greece - Index of

Spears were used for
thrusting.
800 BC
Hunter Returning
Home (500 BC)
Hunting for hares, deer,
or wild boar was an
aristocratic sport pursued
by Greek nobles on
foot with dogs, as depicted
on this cup.
THE HISTORY OF GREECE 29
6th-Century Vase
This bowl (krater)
for mixing wine
and water at elegant
feasts is an
early example of the
art of vase painting. It
depicts mythological
and heroic scenes.
Bronze helmets
for protection
700 BC
750–700 Homer records
epic tales of the
Iliad and Odyssey
770 Greeks start founding Spartan
colonies in Italy, Egypt votive
and elsewhere
figurine
WHERE TO SEE
ARCHAIC GREECE
Examples of koúroi can be found in
the National Archaeological Museum
(pp68–71) and in the Acropolis
Museum (p97), both in Athens. The
National Archaeological Museum also
houses the national collection of
Greek Geometric, red-figure and
black-figure vases. The first victory
over the Persians in 490 BC was
commemorated by the mound of
Athenian dead which still dominates
the plain at Marathon (p145). The
museum at Sparta (p189) contains a
bust of Leonidas, the Spartan king,
who with his 300 hoplite soldiers
was massacred by the Persians at
Thermopylae in 480 BC.
The phalanxes
shoved and
pushed, aiming to
maintain an
unbroken shield
wall, a successful
new technique.
Gorgon’s head
decoration
Characteristic
round shields
600 BC
546 Persians gain control
over Ionian Greeks; Athens
flourishes under the tyrant
Peisistratos and his sons
Darius I (ruled 521–486 BC)
This relief from Persepolis shows
the Persian king who tried to
conquer the Greek mainland,
but was defeated at the battle
of Marathon in 490.
776 Traditional date for the
first Olympic Games
675 Lykourgos initiates
austere reforms in Sparta
600 First Doric
columns built at
Temple of Hera,
Olympia
Doric
capital
490 Athenians defeat
Persians at Marathon
630 Poetess Sappho
writing in Lésvos
500 BC
480 Athens destroyed by
Persians who defeat Spartans
at Thermopylae;
Greek victory at Salamis
479 Persians annihilated at Plataiaí
by Athenians, Spartans and allies