The Greek mathematician Eratosthenes calculates the circumference of the world with the help of shadows and camels

The Romans, after defeating Macedon, announce at the Isthmian Games that all Greek states are now free under Roman protection

Sparta's ancient political system comes to an end, but the ordeal by flogging lingers on as a tourist attraction in the temple of Artemis

Plautus and Terence, in the second and third century BC, create a Roman drama based on Greek originals

The Greek astronomer Hipparchus is credited with the invention of the astrolabe, measuring the angle of sun or star above the horizon

The Greek astronomer Hipparchus, mapping the stars, observes but cannot explain the precession of the equinoxes

Hipparchus proposes a grid of 360° of latitude and longitude for mapmaking

Hipparchus completes the first scientific star catalogue, mapping some 850 stars

A Venus is carved in marble, and centuries later becomes an ideal of female beauty after being found on the island of Milo

Sulla, campaigning to the east, besieges Athens and then allows his army to loot the city

Julius Caesar defeats his rival Pompey at Pharsalus, in Greece, and makes himself master of the Roman world

Octavian and Mark Antony defeat the armies of Brutus and Cassius at Philippi, after which Brutus and Cassius commit suicide

Octavian defeats the forces of Antony and Cleopatra (both are at sea with their fleets) in a battle off the Greek coast at Actium

The Thessalonians receive the first of Paul's epistles - the earliest text in the New Testament, written in Greek

Nero comes to Athens to give some of his officially celebrated performances at the Greek games

Constantine executes Licinius in Thessalonica on a charge of attempted rebellion, a year after defeating him in battle

Greece begins to find a new and influential role in a Christian context, through the Byzantine empire

The ancient games at Olympia, with an unbroken tradition of more than 1000 years, are brought to an abrupt end by the emperor Theodosius

Justinian closes down the schools of Athens, famous for their tradition of pagan philosophy

Venice takes the useful islands of Corfu and Crete as part of the spoils of the fourth crusade

The Knights of St John capture the island of Rhodes, which they rule as their own sovereign state for more than two centuries

The Turks complete the occupation of Greece, which remains within the Ottoman empire until the nineteenth century

Galleys are rowed into battle for the last time at Lepanto, ending a fighting career of some 2500 years

An uprising in Greece against Turkish rule is followed by the massacre of several thousand Muslims

Lord Byron arrives in Greece to support the cause of Greek independence