Global Timeline: The World at the time of Ancient Greece

Hello and welcome to Ancient History Encyclopedia. My name is Kelly and today we're going to be looking at some of the important events and inventions from around the world during the time when ancient Greece was gaining its power and moving towards its highest point in history between the 8th century and the 5th century BCE. That was between 800 BCE and 401 BCE. These 400 years are rich with ideas people and battles and provide some surprising juxtapositions between cultures and regions. In the 8th century BCE ancient Greece was transitioning from the archaic period into the classical period and during these pre-classical periods poets such as Homer and Hesiod were composing their famous epic poetry which has withstood the test of time. Although originally these poems would have been composed orally it is during the 8th century that these poems were first written down and is the first example of the Greek alphabetic script which was adopted from the Phoenicians. During this same period in 776 BCE Olympia held the first ancient Olympic games hence the name of the famous event which we still hold today. Both the Greeks and the Phoenicians were very busy colonizing the Mediterranean. The Greeks founded cities all around the Black Sea, modern-day Libya, Sicily and southern France while the Phoenicians founded colonies in North Africa with Carthage being the most famous colony founded in 814 BCE and southern Spain. Meanwhile 753 BCE marks the legendary date of the founding of Rome. In Roman mythology Rome was founded by the twins Romulus and Remus, two orphans suckled by a she-wolf at the site which would become Rome. The two brothers had an argument and Remus was killed and Romulus founded Rome and named it after himself. In Mesopotamia the Neo-Assyrian Empire was at its height of power and was the largest empire the world had seen thanks to Sargon II who was the first to have defeated the powerful kingdom of Urartu. Almost concurrently Babylon was creating its first aqueducts. The Babylonian system was extensive and fairly sophisticated not to mention far earlier than the Roman aqueducts. A few decades later in Egypt the Kushite king Kashta was the first Nubian pharaoh of Upper Egypt, reviving the country's economy and pride in its past after a period of decline. In 7th century Greece the Oracle of Delphi, a sacred sanctuary of Apollo where people would come and listen to the god himself speak, was at its height. The Oracle Pythia or priestess of Apollo at Delphi would listen to people's questions and give answers which were often vague and easy to misinterpret. In arts the iconography of Pegasus was first found on Greek pottery and in the area of military development and politics hoplite warfare was developed in this period which enhanced the Greek army's effectiveness. In 621 BCE Draco's harshly repressive law code came into effect in Athens mandating the death penalty against almost every crime since anybody who broke the law was considered a traitor to the state. More than 2,000 years later the term draconian, referencing an unnecessarily harsh response to an action, is still in use. In the Near East the Neo-Assyrian Empire fell in 612 BCE to a coalition of Babylonians, Medes, Persians and Scythians who destroyed its great cities including Ashur and Nineveh, burying the history of the empire which was recorded on clay tablets at the royal library of Ashurbanipal under rubble and inadvertently preserving it. Shortly after in circa 605 BCE it is thought that the hanging gardens of Babylon, one of the seven wonders of the ancient world, was begun by Nebuchadnezzar although this claim has been challenged. No evidence of these gardens have ever been found but they were documented by Diodorus Siculus to have extended over 25 meters or 75 feet, to have consisted of exotic flora and fauna, was self-watering and climbed over multiple terraces, a true wonder still talked about today. And looking to northern Europe, the Holstack culture or early Celts expanded from their homeland in southern Germany to settle in France and Spain, bringing new techniques in ceramics and technologies with them. The 6th century BCE in Greece saw the first public theatre constructed, the Theatre of Dionysus at Athens, which would stage some of the greatest plays ever written. This period also saw the first theatre performance in religious festivals, namely the Dionysia, which was a festival dedicated to the Greek god Dionysus, who was the god of theatre. Meanwhile in Mesoamerica, between the 6th and the 5th centuries BCE, one of the earliest forms of writing developed in the region, the Zapotec inscriptions. The Zapotec people dwelt in the southern highlands of central Mesoamerica and developed a culture which would influence others, such as the Maya. In the Middle East, Cyrus the Great founded the Achaemenid Persian Empire, the future arch-nemesis of the Greeks, by overthrowing the Medes in circa 550 BCE. In Anatolia, during this time, the Lydians invented the first coinage, which was named the Lydian Stata, and will become the model for all subsequent coinage. The most famous Lydian king was Croesus, who was so incredibly rich that the saying, as rich as Croesus, was continued in use from his day all the way until the 20th century CE. With his wealth, he planned on conquering the Persian Empire, and the oracle at Delphi prophesied that if he attacks the Persian Empire, a great kingdom will fall. Thinking that this promised him victory, he attacked the Persian Empire. He was defeated, and his own kingdom was destroyed by Cyrus. Later in this period, Cyrus's son Cambiases II invaded Egypt in 525 BCE, defeating the Egyptian army at Pelusium by threatening to harm cats and other important animals valued by the Egyptian culture and religion. Except for brief periods afterwards, Egypt would henceforth be subject to other nations. In India, the game of chess was invented, although it is also attributed to Persia at the same time. According to legend, the kings of India and Persia would use chess to test each other, but who invented it first is disputed. In China, the Chinese politician and philosopher Confucius was born in 551 BCE. It is around this time too that the use of iron is introduced in China. On the other side of the globe, in the jungles of Central America, the Maya began building their gigantic temple pyramids while the Olmec culture were leaving behind their giant stone-carved heads. Did you know that the 6th century was crucial for democratic government? In 509 BCE, the Roman Republic was born, and in 508 BCE, the first democracy was put into effect in Athens. The 5th century BCE was the beginning of the Golden Age of Athens, which was a period of prosperity and significant reforms in Greece. It was during this time that the democratic system of government was formed, which many modern governments have taken inspiration from. During this time, Hippocrates was born on the island of Kos and is known as the founder of modern medicine. Hippocrates opened up a medical school on Kos and wrote a number of medical texts covering four main topics, diagnosis, treatment, biology, and general advice for doctors, which covered more specialized sections. Hippocrates was the first person to separate medicine and philosophy and move medicine away from religion and the supernatural, which was closely linked to the Greek god of healing, Asclepius. This period also saw the construction of one of the most iconic Greek buildings, as the Parthenon was completed in 432 BCE, which was just the beginning of this structure's long history. The most obvious influence to later architecture would be that of the columns, which can be separated into three types, Ionic, Doric, and Corinthian. This ancient Greek architectural feat can be seen in many modern buildings, such as the United States Capitol, the Lincoln Memorial, and Downey College at Cambridge University. Meanwhile in China, the iconic book The Art of War was written by Chinese philosopher, general, and strategist Sun Tzu, which ultimately had a profound influence on military campaigns. In 476 BCE, the Warring States period in China began, which was a time of great division and was only ended with the establishment of the Qin Dynasty in 221 BCE, which gives China its name. In the meantime, Xerxes I of the Achaemenid Persian Empire invaded Greece in 480 BCE, with the largest standing army assembled to that date. He would be defeated by the Greeks in 479 BCE, and the great expense of his failed invasion would severely weaken the Achaemenid Empire. Only briefly revived by Artaxerxes I, making it easier for Alexander the Great to conquer it in 330 BCE. This video is a small compilation of some of the important things happening at the same time in the ancient world, so were there any parallels in time that surprised you? This video was brought to you by Ancient History Encyclopedia. For more great articles and interactive content, head to our website via the link below. Ancient History Encyclopedia is a not-for-profit organization. If you'd like to support our work, head to our website via the link below, or hit the support button on the screen. Thank you so much for watching, and we'll see you soon.