Classical Antiquity begins with Homer, Hesiod and the Olympic Games in Greece and the founding of Rome in Italy. The first part of Classical Antiquity is known as the Archaic Age in Greece. It was followed by the Classical Age of Greece. The Classical Age gave way to the Hellenistic era after the Macedonians Alexander the Great and his father conquered Greece and much of the Mediterranean world. The Romans then conquered the Greeks, but by the time the Roman Empire fell in Italy, the Byzantine Empire, headquartered in Constantinople, was in Greek hands again. Here are some of the major events by century in ancient Greece.
