istoryworld
Events relating to greece
Wrestling is included in the Olympic games, followed by a terrifying form of all-in wrestling from 652 BC
The Greeks make the Phoenician alphabet much more flexible by the addition of vowels, from alpha to omega
The island of Sicily is colonized from the eastern Mediterranean by both Phoenicians and Greeks
Boxing is included in the Olympic games, with each bout going on until one fighter gives up
Byzantium (the future Constantinople) is founded as a colony of Megara, a Greek city-state
The Greek city states make a habit of consulting the oracle at Delphi, hoping mainly for reassurance
The capitals of Greek pillars are by now in the two basic patterns of Doric and Ionic
The Areopagus, named from the hill on Athens where it meets, is the council through which the nobles keep power in their own hands
Hereditary aristocrats hold nearly all political power and own most of the land in Attica
Frenzied dances, in honour of the god Dionysus, become part of Greek theatre - deriving probably from the northeast, in Thrace
The free smallholding peasants of Attica fall increasingly into debt, compelled to pay a sixth of all their produce to a creditor
Solon is elected archon in Athens, immediately cancelling the debts of the peasants of Attica and making it illegal to enslave a debtor
Solon makes every Athenian citizen a member of the ecclesia, responsible for the election of archons, thus laying the first cornerstone of Athenian democracy
Thales of Miletus, traditionally the first philosopher, is credited with the prediction of a solar eclipse
Peisistratos seizes power in Athens and rules as a benevolent dictator for more than thirty years
The painters of Greek vases develop the black-figure style, with the scene depicted in black silhouette against a red ground
The Greeks develop the Babylonian theme of the zodiac, naming it the zodiakos kyklos or circle of animals
The city-states of the Peloponnese unite in a defensive league under Spartan leadership
The murals of Etruscan tombs, such as the Tomb of the Lionesses in Tarquinia, give a lively glimpse of an earlier tradition in Greek art
An Etruscan dynasty rules in Rome and Etruscan influence is now dominant throughout central Italy
The hoplite - a Greek citizen, heavily armed in bronze and leather - proves a formidable fighting man
The phalanx, though not originally devised in Greece, is a devastating formation on the battlefield when composed of hoplites
The Greek city states pioneer the use of citizen armies, made up of free men who bring their own fighting equipment
