Transcript No Slide Title

Map of the Greek world c.250 BCE.
Writing (7th century BCE)
Coinage (7 th century BCE)
Democracy (c. 510 BCE)
Mathematics (c. 585 BCE)
‘Greek inventions’ in popular history
TIMELINE OF GREEK HISTORY
Archaic Period: 800 BC - 500 BC
800 - 700 BC Monarchies begin to be
replaced by Aristocratic Republics.
776 BC Date of the first Olympic
games .
600 BC Coin currency introduced.
546 BC Persian invasion and
conquest of Greek territories through
out Asia Minor.
507 BC Cleisthenes' democratic
constitution.
Classical Period: 500 - 400 BC
490 BC First Persian invasion of
Greece, the Battle of Marathon.
480 BC Second Persian invasion of
Greece, Spartans are defeated at
Thermopylae, Athens is occupied by
the Persians. The Persians are finally
defeated at Salamis.
479 BC Persians are defeated at
Plataea.
443 - 429 BC Pericles is leader of
Athens during the Golden Age.
431 - 404 BC The Peloponnesian W a r
430 BC Plague in Athen s
411 BC Revolts in Athen s
404 BC Athens Surrenders to Sparta.
Late Classical Period: 400 - 330 BC
395 - 340 BC Warfare between rival
Greek leagues.
371 BC Thebes defeats Sparta at
Leuct r a
338 BC Philip of Macedonia leads
the Greek City States.
336 - 323 BC Alexander the Great's
reign begins.
Hellenistic Age: 330 - 30 BC
323 - 148 BC Greek City States
remain relatively independent.
Frequent warfare continues between
rival leagues.
200 - 196 BC First Roman victories
over Greece.
148 BC Macedonia becomes a Roman
providence.
86 BC Athens is sacked by Sulla.
Greek Mathematicians (early)
585 BCE Thales (no writings, doubtful)
530 BCE Pythagoras (no writings, probably historical, not necessarily a mathematician)
450 BCE Democritus (no writings – ‘atomist’ - infinitely small ideas?)
440 BCE Hippocrates of Chios (no writings. One ‘proof’. Said to have written Elements)
390 BCE Plato. Dialogues, several containing mathematical discussions.
370 BCE Eudoxus, no writings, but said to be responsible for Euclid Book V
360 BCE Aristotle. Many books, several containing mathematical discussions; in particular rules
of logical deduction.
300 BCE Euclid. Elements, and several other works.
All the dates are approximate at best; most of the information is unreliable. For an assessment of
what we actually ‘know’ see e.g. David Fowler’s book.
Papyrus from Egypt (about 75-125 CE?) with some of
Euclid’s Proposition II.5
Euclid I.47 (‘Pythagoras’ Theorem’)from a ninth-century manuscript in
the Vatican, Rome.
The picture for Pythagoras’ theorem