Preceden

Ancient Greece and Rome Timeline

(c. 800 BC–AD 476)

This timeline traces the major political, cultural, military, and philosophical developments of Ancient Greece and Rome, two civilizations that profoundly shaped the modern world. Less

Go to: Timeline | Event List | Key Facts | Directory

Greek antiquity

Greek alphabetic inscriptions appear

800 BC - 799 BC

The 8th and 7th centuries BC remain largely protohistorical, but the earliest Greek alphabetic inscriptions appeared during the first half of the 8th century BC.

Classical antiquity begins

800 BC - 499

Classical antiquity is conventionally defined as the period of cultural European history between the 8th century BC and the 5th century AD. It followed the Greek Dark Ages and preceded late antiquity.

Image source: Classical antiquity

Classical antiquity begins

Homeric poetry marks the traditional beginning

800 BC - 699 BC

The earliest recorded epic Greek poetry associated with the legendary poet Homer is traditionally placed in the 8th or 7th century BC. Homer's lifetime is often treated as the beginning of classical antiquity.

Image source: Homer

Homeric poetry marks the traditional beginning

Phoenician Mediterranean dominance

800 BC - 799 BC

The Phoenicians, who originally expanded from ports in Canaan, dominated trade across the Mediterranean by the 8th century BC.

Image source: Phoenicia

Phoenician Mediterranean dominance

Black-figure pottery develops

700 BC - 699 BC

Black-figure pottery originated in Corinth during the 7th century BC and became a major pottery style associated with the later part of the Greek Archaic age.

Image source: Black-figure pottery

Black-figure pottery develops

Red-figure pottery develops

530 BC

The red-figure pottery style developed around 530 BC, associated with the Andokides Painter, and succeeded the earlier black-figure technique.

Image source: Red-figure pottery

Red-figure pottery develops

Athenian tyranny ends

510 BC

The end of the Athenian tyranny in 510 BC is used as the conventional starting point for the classical period of ancient Greece.

Classical Greek period begins

510 BC - 323 BC

The classical period of ancient Greece is conventionally dated from the end of the Athenian tyranny in 510 BC to the death of Alexander the Great in 323 BC.

Image source: Classical Greece

Classical Greek period begins

Spartan hegemony begins

400 BC - 395 BC

Greece began the 4th century BC under Spartan hegemony, during a period in which Sparta held a leading position among the Greek states.

Image source: Sparta

Spartan hegemony begins

Sparta loses naval supremacy

395 BC

In 395 BC, Spartan rulers dismissed Lysander from office, and Sparta lost its naval supremacy.

Alexander the Great dies

323 BC

The death of Alexander the Great in 323 BC marks the conventional end of the classical period of ancient Greece.

Image source: Alexander the Great

Alexander the Great dies

Hellenistic period ends

200 BC - 146 BC

The Hellenistic period ended as the Roman Republic became a super-regional power during the 2nd century BC and conquered Greece in 146 BC.

Image source: Hellenistic period

Hellenistic period ends

Roman origins and expansion

Roman Forum settlement begins

800 BC - 799 BC

Archaeological evidence shows the first traces of settlement at the Roman Forum in the mid-8th century BC, although settlements on the Palatine Hill may date to the 10th century BC.

Image source: Roman Forum

Roman Forum settlement begins

Etruscan political control in Italy

700 BC - 699 BC

By the late 7th century BC, the Etruscans had established political control in the region and formed an aristocratic and monarchical elite.

Etruscan power declines

600 BC - 599 BC

The Etruscans apparently lost power in the area by the late 6th century BC. Italic tribes responded by reinventing their governments as republics with greater restraints on individual rulers.

Image source: Etruscan civilization

Etruscan power declines

Samnite Wars contribute to Italian unification

400 BC - 299 BC

The Roman unification of Italy was gradual and was driven in part by the Samnite Wars, among a series of conflicts during the 4th and 3rd centuries BC.

Image source: Samnite Wars

Samnite Wars contribute to Italian unification

Latin War contributes to Italian unification

400 BC - 299 BC

The Latin War formed part of the series of 4th- and 3rd-century BC conflicts through which Rome gradually unified Italy.

Image source: Latin War

Latin War contributes to Italian unification

Pyrrhic War contributes to Italian unification

300 BC - 299 BC

The Pyrrhic War was another conflict in the gradual Roman unification of Italy during the 3rd century BC.

Image source: Pyrrhic War

Pyrrhic War contributes to Italian unification

Roman victory in the Punic Wars

300 BC - 199 BC

Roman victory in the Punic Wars helped establish Rome as a super-regional power by the 2nd century BC.

Image source: Punic Wars

Roman victory in the Punic Wars

Roman victory in the Macedonian Wars

300 BC - 199 BC

The Macedonian Wars contributed to Rome's rise as a super-regional power and preceded the Roman acquisition of Greece and Asia Minor.

Image source: Macedonian Wars

Roman victory in the Macedonian Wars

Roman conquest of Greece

146 BC

Rome conquered Greece in 146 BC, a major development in the expansion of the Roman Republic and the conventional endpoint of the Hellenistic period.

Image source: Greece in the Roman era

Roman conquest of Greece

Divorce becomes available to both spouses

100 BC - 099 BC

During the 1st century BC, divorce was allowed in Rome and could be initiated by either a man or a woman.

Image source: Marriage in ancient Rome

Divorce becomes available to both spouses

Roman acquisition of Iudaea, Asia Minor, and Gaul

100 BC - 099 BC

The addition of Iudaea, Asia Minor, and Gaul during the 1st century BC completed key stages in Rome's transformation into an imperial power.

Image source: Roman Empire

Roman acquisition of Iudaea, Asia Minor, and Gaul

Catiline conspiracy and social unrest

100 BC - 099 BC

Rome's expansion was accompanied by economic instability and social unrest, including the Catiline conspiracy during the turbulent 1st century BC.

Image source: Catilinarian conspiracy

Catiline conspiracy and social unrest

First Triumvirate and transformation to empire

100 BC - 099 BC

The Social War, the First Triumvirate, and continuing instability contributed to the transformation of the Roman Republic into the Roman Empire during the latter half of the 1st century BC.

Image source: First Triumvirate

First Triumvirate and transformation to empire

Late Roman world

Crisis of the third century weakens Rome

200 - 299

The Roman Empire began to weaken as a result of the Crisis of the Third Century, a period of severe political and military instability.

Image source: Crisis of the Third Century

Crisis of the third century weakens Rome

Western Roman Empire weakens

400 - 476 AD

The Western Roman Empire weakened during the 5th century, conventionally ending with its fall in 476 AD, while the Eastern Roman Empire persisted.

Image source: Fall of the Western Roman Empire

Western Roman Empire weakens

Eastern Roman Senate continues issuing decrees

400 - 599

The original Roman Senate continued to express decrees into the late 6th century, despite the political transformation of the Roman world.

Maurice reigns as the last Latin-speaking court emperor

582 AD - 602 AD

Emperor Maurice, who reigned until 602, was the last Eastern Roman emperor to use Latin as the language of his court in Constantinople.

Image source: Maurice (emperor)

Maurice reigns as the last Latin-speaking court emperor

Muslim conquests transform the Eastern Roman world

600 - 699

The Muslim conquests of the 7th century finalized the irreversible loss of the largest Eastern Roman imperial cities besides Constantinople.

Image source: Muslim conquest of the Levant

Muslim conquests transform the Eastern Roman world

Classical legacy

Holy Roman Empire ends

800 AD - 1806 AD

The self-described Holy Roman Empire ruled central Europe until 1806, continuing the political idea of an emperor in the West.

Image source: Holy Roman Empire

Holy Roman Empire ends

Charlemagne is crowned emperor

800 AD

The political idea of a Western emperor corresponding to the Eastern emperor continued after the Western Roman Empire's collapse and was revived by Charlemagne's coronation in 800.

Image source: The Coronation of Charlemagne

Charlemagne is crowned emperor

Renaissance revival of classical culture

1300 - 1399

Surviving fragments of classical culture helped produce a revival beginning during the 14th century, later known as the Renaissance.

Image source: Renaissance

Renaissance revival of classical culture

Moscow is described as the Third Rome

1400 - 1999

After the capture of Constantinople, Russian Czars claimed the Byzantine legacy as champions of Orthodoxy, and Moscow was described as the Third Rome.

Image source: Succession of the Roman Empire

Moscow is described as the Third Rome

Constantinople falls

1453 AD

After Constantinople was captured in 1453, refugees brought classical scholarship and culture westward, helping to begin the Renaissance.

Image source: Fall of Constantinople

Constantinople falls

Neoclassical revivals spread

1700 - 1899

Various neoclassical revivals occurred during the 18th and 19th centuries, reflecting renewed interest in the forms and ideals of classical antiquity.

Image source: Neoclassicism

Neoclassical revivals spread

Classical Roman virtues influence modern politics

1700 - 1899

The Renaissance idea that classical Roman virtues had been lost through medievalism became especially powerful in European politics during the 18th and 19th centuries.

Classical antiquity becomes an idealized vision

1700 - 1899

During the 18th and 19th centuries, reverence for classical antiquity was especially strong in Europe and the United States, where Greece and Rome were often idealized as cultural models.

French Revolution echoes Roman political change

1789 AD - 1899

During the revolution, France moved from kingdom to republic, dictatorship, and Empire, including the use of Imperial Eagles, a sequence understood as echoing transformations experienced by Rome.

Image source: French Revolution

French Revolution echoes Roman political change

Latin epic poetry continues into the 19th century

1800 - 1899

Epic poetry in Latin continued to be written and circulated well into the 19th century, extending a literary tradition rooted in classical Rome.

A new Greek state is created

1832 AD

Greek-speaking Byzantines and their descendants continued to call themselves Romioi until the creation of a new Greek state in 1832.

Image source: Kingdom of Greece

A new Greek state is created

Key Facts

  1. Ancient Greece was organized into independent city-states, including Athens, Sparta, Corinth, and Thebes.
  2. Athens developed an early form of democracy, while Sparta became known for its militarized society.
  3. Greek philosophers such as Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle influenced Western ideas about ethics, politics, science, and education.
  4. Rome grew from a republic into a vast empire that controlled much of Europe, North Africa, and the Mediterranean world.
  5. Roman law, engineering, roads, architecture, and Latin strongly influenced later European governments, languages, and cultures.

Source

This Ancient Greece and Rome timeline was generated with the help of AI, using information found on the internet.

We work hard to keep these timelines accurate, but mistakes do get through. If you spot one, email us at [email protected] and we'll fix it for future visitors.

Want a timeline like this one?

Generate yours with AI or build it from scratch, for free.

Try It for Free