Historical Periods in Greece

It is a very good idea to know the whole spectrum of time periods that we will encounter. Greece and Turkey are rich palimpsests, with one period overlying the previous one. By the end of the trip, we expect that you will be able to put artifacts and monuments into their proper historical contexts.

(dates BCE until Roman Period)

Paleolithic/Mesolithic ca. 70,000-6000

Neolithic ca. 6,000-3,000 (Sesklo/Dimini)

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Bronze Age ca. 3,000-1,100. (ca. 2,000 "Greeks" arrive in Greece)

Cycladic. Islands (ca. 3000-2000)

Minoan. Crete (ca. 1900-1400)

Helladic. Mainland (also called Mycenaean; ca.1700-1100)

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Dark Ages ca. 1,100- 800 (also called Iron Age)

Geometric ca. 800-700

Orientalizing ca. 700-600

Archaic ca. 600- 490 (Battle of Marathon)

Classical 490- 323 (Death of Alexander)

(Early/High Classical: 480-400)

(Late Classical: 400-323)

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Hellenistic 322-31 (Battle of Actium)

Roman 30 BCE - 330 CE (Constantinople becomes the imperial residence)

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Byzantine 330-1453 CE (Fall of Constantinople to Ottoman Turks)

Frankish/Venetian 1204 (4th Crusade) - 1687 (Destruction of Parthenon in Venetian attack on Acropolis)

Ottoman Empire including Greece 1453 (Fall of Constantinople) - 1923 (Establishment of Turkish Republic)

Modern Turkey 1923 - present

Modern (Independent) Greece 1827- present