Conventionally we define an event as:
an incident which has the following characteristics:
- it is caused by the action, intentional or not, of an acting subject
- has results that directly or indirectly influence a group of people
- has a specific start and end in time, and finally
- takes place in a specific location.
The acting subject can be:
- a natural force
- a state (a state is considered to be any organized system which exercises political power)
- a person
- a family group
- a group of individuals
- a social group
More specifically, the social group can be:
- an ethnic community
- an ethnotic group
- a professional organization/ group/ class
- a religious community/organization
- a social group/class
- a political community (a group of people with political rights)
- an organization
- a club
- a local community (town, village, etc.)
Events that have a determined beginning and end, regardless of whether the specific dates are known or not.
The determination of the event’s beginning and end follows specific conventions and differs depending on the type of the fact. A battle, for example, is considered to start at the moment one opponent attacks the other and ends with the retreat or capitulation of the defeated.
Some events, such as the issuing of laws, decrees or the publication of books, etc. are considered by convention, to have an instant time frame.
Events that take place in a specific location, regardless of whether that location is known or not.
An event is considered to have an immediate effect on Hellenism, provided that:
- it took place in the geographical area under examination and
- either the acting subject (since it is not a natural force or a state) was part of the Hellenic element
- or the social group that is influenced was part of the Hellenic element.
An event is considered to have indirect effect on the life of Hellenism, given that:
- it took place in the geographical area under examination, but the social group that was influences but the event was part of the Hellenic element of the specific geographical area
The basic information unit is the isolated event, that is the event that is characterized by notional consistency within the framework of recording the historical process.