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City Guide > Europe > Greece > Athens | |
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History c.3000BC Evidence of first settlement around the Acropolis 1400BC The Acropolis becomes a royal fortress 620BC Draco formalises the laws of Athens and Attica 594-593BC The birth of democracy under the constitution of Solon 490BC The Battle of Marathon. Athens defeats the Persians 480BC Persian invasion of Athens 479BC Defeat of the Persians at Plataea by Greek force led by the Spartans 461BC Pericles replaces Cimon as the ruler of Athens 461-429BC The Golden Age under Pericles. Construction of the Parthenon and other Classical buildings 431BC Start of the Peloponnesian War against Sparta 430-428BC Plague wipes out a quarter of Athens’ population including Pericles (429BC) 404BC Peloponnesian War with Sparta ends in defeat 338BC Philip II of Macedon conquers Athens and other Greek states 336BC Murder of Philip and succession of his son, Alexander the Great 336-323BC Expansion of the Macedonian Empire under Alexander through the Mediterranean and Middle East as far as India 146BC Roman Empire subjugates Macedonian rulers; Athens is incorporated into the province of Achaia 200BC-AD300 Roman rule in Greece AD50 Paul the Apostle visits Athens to preach AD330 Foundation of the Byzantine Empire by Constantine I as successor to the Roman Empire AD395 Athens captured by Visigoths AD529 Schools of Neo-Platonic philosophy closed by Justinian I, temples reconsecrated as Christian churches 1204 Franks and Venetians capture Constantinople and divide Greece between them 1456-1821 Athens under Ottoman rule from Constantinople 1687 Venetians besiege the Acropolis 1821 Hellenic rebellion against Turkish occupation 1821-29 The Greek War of Independence 1832 Prince Otto of Bavaria is selected by Western powers as king of the modern Greek state 1834 Capital of modern Greece transfers from Náfplio in the Peloponnese to Athens 1896 First modern Olympic Games held in Athens 1917 Greece joins the Allied forces and enters World War I 1920-23 Greece at war with Turkey 1923 End of Greek–Turkish war sees massive influx of Greek refugees from Asia Minor to Athens and Piraeus 1940 General Metaxas refuses Mussolini’s fleet access to Greek ports in a now famous one word rebuttal – ‘Óhi’ (no) 1941 40,000 Athenians die in severe food shortages caused by the German and Italian occupation 1944 Liberation of Greece 1944-49 Greek Civil War 1967 Military coup results in the exile of King Constantine I. Greece ruled by Colonel Papadopoulos 1974 Overthrow of the military junta 1975 Republican constitution inaugurated 1981 Greece joins the European Union 1985 Athens becomes Europe’s first Cultural Capital 1998 Devaluation of the drachma to prepare for European monetary union 2004 Athens hosts the Olympic Games |