Don't Know Much About Mythology - Kenneth C. Davis [85]
476 Massive new Temple of Zeus built at Olympia to celebrate Greek freedom, combined with Olympic Games. The temple, including a massive statue of Zeus, is completed c. 420. The temple and statue are among the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World.
460–430 The Golden Age of Pericles in Athens.
The three great tragedians flourish: Aeschylus (525–456), Sophocles (496–406), and Euripides (485–406).
447 In Athens, work begins on the Parthenon. Completed in 432, the temple, dedicated to the goddess Athena, stands on a hill called the Acropolis, overlooking the city. It is the crowning achievement of the Golden Age under Pericles.
431 The Peloponnesian Wars commence, with Athens and Sparta as main rivals.
430 Great plague strikes Athens; Pericles dies in 429.
404 Athens surrenders; a period of Spartan domination; oligarchy returns to Athens.
399 Suicide of Socrates, accused of corrupting the youth of Athens.
385 Plato returns to Athens to open his academy; writes The Symposium.
364 Fighting between rival cities during Olympic Games, a traditional time of truce.
359 Plato’s Republic completed.
338 Macedonia, led by Philip, takes control of Greece, ending independence of city-states.
336 Philip of Macedonia is assassinated. Alexander the Great, Philip’s son, begins his conquests, extending Greek rule from the Mediterranean to the Himalayas.
335 Aristotle (384–322) founds the Lyceum.
332 Zeno founds the Stoic school of philosophy—based on the idea that virtue is the only good.
323 Death of Alexander in Babylon after a drunken feast. His empire is broken up into kingdoms controlled by Greek generals, such as the Ptolemies, who rule Egypt as Greek-speaking pharaohs.
229 First Roman incursion into Greece.
146 Romans defeat Greek rebellion. In the city of Corinth, all men are killed and women and children sold as slaves.
80 The Roman general Sulla pillages Olympia during the civil wars fought in Greece.
31 Battle of Actium off the west coast of Greece: Octavian, the future Emperor Augustus, defeats Mark Antony and Cleopatra, ending Rome’s civil wars.
27 Octavian proclaims himself “first citizen,” and takes the name Augustus. Begins a new era of Pax Romana, and Greek culture spreads throughout Roman Empire.
Common Era (CE)
312 Emperor Constantine’s Christian vision before Battle of Milvian Bridge.
313 Constantine’s Edict of Milan permits Christianity.
337 Constantine is baptized on his deathbed.
330 Byzantium becomes capital of the Roman world and is renamed Constantinople (modern-day Istanbul, Turkey).
393 Last official Olympic Games.
394 Theodosius II, the Christian Roman emperor, bans all pagan festivals, including the Olympics. The statue of Zeus at Olympia is carted to Constantinople, where it is later destroyed in a fire.
426 The Temple of Zeus is burned on the orders of Theodosius II; Christian fanatics destroy the rest of the sanctuary at Olympia.
I
f your introduction to Greek history and classic mythology came from watching the opening-night ceremonies of the 2004 Olympics in Athens, you may be understandably befuddled. The panoramic view of these myths and the achievements of one of history’s most remarkable civilizations unfolded in a sort of Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade merged with a “toga party.” In a badly costumed pageant of gods and warriors, centuries of myth and some of the most significant moments in Western history rolled by on floats. Above it all floated the figure of Eros, god of love, suspended like an awkward Peter Pan wishing he were somewhere else. Those opening Olympic moments may be blissfully forgotten. But set against the magnificent remains of Athens’ Golden Age, the 2004 Olympic games did provide a stunning reminder of an extraordinary moment in world history—a breathtaking glimpse of the glory that had been Greece. Those marble ruins in downtown Athens and the modern Olympic games are vestiges of that glory. The remnants of the Parthenon pulse with what was once the heart of Athens,