How did Greece's territory change over time?

For much of its early history, Greece was not a single unified state but a collection of independent city-states such as Athens and Sparta. These city-states shaped Greek culture, politics, and warfare for centuries, until they were unified by Macedonia under Alexander the Great. From this point, Greek lands became the core of one of the largest empires the ancient world had ever seen, spreading Greek culture far beyond the Aegean.

After the fall of the Macedonian Empire, Greek territories were absorbed into the Roman world. Following the division of the Roman Empire, Greece remained under Byzantine rule for centuries, serving as a central and culturally important region of the Eastern Roman Empire. This long period came to an end with the Ottoman conquest, after which Greece lost its independence for several centuries.

In the early 19th century, Greece successfully revolted against Ottoman rule and gained independence in 1830 as a small state. Over the following decades, Greece gradually expanded its territory through diplomacy and warfare, incorporating the Ionian Islands, Thessaly, Crete, and Macedonia. After World War I, Greece attempted to expand into western Anatolia in pur