DATE/YEAR EVENTS PEOPLE CONTRIBUTIONS

2500 to 1400 B.C.E. Excava-tions at the Minoans had a highly advanced

palaces of Knossos, civilization and built
Phaistos, Gournia, and three-story palaces
Amnisos have revealed decorated throughout
stone “theatral areas,” with frescos and
featur-ing such
amenities as working
sewers that would not
be seen elsewhere in
Europe for 1500 years.
1600 to 1100 B.C.E. a Helladic culture on Mycenaeans, provided the founda-
the Greek mainland tion for Western
literature.
thirteenth century Troy a major city in Asia
B.C.E. Minor near the
entrance to the
Hellespont
between 650 and tyrants im-prove social
500 B.C.E conditions and to
promote the arts. The
most important of
these was Peisistratus,
who redis-tributed
land, promoted
farming and foreign
trade, made Athens the
leading center of the
arts, and es-tablished
or enlarged numerous
festivals, including the
City Dionysia, which
was to be the major
home of drama.
around 508 B.C.E. was to found the Athens the artistic center of
world’s first democracy Greece, Sparta was the
major power and the
head of an alliance that
encompassed most of
the city-states,
including Athens. War
with Persia soon
altered this
arrangement.
5TH Century Choerilus who made unspecified
innovations in
costumes and masks
5TH Century Pratinas said to have invented
the bawdy farce form
known as “satyr plays”
5TH Century Phrynichus cred-ited with
introducing female
characters. But no play
texts from that period
have survived.
5TH Century The oldest surviving Aeschy-lus who began competing
Greek plays at the City Dionysia
about 499 B.C.E. and is
credited with thir-teen
victories.