Maps of Ancient Greece Show How Country Became an Empire

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Mycenean Greece

Perry-Castañeda Library Historical Atlas by William R. Shepherd http://www.lib.utexas.edu/maps/

The Mediterranean country of ancient Greece (Hellas) was composed of many individual city-states (poleis) that were not unified until the Macedonian kings Philip and Alexander the Great incorporated them into their Hellenistic empire. Hellas was centered on the western side of the Aegean Sea with a northern section that was part of the Balkan peninsula and a southern section known as the Peloponnese that is separated from the northern landmass by the Isthmus of Corinth.

The northern section is best known for the polis of Athens; the Peloponnese, for Sparta. There were also thousands of Greek islands in the Aegean sea, and colonies on the eastern side of the Aegean. To the west, the Greeks established colonies in and near Italy. Even the Egyptian city of Alexandria was part of the Hellenistic Empire.

Historical Maps

These historical maps of ancient Greece take Greece from prehistoric times through the Hellenistic and Roman periods. Many are from the Perry-Castañeda Library Map Collection Historical Maps: Historical Atlas, by William R. Shepherd. Others are from The Atlas of Ancient and Classical Geography, by Samuel Butler (1907).

Roman Maps

The period of Mycenean Greece ran from about 1600-1100 B.C. and ended with the Greek Dark Age. This is the period described in Homer's Iliad and Odyssey. At the end of the Mycenean period, the writing was abandoned.

Sea Maps and the Ancient Greek Timeline. Discover maps that cover Greece up to the Peloponnesian War below, along with that of Alexander the Great, his empire and successors.

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Vicinity of Troy

Perry-Castañeda Library Historical Atlas by William R. Shepherd http://www.lib.utexas.edu/maps/

In the Vicinity of Troy map, The Shores of the Propontis and the plan of Olympia are seen. This map shows Troy and Olympia, the Hellespont and the Aegean Sea. Troy is referred to the name of the Bronze Age city included in the Trojan War of Greece. Now, it is known as Anatolia in modern-day Turkey.

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Ephesus Map

 Map showing the ancient city of Ephesus. Public Domain. Source: J. Vanderspoel http://www.ucalgary.ca/~vandersp/Courses/maps/basicmap.html

On this map of ancient Greece, Ephesus is a city on the east side of the Aegean Sea. This map comes from J. Vanderspoel's The Roman Empire. It is a section of 1925 reprint of the 1907 Atlas of Ancient and Classical Geography in the Everyman Library, published by J.M. Dent & Sons Ltd.

This ancient Greek city was on the coast of Ionia, close to present-day Turkey. Ephesus was created in the 10th century BC by Attic and Ionian Greek colonists.

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Greece 700-600 B.C.

 The Beginnings of Historic Greece 700 BC-600 BC. Perry-Castañeda Library Historical Atlas by William R. Shepherd http://www.lib.utexas.edu/maps/

This map displays the beginnings of historic Greece 700 B.C.-600 B.C. This was the period of Solon and Draco in Athens. The philosopher Thales and the poet Sappho belong to the tail end, as well. You can see areas occupied by tribes, cities, states and more.

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Greek and Phoenician Settlements

 Greek and Phoenician Settlements in the Mediterranean Basin about 550 BC. Perry-Castañeda Library Historical Atlas by William R. Shepherd http://www.lib.utexas.edu/maps/

Greek and Phoenician Settlements in the Mediterranean Basin are displayed in this map, about 550 B.C. During this period, the Phoenicians were colonizing northern Africa, southern Spain, the Greeks and southern Italy. Ancient Greek and Phoenician colonized many places in Europe along the coasts of the Mediterranean and the Black Sea.

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Black Sea

 Black Sea Greek - and Phoenician Settlements in the Mediterranean Basin about 550 BC Perry-Castañeda Library Historical Atlas by William R. Shepherd. Perry-Castañeda Library Historical Atlas by William R. Shepherd

This section of the preceding settlement map shows the Black Sea. Towards the North is Chersonese, while Thrace is to the West and Colchis is to the East.

Black Sea Map Details

The Black Sea is to the east of most of Greece. It is also basically to the north of Greece. At the tip of Greece on this map, near the southeastern shore of the Black Sea, you can see Byzantium, which was Constantinople, after Emperor Constantine set up his city there. Colchis, where the mythological Argonauts went to fetch the Golden Fleece and where the witch Medea was born, is along the Black Sea on its eastern side. Almost directly across from Colchis is Tomi, where the Roman poet Ovid lived after he was exiled from Rome under Emperor Augustus.

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Persian Empire Map

 Map of the Persian Empire in 490 B.C. Public Domain. Courtesy of Wikipedia. Created by West Point's History Department.

This map of the Persian Empire shows the direction of Xenophon and the 10,000. Also known as the Achaemenid Empire, the Persian Empire was the largest Empire ever to be established. The Xenophon of Athens was a Greek philosopher, historian, and soldier who authored many practical treatises on topics like horsemanship and taxation.

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Greece 500-479 B.C.

Perry-Castañeda Library Historical Atlas by William R. Shepherd http://www.lib.utexas.edu/maps/

This map shows Greece at the time of the war with Persia in 500-479 B.C. Persia attacked Greece in what are known as the Persian Wars. It was as a result of the devastation by the Persians of Athens that the great building projects were undertaken under Pericles.

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Eastern Aegean

 Eastern Aegean from a map of Greek and Phoenician Settlements in the Mediterranean Basin about 550 BC. Perry-Castañeda Library Historical Atlas by William R. Shepherd http://www.lib.utexas.edu/maps/

The cut-out of the previous map shows the coast of Asia Minor and islands, including Lesbos, Chios, Lemnos, Thasos, Paros, Mykonos, the Cyclades and Samos. Ancient Aegean civilizations include the European Bronze Age time period.

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Athenian Empire

 Athenian Empire. Perry-Castañeda Library Historical Atlas by William R. Shepherd http://www.lib.utexas.edu/maps/

The Athenian Empire, also known as the Delian League, is shown here at its height (about 450 B.C.). The fifth century B.C. was the time of Aspasia, Euripides, Herodotus, the Presocratics, Protagoras, Pythagoras, Sophocles, and Xenophanes, among others.

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Reference Map of Attica

 Reference Map of Attica. Thermopylae Plan. Perry-Castañeda Library Historical Atlas by William R. Shepherd http://www.lib.utexas.edu/maps/

This reference to the map of Attica shows the plan of Thermopylae is in the time period 480 B.C. This map has insets showing the harbors of Athens.

Persians, under Xerxes, invaded Greece. In August 480 B.C., they attacked the Greeks at the 2-meter wide pass at Thermopylae that controlled the only road between Thessaly and Central Greece. The Spartan general and King Leonidas was in charge of the Greek forces that tried to restrain the vast Persian army and keep them from attacking the rear of the Greek navy. After two days, a traitor led the Persians around the pass behind the Greek army.

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Peloponnesian War

Perry-Castañeda Library Historical Atlas by William R. Shepherd http://www.lib.utexas.edu/maps/

This map shows Greece at the beginning of the Peloponnesian War (431 B.C.).

The war between the allies of Sparta and the allies of Athens began what was known as the Peloponnesian War. The lower area of Greece, the Peloponnese, was made up of poleis allied with Sparta, except for Achaea and Argos. The Delian confederacy, the allies of Athens, are spread around the borders of the Aegean Sea. There were many causes of the Peloponnesian War.

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Greece in 362 B.C.

Perry-Castañeda Library Historical Atlas by William R. Shepherd http://www.lib.utexas.edu/maps/

Greece under Theban Headship (362 B.C.) is shown in this map. The Theban hegemony over Greece lasted from 371 when the Spartans were defeated at the Battle of Leuctra. In 362 Athens took over again.

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Macedonia 336-323 B.C.

Perry-Castañeda Library Historical Atlas by William R. Shepherd http://www.lib.utexas.edu/maps/

The Macedonian Empire of 336-323 B.C. includes insets of The Aetolian and Achaian Leagues. After the Peloponnesian War, the Greek poleis (city-states) were too weak to withstand the Macedonians under Philip and his son, Alexander the Great. Annexing Greece, the Macedonians then went on to conquer most of the world they knew.