BETWEEN 490 AND 479 BC. AD
Greece is invaded by the Persians:
This is the beginning of the Persian Wars. The Greeks defend themselves and crush the Persians during a terrible battle at Marathon. A runner carries the good news in Athens, for more than 32 km, and dies of exhaustion. The modern marathon takes its name from this famous event. Around 480 BC the Persians counter-attacked and destroyed the city of Athens.
BETWEEN 461 AND 429 BC. AD
Pericles rules Athens:
Pericles was a prominent and influential strategist, orator and statesman. He takes advantage of the prosperity, wealth and power generated by trade, to rebuild the city of Athens.
Science and research:
Around this time, Greek scholars attempt to explain how the world works. They study plants, animals, the human body, the sun, the stars… It was a Greek astronomer who discovered that the earth revolves around the sun. Scholars like Pythagoras discovered mathematical rules still in use today. It was a Greek, Herodotus, who wrote the first true history book of the world. He recounts the Greco-Persian Wars after interviewing soldiers returning from war.
BETWEEN 447 AND 438 BC. AD
Construction of the Parthenon in Athens:
The Parthenon in Athens is a typical Greek temple. The Greeks built superb temples of gleaming white marble, most of which consisted of a triangular roof supported by rows of columns. Greek monuments have been copied all over the world.
BETWEEN 431 AND 404 B.C. AD
Peloponnesian War:
Some of the city-states are alarmed at the power of Athens and war breaks out between Athens and Sparta , soon to be joined by other cities. This war lasted 27 years and at the end of it, Athens is finally defeated, but all the cities come out weakened. They continue to fight each other and are too busy to notice what is happening in the kingdom of Macedonia.
BETWEEN 428 AND 347 BC. AD
Life of the brilliant philosopher Plato:
He was born in Athens and takes up the philosophical works of his predecessors like Socrates (470 to 399 BC), Parmenides, Heraclitus and Pythagoras. He thus elaborates his own thought and explores the fields of metaphysics and moral, artistic and political philosophy. In particular, he questions the way people should behave and tries to provide solutions to the problems posed without imposing a single and definitive answer.
Learn more about the Persians and the Middle East during antiquity.