece.
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431 BCEAthens invades Megara.
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431 BCE - 404 BCEThe Peloponnesian Wars which leave Athens defeated and the Agora damaged.
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430 BCE - c. 354 BCELife of Xenophon of Athens.
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430 BCEThe plague decimates Athens.
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c. 430 BCE - 415 BCEThe Histories of Herodotus is published. The work is divided into nine chapters, each dedicated to one of the Muses.
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429 BCEAthens successfully campaigns in the Corinthian Gulf regions during the Peloponnesian War.
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429 BCEFollowing attacks by Sparta, fortifications at the port of Piraeus are extended to reduce the width of the harbour entrances.
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427 BCE - 347 BCELife of Plato.
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c. 425 BCE - c. 420 BCEThe Temple dedicated to Athena Nike is constructed on the acropolis of Athens.
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425 BCEPylos campaign, under Cleon and Demosthenes' command Athens defeats Sparta at Pylos.
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424 BCEThe Athenian expeditions against Megara and Boeotia are a failure with a particularly heavy defeat near Delion.
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424 BCEA force of Athenian peltasts defeat Spartan hoplites on Sphaktria in the Peloponnese.
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422 BCESpartan general Brasidas employs Myrkinian and Chalkidian peltasts to defeat a force of Athenian hoplites at Amphipolis.
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421 BCE - 406 BCEThe Erechtheion of Athens acropolis is constructed with six Caryatids in the south porch.
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c. 417 BCEIn the last recorded ostracism the demagogue Hyperbolos is exiled from Athens.
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415 BCE - 413 BCEAthenian expedition to attack Syracuse.
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c. 415 BCEAlcibiades persuades the Athenian assembly to send a military expedition to Sicily.
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414 BCEAthens constructs fortifications at Sounion.
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413 BCEOn the advice of Alcibiades the Spartans take over the Athenian-held fort of Dekeleia.
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413 BCEThe Athenian expedition in Sicily ends in disastrous defeat and the Athenian generals Nicias and Demosthenes are executed.
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411 BCEThe oligarchy of the 400 take over the democracy in Athens and in a matter of months is replaced by an oligarchy of 5000.
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410 BCEAlcibiades leads the Athenian fleet to victory over Sparta at Cyzicus.
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c. 407 BCEAlcibiades returns to Athens in triumph and is made strategos autokrater.
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c. 407 BCEThe Athenian fleet is defeated by Lysander of Sparta at Notium.
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405 BCEAthens grants Athenian citizenship to the population of Samos.
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404 BCESpartan general Lysander attacks the Athenian port of Piraeus destroying parts of the Long Wall fortifications.
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404 BCEEnd of the Peloponnesian war, Athens defeated By Sparta at Aigospotamoi, Rule of the Thirty Tyrants in Athens.
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403 BCERestoration of the democracy in Athens, death of the tyrant Critias.
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c. 402 BCE - 318 BCELife of Athenian statesman and general Phocion.
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395 BCE - 386 BCEThe Corinthian Wars between Sparta and an alliance of Athens, Corinth, Argos, Boeotia and Thebes.
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390 BCEAthenian leader Iphikrates employs peltasts to defeat Spartan hoplites at Lechaion near Corinth.
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387 BCESparta attacks the Athenian port of Piraeus.
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384 BCE - 322 BCELife of Aristotle.
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c. 384 BCE - 322 CELife of Athenian statesman Demosthenes.
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380 BCEPlato founds his Academy outside of Athens.
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366 BCEAthens regains control of Samos from Sparta.
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362 BCEIndecisive Battle of Matinea where Thebes fought against Sparta and Athens. Theban general Epaminondas is killed.
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c. 354 BCEXenophon dies at Corinth.
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338 BCEPhilip of Macedonia defeats the Greek allied forces of Athens, Thebes and Corinth in the Battle of Chaironeia.
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2 Aug 338 BCEThe Battle of Charonea gives Athens to the Macedonian victors. Agora takes on Macedonian characteristics.
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307 BCEDemetrius I frees Athens from the tyrant Demetrius of Phaleron.
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295 BCEDemetrius I campaigns in central Greece, removes the tyrant Lachares from Athens and defeats Sparta.
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166 BCERome puts Delos under the jurisdiction of Athens and makes the island a free port.
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166 BCERome gives dominion over the Cyclades to Athens.
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159 BCE - 138 BCEKing Attalos II of Pergamon builds the great Stoa in the Agora of Athens.
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86 BCEThe Roman general Sulla sacks Athens and the port of Piraeus.
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86 BCESiege of Athens by the Roman general Sulla. Agora is destroyed.
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117 CE - 138 CERule of the Roman Emperor Hadrian who supports great building projects in and around the Agora of Athens.
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267 CEThe Goths sack Athens, Corinth, Sparta, and Argos.
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267 CEAgora of Athens burned by invading Herulians.
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