Greece: timeline and key events

3000 BC Culture

Minoan Civilisation in Crete

The Minoan civilisation flourished on Crete, forming the first cities and palaces of the Aegean world, including Knossos. This seafaring and trading people laid the foundations of archaic Greek culture.

776 BC Sport

First Olympic Games at Olympia

The first ancient Olympic Games are held at Olympia in honour of Zeus. Celebrated every four years, they bring together Greek city-states under a sacred truce and become a symbol of Hellenic unity.

508 BC Politics

Reforms of Cleisthenes, birth of democracy

The Athenian statesman Cleisthenes introduces political reforms that establish democracy in Athens: citizen participation in public decisions and equality before the law. This model would lastingly influence Western political systems.

490 BC War

Battle of Marathon, victory over the Persians

The Athenian army inflicts a decisive defeat on the Persian army of Darius I at Marathon. This victory boosts Greek confidence against the Persians and becomes a symbol of freedom and resistance in Western memory.

480 BC War

Battle of Salamis, Greek naval victory

The Greek fleet commanded by Themistocles crushes the powerful Persian navy of Xerxes in the Salamis strait. This naval victory preserves the independence of the Greek city-states and marks a turning point in the Greco-Persian Wars.

447 BC Culture

Construction of the Parthenon under Pericles

Under the leadership of Pericles, Athens builds the Parthenon on the Acropolis, a temple dedicated to Athena. This masterpiece of classical architecture illustrates the peak of Athenian civilisation and remains the symbol of ancient Greece.

431 BC War

Peloponnesian War, Athens against Sparta

The Peloponnesian War pits Athens and its maritime empire against Sparta and its allies for 27 years. The conflict ends in 404 BC with Athens's defeat, durably weakening both great Greek city-states.

338 BC Politics

Philip II unifies Greece at Chaeronea

Philip II of Macedon wins the Battle of Chaeronea against the allied armies of Athens and Thebes, establishing himself as master of all Greece. This victory opens the way for Macedonian expansion into the East.

334 BC War

Alexander the Great sets out to conquer the Persian Empire

Alexander III of Macedon, known as the Great, crosses the Hellespont with an army of 40,000 men and launches his campaign to conquer the Persian Empire. In ten years he builds an empire stretching from Egypt to India.

146 BC Politics

Roman conquest, Greece becomes a Roman province

After the destruction of Corinth by the Roman general Lucius Mummius, Greece falls under Roman domination and becomes the province of Achaea. Although Greek political power fades, its culture continues to profoundly influence Rome.

330 Politics

Constantinople, new capital of the East

Emperor Constantine I inaugurates Constantinople on the site of ancient Byzantium as the new capital of the Roman Empire. The city becomes the centre of Greco-Roman Christian civilisation and endures for over a millennium as the Byzantine capital.

May 1453 Politics

Fall of Constantinople, end of the Byzantine Empire

Ottoman sultan Mehmed II captures Constantinople after a long siege, ending the thousand-year Byzantine Empire. This date symbolically marks the end of the Middle Ages and the exile of many Greek scholars to the West, fuelling the Renaissance.

Mar 1821 Politics

Beginning of the Greek War of Independence

On 25 March 1821, Bishop Germanos of Patras raises the standard of revolt at Agia Lavra, launching the Greek War of Independence against the Ottoman Empire. This uprising receives support from European philhellenes including Lord Byron.

1830 Politics

Greek independence recognised by the Great Powers

The 1830 London Protocol officially recognises Greek independence, backed by Great Britain, France and Russia. Greece becomes the first state to break free from the Ottoman Empire, paving the way for other national movements in the Balkans.

Apr 1896 Sport

First modern Olympic Games in Athens

Athens hosts the first modern-era Olympic Games, initiated by Pierre de Coubertin and King George I. 14 nations and 241 athletes take part in this Olympic renaissance on the very land where the ancient Games were born.

1912 War

Balkan Wars, doubling of Greek territory

Greece takes part in both Balkan Wars (1912-1913) and emerges victorious, recovering Macedonia, Epirus and Crete. The national territory is virtually doubled, representing the greatest territorial expansion in modern Greek history.

Oct 1940 War

Greece repels the Italian invasion

On 28 October 1940, dictator Metaxas refuses Mussolini's ultimatum and answers "Ohi" (No) to the Italian invasion, uniting the Greek people. The Greek army repels Italian forces in Albania in one of the first Allied successes of the war.

Apr 1967 Politics

Coup of the Colonels, military dictatorship

On 21 April 1967, a military junta of colonels seizes power in Greece and establishes a dictatorship that lasts seven years. The regime suppresses civil liberties, imprisons opponents and intellectuals, and forces King Constantine II into exile.

1974 Politics

Return to democracy, fall of the junta

Following the failed attempt to annex Cyprus and the Turkish invasion of the island, the military junta collapses in July 1974. Conservative politician Konstantinos Karamanlis returns from exile to lead the democratic transition and draft a new constitution.

Aug 2004 Sport

Athens Olympic Games, return to the origins

Athens hosts the Summer Olympic Games for the second time in the modern era, 108 years after the first Games of 1896. Greece wins 6 medals including 4 gold, in front of an enthusiastic public in the Panathenaic Stadium and ancient sites.