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Ancient Greece — Timelines

First Olympic Games

776 BCESport

Lycurgus' Reforms

700 BCESparta

Draco's Legislation

621 BCELaw

Battle of Marathon

490 BCEWar

Peloponnesian War

431 BCEWar

Alexander's Campaign

334 BCEMacedon

Death of Alexander

323 BCESuccession

Fall of Corinth

146 BCERome

Athens1068 – 146 BCE

Corinth900 – 146 BCE

Megara745 – 146 BCE

Sparta900 – 146 BCE

Macedon808 – 334 BCE

800 BCE600 BCE400 BCE200 BCE

Archaic

Classical

Hellenistic

Event

nameBattle of Marathon

date490 BCE

parentAthens

Notemarkdown · 312 words

The Battle of Marathon took place in 490 BC during the first Persian invasion of Greece. It was fought between the citizens of Athens, aided by Plataea, and a Persian force commanded by Datis and Artaphernes.

Background

The first Persian invasion was a response to Athenian support for the Ionian Revolt. Darius I sent a naval expedition across the Aegean, sacking Naxos and Eretria before landing at Marathon.

The Battle

The Athenian general Miltiades led roughly 10,000 hoplites against a larger Persian force. The Greek wings enveloped the Persian center in a double-envelopment. Herodotus records 6,400 Persian casualties against just 192 Athenian dead.

“The Athenians at Marathon, fighting for the freedom of Greece, overthrew the might of the barbarians.”

Aftermath

The victory proved that Persian forces could be defeated, emboldening the Greek city-states for the second Persian invasion a decade later. The legendary run of Pheidippides from the battlefield to Athens gave rise to the modern marathon race.

Sources

Histories, Book VI

Herodotus

Life of Aristides

Plutarch

Description of Greece

Pausanias

500 BCE

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Event

nameDeath of Alexander the Great

date323 BCE

parentKingdom of Macedon

Notemarkdown · 521 words

Alexander the Great died in Babylon in June 323 BC after a brief but severe illness. Ancient sources describe fever, weakness, and an inability to speak in his final days. The exact cause remains uncertain, with possibilities including infection, typhoid, malaria, or complications from wounds.

Proposed Causes

Typhoid fever complicated by bowel perforation
Acute malaria, possibly falciparum strain
Complications from chronic battle wounds and heavy drinking

“When asked to whom he left his empire, Alexander replied: to the strongest.” — Diodorus Siculus

His body was initially placed in a gold sarcophagus, later transferred to Alexandria by Ptolemy I, where it remained a site of pilgrimage for centuries. Both Julius Caesar and Augustus visited the tomb. Its location has been lost since late antiquity.

Alexander the Great: Crash Course World History #8

Crash Course

0:00 / 11:01

Watch on YouTube

Aftermath

His sudden death at age 32 left no clear successor and triggered the Wars of the Diadochi, a forty-year struggle among his generals to divide the empire. Perdiccas initially held the regency, but was assassinated within two years. By 281 BC the empire had fractured into the Ptolemaic, Seleucid, and Antigonid kingdoms.

Reading List

The Campaigns of Alexander, Arrian
Alexander of Macedon, Peter Green
Ghost on the Throne, James Romm

WikiLinked Article

Death of Alexander the Great

Date10 or 11 June 323 BC

LocationPalace of Nebuchadnezzar II, Babylon

CauseDisputed (typhoid, malaria, poisoning)

BuriedAlexandria, Egypt

The death of Alexander the Great and subsequent related events have been the subjects of debates. According to a Babylonian astronomical diary, Alexander died in the palace of Nebuchadnezzar II in Babylon between the evening of 10 June and the evening of 11 June 323 BC, at the age of 32.

Macedonians and local residents wept at the news of the death, while Achaemenid subjects were forced to shave their heads. The mother of Darius III, Sisygambis, upon learning of Alexander's death, refused to eat and died five days later.

Background

In February 323 BC, Alexander ordered his armies to prepare for the march to Babylon. According to Arrian, Chaldean astrologers warned Alexander against entering the city, claiming their deity Bel had cautioned that doing so would prove fatal.

Account of his final days

According to Plutarch, Alexander held a banquet for his companion Medius of Larissa. After drinking heavily he was seized with a fever. Over the next eleven days his condition steadily worsened. By June 9 he could no longer speak, and his soldiers were admitted one by one to file past his bed. He reportedly acknowledged each with a slight movement of his eyes.

Succession

When asked to whom he left his empire, he is said to have whispered “to the strongest.” His generals, the Diadochi, immediately began positioning themselves for power. Perdiccas assumed the regency, while Ptolemy seized Egypt, Seleucus took Mesopotamia, and Antigonus claimed Anatolia. Their conflicts lasted over forty years.

Sources2

Ancient Greece

Thomas R. Martin

Alexander the Great

Robin Lane Fox

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Type ▲Name ▲Tags ▲Start ▲End ▲

SpanAthenspolis1068 BCE146 BCE

EventFirst Olympic Gamessport776 BCE—

EraClassical Periodculture480 BCE323 BCE

EventBattle of Marathonwar490 BCE—

SpanMacedonkingdom808 BCE146 BCE

EventDeath of Alexandersuccession323 BCE—

SpanDelian Leaguealliance478 BCE404 BCE

EventBattle of Thermopylaewar480 BCE—

SpanSpartapolis900 BCE146 BCE

EraHellenistic Periodculture323 BCE31 BCE

EventPeloponnesian Warwar431 BCE404 BCE

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Parchment v2by sreegjl · light

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Darkby sreegjl · dark

Ancient GreeceEdited yesterday

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Ancient Greece

Update 1 timeline (ryans-macbook)Timelines · 2 hours ago+3 elements
Update 1 timeline (ryans-desktop)Timelines · Yesterday+1 element, -1 element
Update 15 timelines (ryans-desktop)Timelines · Jul 21added

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