Greek History

Historical Events

Events 1 - 100 of 321

• 1251-09-07 BC A solar eclipse on this date might mark the birth of legendary Heracles at Thebes, Greece.
• 1184-04-24 BC The Greeks enter Troy using the Trojan Horse (traditional date)

• 0585-05-28 BC Solar eclipse, as predicted by Greek philosopher Thales, while Lydians at war with the Medes leads to a truce. One of the cardinal dates from which other dates calculated.
• 0480-09-29 BC Battle of Salamis: The Greek fleet under Themistocles defeats the Persian fleet under Xerxes I
• 0480-08-11 BC Greco-Persian Wars: Battle of Artemisium - Persian naval victory over the Greeks in an engagement fought off north coast of Euboea.
• 0479-08-27 BC Greco-Persian Wars: Battle of Plataea, Persian forces led by Mardonius routed by Greek army under Pausanias; together with Greek success at Battle of Mycale halts Persian invasion of Greece
• 0479-08-27 BC Greco-Persian Wars: Battle of Mycale won by Greek forces over Persian naval troops on Ionian coast, double victory with that at Plataea ends Persian invasion
• 0338-08-02 BC Macedonian army led by Philip II defeats combined forces of Athens and Thebes in the Battle of Chaeronea, securing Macedonian hegemony in Greece and the Aegean

• 0322-08-07 BC Battle of Crannon between Athens and Macedon following the death of Alexander the Great

• 0701-10-30 John VI of Greece begins his reign as Catholic Pope
• 0705-04-01 Greek pope John VII chosen as successor to John VI
• 1308-08-15 Knights of St John conquer Rhodes
• 1311-03-15 Battle of Halmyros: The Catalan Company defeats Walter V of Brienne to take control of the Duchy of Athens, a Crusader state in Greece.


• 1514-01-10 Complutensian New Testament in Hebrew, Aramaic, Greek & Latin finished

• 1770-05-26 The Orlov Revolt, a first attempt to revolt against the Turks before the Greek War of Independence ends in disaster for the Greeks.
• 1820-03-25 Greece freedom revolt against anti Ottoman attack

• 1820-04-12 Alexander Ypsilantis is declared leader of Filiki Eteria, a secret organization to overthrow Ottoman rule over Greece.
• 1821-03-21 First revolutionary act in Monastery of Agia Lavra, Kalavryta, Greek War of Independence.
• 1821-03-23 Battle and fall of city of Kalamata, Greek War of Independence
• 1821-03-25 The Greek revolution against the Ottoman Turks is officially declared, with hostilities having started two months earlier
• 1821-05-08 Greek War of Independence: Greeks defeat the Turks in Gravia
• 1821-05-12 The first major battle of the Greek War of Independence against the Turks occurs in Valtetsi
• 1821-06-19 Decisive defeat of the Greek revolutionary society Philikí Etaireía by the Ottomans at Drăgăşani (in Wallachia)
• 1821-09-23 Fall of Tripolitsa, Greek forces massacre 30,000 Turks during Greek War of Independence
• 1822-01-13 The design of the Greek flag is adopted by the First National Assembly at Epidaurus
• 1822-01-14 Greek War of Independence: Acrocorinth is captured by Theodoros Kolokotronis and Demetrius Ypsilanti
• 1822-01-15 Greek War of Independence: Demetrius Ypsilanti is elected president of the legislative assembly.
• 1822-03-31 Massacre of the population of the Greek island of Chios by soldiers of the Ottoman Empire following a rebellion attempt, (later depicted by artist Eugène Delacroix)
• 1822-05-16 Greek War of Independence: Turks capture the Greek town of Souli
• 1824-06-21 Greek War of Independence: Egyptian forces capture Psara in the Aegean Sea
• 1824-08-04 Battle of Kos is fought between Turks and Greeks


• 1826-04-10 10,500 inhabitants of the Greek town Messolonghi start leaving the town after a year's siege by Turkish forces. Very few of them survive.
• 1826-11-25 The Greek frigate Hellas arrives in Nafplion to become the first flagship of the Hellenic Navy
• 1827-06-05 Turks capture the Acropolis and take Athens during Greek War of Independence
• 1827-10-08 Sea battle at Navarino (Greece freed of Ottoman occupation)
• 1828-04-26 Russia declares war on Turkey to support Greece's independence
• 1828-10-07 The Greek city of Patras is liberated by the French expeditionary force in Peloponnese under General Maison.
• 1829-03-22 The three protecting powers (Britain, France and Russia) establish the borders of Greece.
• 1830-02-03 The sovereignty of Greece confirmed in a London Protocol
• 1831-10-09 Ioannis Kapodistrias, first Head of State of modern Greece, assassinated in Nafplion
• 1832-05-07 Greece becomes independent, Otto of Bavaria is chosen as king
• 1832-05-24 The First Kingdom of Greece is declared in the London Conference
• 1834-04-03 The generals in the Greek War of Independence stand trial for treason.
• 1835-05-20 Otto is named the first modern king of Greece
• 1850-01-18 British blockade Piraeus, Greece, to enforce mercantile claims
• 1850-06-29 Autocephaly Officially Granted by the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople to The Church of Greece.
• 1863-03-30 Danish prince Wilhelm Georg of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glucksburg chosen as king George of Greece
• 1864-03-29 Great Britain gives the Ionian Islands back to Greece
• 1864-10-29 Greek parliament accept new Constitution
• 1864-11-13 The new Constitution of Greece adopted
• 1874-05-13 Pope Pius IX encyclical "On Greek-Ruthenian rite"
• 1874-06-29 Greek politician Charilaos Trikoupis publishes a manifesto in the Athens daily Kairoi entitled "Who's to Blame?" in which he lays out his complaints against King George. He is elected Prime Minister of Greece the next year.
• 1878-02-02 Greece declares war on Turkey
• 1881-03-26 Thessaly is freed and becomes part of Greece again
• 1881-05-24 Turkey cedes Thessaly and Arta back to Greece.
• 1891-04-11 8-year old Jewish tailor's daughter disappears in Greece, rumor spreads that she was a Christian girl ritually killed by Jews
• 1894-03-03 "NY Atlantis" 1st Greek-language publication in US begins
• 1896-03-22 Charilaos Vasilakos of Greece wins 1st modern marathon in 3:18 at the Panhellenic Games
• 1896-04-06 1st modern Summer Olympic Games open in Athens, Greece; American athlete James Connolly Olympic becomes first modern Olympic champion when he wins the triple jump (then 2 hops and a jump); later 3rd in the long jump, 2nd in the high jump
• 1896-04-15 1st modern Summer Olympic Games close in Athens, Greece; USA wins gold medal count, 11; Greece wins total medal count, 46; IOC has retroactively assigned gold, silver & bronze medals to 3 best placed athletes in each event
• 1897-04-05 The Greco-Turkish War, also called "Thirty Days' War", is declared between Greece and the Ottoman Empire.
• 1897-05-12 Battle at Thessalie: Turkish army beats Greece
• 1897-05-15 The Greek army retreats with heavy losses in the Greco-Turkish War.
• 1898-08-25 700 Greeks and 15 Englishmen are slaughtered by the Turks in Heraklion, Greece.
• 1900-07-21 Pope Leo XIII encyclical to Greek-Melkite rite
• 1901-05-31 At the opening of the Greek National Assembly, Prince George, High Commissioner of Crete, asks it to endorse the union of Crete with Greece; the proposal is later rejected
• 1901-11-08 Bloody clashes take place in Athens following the translation of the Gospels into demotic Greek.
• 1902-05-17 Greek archaeologist Valerios Stais discovers the Antikythera mechanism, an ancient mechanical analog computer
• 1905-03-24 A group of Cretans dedicated to Crete's union with Greece led by Eleutherios Venizelos, meet at the village of Therisso and proclaim a union in defiance of the Great Powers
• 1905-04-21 The elective assembly of Crete proclaims union with Greece
• 1906-09-24 Prince George of Greece, convinced that he can no longer serve the cause of Crete, resigns as High Commissioner
• 1906-12-04 Alpha Phi Alpha, first Black Greek Letter Fraternity, forms
• 1908-02-03 Foundation of Panathinaikos in Athens, Greece.
• 1908-03-12 The Pan-Macedonian group is formed in Athens to support the Greek Struggle for Macedonia
• 1908-10-07 Crete revolts against Turkey & aligns with Greece
• 1910-02-01 Dragoumis government forms in Greece
• 1911-05-15 The Georgios Averof cruiser is bought by Greece
• 1911-06-11 The Greek national assembly adopts a more liberal constitution
• 1912-03-11 Eleftherios Venizelos, leader of the Liberal Party, wins the Greek elections again.
• 1912-10-14 Cretan representatives are admitted to the Greek assembly; in doing so the Greek Government challenges the Turkish Government
• 1912-10-17 Bulgaria, Greece & Serbia declares war on Turkey
• 1912-10-18 The First Balkan War breaks out, with Bulgaria, Serbia, and Greece opposed to Turkey
• 1912-12-03 Turkey, Serbia, Montenegro, Greece & Bulgaria sign weapons pact
• 1913-01-18 Turkish-Greek sea battle near Troy
• 1913-03-18 King George I of Greece is assassinated in the recently liberated city of Thessaloniki
• 1913-04-04 Greek aviator Emmanuel Argyropoulos becomes the first pilot victim of the Hellenic Air Force when his plane crashes
• 1913-06-01 The Serbian government concludes a ten-year treaty with Greece against Bulgaria; Serbia wishes to pursue Macedonian aspirations with Greece's help
• 1913-06-29 The attack by Bulgarian General Michael Savov on Greek and Serbian positions leads to beginning of the second Balkan War
• 1913-07-01 Serbia and Greece declare war on Bulgaria
• 1913-12-01 Flag of Greece officially raised at Firka Fortress, Chania Crete symbolising the union of Crete and Greece.
• 1913-12-13 British foreign minister Sir Edward Grey proposes that southern Albania be divided between Greece and Albania with compensation to Greece in the Aegean islands
• 1913-12-14 Greece formally takes possession of Crete
• 1914-06-13 Eleftherios Venizelos announces that Greece intends to annex Chios and Mytilene, two large islands off the Turkish coast; Greece and Turkey have been heading towards conflict for months over claims to Aegean islands
• 1914-08-07 Engagement between British cruiser HMS Gloucester and German cruisers SMS Breslau and SMS Goeben off Greece
• 1915-03-06 Greek King Constantine I fires premier Venizelos

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Famous Birthdays

Birthdays 1 - 100 of 474

• 1118-11-28 Manuel I Komnenos, Emperor of the Byzantine Empire (1143-80) (d. 1180)
• 1553-03-29 Vitsentzos Kornaros, Greek Renaissance poet, born in Trapezonda, Sitia, Kingdom of Candia (d. 1613 or 1614)
• 1572-11-13 Cyril Lucaris, Greek theologian and Patriarch of Constantinople, born in Heraklion, Greece (d. 1638)
• 1748-04-27 Adamántios Koraïs, Greek humanist scholar, born in Smyrna, Anatolia (d. 1833)
• 1769-05-20 Andreas Vokos Miaoulis, Greek admiral and politician (d. 1835)
• 1770-04-03 Theodoros Kolokotronis, Greek general and leader of the Greek War of Independence (1821-29), born in Ramοvouni, Messenia, Ottoman Empire (d. 1843)
• 1776-02-11 Ioannis Kapodistrias, Greek diplomat of the Russian Empire and first head of state of independent Greece (d. 1831)
• 1786-05-15 General Dimitris Plapoutas, a Revolutionary in the Greek War of Independence (d. 1864)
• 1792-12-12 Alexandros Ypsilanti, Greek resistance fighter, born in Constantinople, Ottoman Empire (d. 1828)
• 1805-06-29 Hiram Powers, American sculptor (Greek Slave), born in Woodstock, Vermont (d. 1873)
• 1810-12-25 Alexandros Rhizos Rhankaves, Greek poet and statesman (d. 1892)
• 1815-06-01 Otto of Greece, King of Greece (1832-62), born in Salzburg, Bavaria (d. 1862)
• 1818-12-21 Amalia, wife of king Otto of Greece
• 1829-05-12 Pavlos Carrer, Greek composer (Isabella d'Aspeno), born in Zakynthos (d. 1896)
• 1832-07-11 Charilaos Trikoupis, Greek politician (Prime Minister of Greece for 7 times from 1875-1895), born in Nafplion, Greece (d. 1896)
• 1835-02-15 Demetrius Vikelas, Greek author (d. 1908)
• 1840-10-05 John Addington Symonds, British historian and writer (Probs in Greek Ethics), born in Bristol, England (d. 1893)
• 1842-03-01 Nicholaos Gysis, Greek painter (d. 1901)
• 1851-03-03 Alexandros Papadiamantis, Greek author (d. 1911)
• 1851-09-03 Olga Constantinovna of Russia, Queen consort of the Hellenes as the wife of King George I, born in Pavlovsk, Russian Empire (d. 1926)
• 1853-01-11 Georgios Jakobides, Greek painter (d. 1926)
• 1855-01-15 Jacques Damala [Aristides Damalas], Greek military officer and actor, born in Piraeus, Greece (d. 1889)
• 1855-12-10 Marios Varvoglis, Greek composer, born in Brussels, Belgium (d. 1967)
• 1859-01-13 Kostis Palamas, Greek poet (d. 1943)
• 1862-02-27 Anastasios Metaxas, Greek architect and shooter (d. 1937)
• 1863-04-29 Constantine P Cavafy, Egyptian Greek poet, journalist and civil servant, born in Alexandria, Egypt Province, Ottoman Empire (d. 1933)
• 1864-08-23 Eleftherios K. Venizalos, Premier of Greece (1910-15, 28-32), born in Mournies, Greece (d. 1936)
• 1868-08-02 Constantine I, King of Greece (1913-17, 20-22), born in Athens, Greece (d. 1923)
• 1868-08-25 Nikolaos Levidis, Greek shooter, born in Corfu Island, Greece (d. 1942)
• 1870-06-14 Sophia of Prussia, Queen consort of Constantine I of Greece, born in New Palace, Potsdam, Kingdom of Prussia (d. 1932)
• 1871-04-12 Ioannis Metaxas, Greek general and dictator (1936-41), born in Ithaca, Greece (d. 1941)
• 1872-02-07 Nikolaos "Sokrates" Politis, Greek lawyer/diplomat/foreign minister
• 1873-01-12 Spyridon Louis, Greek distance runner, soldier (winner first modern Olympics marathon 1896), born in Marousi, Greece (d. 1940)
• 1874-03-29 Ioannis Georgiadis, Greek fencer (Olympic 1896 gold), born in Tripoli, Greece (d. 1960)
• 1874-11-15 Dimitrios Golemis, Greek athlete (d. 1941)
• 1878-01-11 Theodoros Pangalos, Greek general and dictator (1926), born in Salamis, Greece (d. 1952)
• 1880-03-12 Nikolaos Georgantas, Greek discus thrower (d. 1958)
• 1883-02-18 Níkos Kazantzákis, prominent Greek writer and philosopher (Zorba the Greek, The Last Temptation of Christ), born in Kandiye, Ottoman Empire (d. 1957)
• 1883-05-13 Georgios Papanikolaou, Greek doctor, inventor of the Pap smear (d. 1962)
• 1883-10-16 Vasiliki Maliaros, Greek actress (The Exorcist), born in Athens, Greece (d. 1973)
• 1883-11-14 Nikolaos Plastiras, Greek premier (1945, 50, 51-52)
• 1883-12-09 Alexander Papagos, Greek fieldmarshal and supreme commander, born in Athens, Greece (d. 1955)
• 1883-12-14 Manolis Kalomiris, Greek opera composer, born in Smyrna, Greece (d. 1962)
• 1884-02-14 Kostas Varnalis, Greek poet, born in Burgas, Bulgaria (d. 1974)
• 1885-09-04 Dimitrios Loundras, Greek gymnast, born in Athens, Greece (d. 1971)
• 1886-03-24 Athenagoras I, Greek Patriarch of Constantinople (d. 1972)
• 1887-01-13 George Gurdjieff, Armenian-Greek mystic (d. 1949)
• 1888-02-13 Georgios Papandreou, Greek prefect of Lesbos/minister/premier
• 1888-07-10 Giorgio De Chirico, Italian painter (founded the scuola metafisica art movement), born in Volos, Greece (d. 1978)
• 1888-10-30 Konstantinos Tsiklitiras, Greek athlete (Olympic gold standing long jump, bronze high jump 1912, 2 silver 1908), born in Pylos, Greece (d. 1913)
• 1888-10-31 Napoleon Lapathiotis, Greek poet, born in Athens, Greece (d. 1944)
• 1889-06-20 John S. Paraskevopoulos, Greek-South African astronomer, born in Piraeus, Greece (d. 1951)
• 1890-07-20 George II, King of Greece (1922-1924, and 1935-1947), born in Tatoi, Greece (d. 1947)
• 1890-11-19 George Regas, Greek actor (The Mark of Zorro), born in Goranoi, Greece (d. 1940)
• 1893-03-18 Jean Goldkette, French jazz pianist & bandleader, born in Valenciennes, France (d. 1962)
• 1893-03-28 Spyros Skouras, Greek-born American movie executive (20th Century Fox), born in Skourohorion, Greece (d. 1971)
• 1893-07-20 Alexander, King of Greece (1917-20), born at Tatoi Palace, Greece (d. 1920)
• 1894-11-17 Sophocles Venizelos, premier of Greece (1944, 50-51)
• 1895-11-08 Photis Kontoglou, Greek writer, painter and iconographer, born in Ayvalık, Turkey (d. 1965)
• 1896-03-01 Dimitri Mitropoulos, Athens Greece, conductor/composer
• 1896-05-02 Helen of Greece and Denmark, Queen Mother of Romania, born in Athens, Greece (d. 1982)
• 1896-10-30 Kostas Karyotakis, Greek poet, born in Tripoli, Greece (d. 1928)
• 1897-01-02 Jim Londos, Greek wrestler (d. 1975)
• 1898-03-23 Georgios Grivas, Greek general/opposition leader on Cyprus
• 1898-04-08 Cecil [Maurice] Bowra, British classics expert (Greek experience)
• 1898-08-08 Alexis Minotis [Alexandros Minotakis], Greek actor (The Merchant of Venice, King Lear), born in Chania, Crete, Greece (d. 1990)
• 1898-11-07 Raphaël Salem, Greek mathematician, born in Saloniki, Ottoman Empire (d. 1963)
• 1899-07-01 Konstantinos Tsatsos, Greek politician and 2nd President of Greece (1975-1980), born in Athens, Greece (d. 1987)
• 1900-02-22 Giorgos Seferis [Georgios Seferiades], Greek poet (Nobel 1963), born in Urla, Ottoman Empire (d. 1971)
• 1900-03-01 Yorgos Seferis, [Seferi dis], Greek diplomat/poet (Strofi)
• 1900-12-17 Katina Paxinou, Greek actress (La femme nue), born in Piraeus, Greece (d. 1973)
• 1901-09-02 Andreas Embirikos, Greek surrealist poet (d. 1975)
• 1901-11-04 Spyridon Marinatos, Greek archaeologist (discovery of the site of an ancient port city on the island of Thera, in the southern Aegean Sea), born in Lixoúrion, Cephalonia, Greece (d. 1974)
• 1901-12-14 Paul I, King of Greece (1947-64), born in Tatoi Palace, Athens, Kingdom of Greece (d. 1964)
• 1902-04-01 Maria Polydouri, Greek poet (d. 1930)
• 1902-09-14 Giorgos Papasideris Greek country singer, composer and lyricist, born in Salamis Island, Greece (d. 1977)
• 1903-01-06 Maurice Abravanel, American classical music conductor, born in Thessaloniki, Greece (d. 1993)
• 1903-07-27 Michail Stasinopoulos, Greek politician and 1st President of Greece, born in Kalamata, Kingdom of Greece (d. 2002)
• 1904-03-26 Xenophon Zolotas, Greek economist, Prime Minister of Greece (d. 2004)
• 1905-05-10 Markos Vamvakaris, Greek rebetiko musician and songwriter (d. 1972)
• 1906-01-15 Aristotle Onassis, Greek shipping magnate, born in Konak, Turkey (d. 1975)
• 1906-02-26 Nikos Ghika, Greek artist, born in Athens (d. 1994)
• 1906-04-27 Yórgos Theotokás, Greek novelist (Leonís), born in Constantinople, Ottoman Empire (d. 1966)
• 1906-11-18 Alec Issigonis, Greek-British car designer (Mini), born in Smyrna, Ottoman Empire (d. 1988)
• 1906-11-30 Marina, princess of Greece/Denmark/husband of English prince George
• 1907-03-08 Konstantinos Karamanlis, Greek politician, President of Greece (1980-85), born in Sérrai, Ottoman Empire (d. 1998)
• 1907-10-21 Nikos Engonopoulos, Greek painter and poet (d. 1985)
• 1908-08-14 Manos Katrakis, Greek actor (Antigone, Marinos Kontaras), born in Kastelli Kissamou, Crete (d. 1984)
• 1908-12-01 Georgios Kasassoglou, Greek musician (d. 1984)
• 1909-05-01 Yiannis Ritsos, Greek poet and political activist, born in Monemvasia (d. 1990)
• 1909-07-02 Hermann Bengtson, German historian (Greeks Ancient Times), born in Ratzeburg, Germany (d. 1989)
• 1909-07-03 Stavros Niarchos, Greek shipping magnate (Those Fabulous Greeks), born in Athens, Greece (d. 1996)
• 1910-09-14 Yiannis Latsis, Greek shipping tycoon, born in Katakolo, Greece (d. 2003)
• 1911-04-12 Darrell A. Amyx, American classical archaeologist (Greek Ceramics), born in Exeter, California (d. 1997)
• 1911-11-02 Odysseas Elytis, Greek poet (Nobel Prize 1979), born in Heraklion, Greece (d. 1996)
• 1911-12-08 Nikos Gatsos, Greek poet and lyricist, born in Asea, Greece (d. 1992)

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