slug: athens

label: Athens

description: capital and largest city of Greece

section: Culture & Society

text: c. 1650 BC — "Flotilla" fresco, from Room 5 of West House, Akrotiri (prehistoric city), Thera, is made. Second Palace period. It is now kept in National Archaeological Museum, Athens.

title: 1650s BC

section: Events and trends

text: 1556 BC—Cecrops I builds or rebuilds Athens following the great flood of Deucalion and the end of the Silver age. He becomes the first of several Kings of Athens whose life account is considered part of Greek mythology.

title: 1550s BC

section: Geopolitics & Diplomacy

text: 1234 BC – Theseus of Athens begins his 30-year reign (if the end of his reign is agreed to have ended in 1204 BC).

title: 1230s BC

year_label: 696 BCE

text: 696 BC—Pantacles of Athens wins the stadion race at the 21st Olympic Games.

title: 690s BC

year_label: 658 BCE

section: Conflict & Security

text: End of the rule of Miltiades in Athens.

title: 658 BC

section: Events

year_label: 608 BCE

text: 608 BC—Birth of Peisistratus, ruler of Athens

title: 600s BC (decade)

section: Significant people

year_label: 600 BCE

section: Economy & Finance

text: Athens is suffering severe economic problems (approximate date).

title: 600 BC

section: Events › By place › Western Europe

year_label: 566 BCE

text: The first known Panathenaic Games of Ancient Greece are conducted in Athens.

title: 566 BC

section: Events › By place › Athens

year_label: 560 BCE

text: Calf bearer (Moscophoros), from the Acropolis, Athens is made. It is now displayed at the Acropolis Museum, Athens (approximate date).

title: 560 BC

year_label: 558 BCE

text: Solon, Athenian statesman and poet

title: 558 BC

year_label: 556 BCE

text: Pisistratus is expelled to Euboea from Athens, and makes his fortune from Thrace's mines.

title: 556 BC

year_label: 548 BCE

text: Megakles II (born 595 BC), Athenian statesman, son of Alkmaion II, grandson of Megakles I, and husband to Agariste of Sicyon

title: 548 BC

year_label: 546 BCE

text: Peisistratus takes power in Athens.

title: 546 BC

year_label: 543 BCE

section: Crime & Justice

text: Pisistratus, tyrant of Athens, purifies the island of Delos. (approximate)

title: 543 BC

year_label: 536 BCE

text: Phrynaeus is appointed archon of Athens.

title: 536 BC

year_label: 534 BCE

text: Competitions for tragedy are instituted at the City Dionysia festival in Athens.

title: 534 BC

section: Events › By place › Europe

year_label: 530 BCE

text: Kroisos Kouros, from a cemetery at Anavysos near Athens, is made. It is now at the National Archaeological Museum, Athens (approximate date).

title: 530 BC

section: Events › By topic › Art and architecture

text: Peplos Kore, from the Acropolis in Athens, is made. It is now at Acropolis Museum, Athens (approximate date).

title: 530 BC

year_label: 527 BCE

text: 527 BC—Peisistratos a tyrant of Athens dies: his son Hippias inherits his power.

title: 520s BC

text: 527 BC—Peisistratos, Athenian tyrant

title: 520s BC

year_label: 514 BCE

text: Hipparchus, son of Pisistratus and co-ruler of Athens, is assassinated by Harmodius and Aristogeiton at the Panathenaea.

title: 514 BC

section: Events › By place › Greece

year_label: 511 BCE

text: The Greek tragic poet Phrynicus wins his first theatrical contest in Athens.

title: 511 BC

year_label: 510 BCE

text: Hippias, tyrant of Athens, is expelled by his people with the assistance of Cleomenes, King of Sparta

title: 510 BC

year_label: 507 BCE

text: Cleisthenes takes power in the city-state of Athens and institutes reforms that lead historians to consider him the father of democracy.

title: 507 BC

year_label: 501 BCE

text: Cleisthenes reforms the democracy in Athens.

title: 501 BC

section: Events › By place › Mediterranean

year_label: 498 BCE

text: Athens and Eretria respond to the Ionian plea for help against Persia and send troops. An Athenian and Eretrian fleet transports Athenian troops to Ephesus. There they are joined by a force of Ionians and march upon Sardis, the capital of Artaphernes (the satrap of Lydia and brother to Darius I of Persia). Artaphernes, who has sent most of his troops to besiege Miletus, is taken by surprise. However, Artaphernes is able to retreat to the citadel and hold it. Although the Greeks are unable to take the citadel, they pillage the town and set fires that burn Sardis to the ground.

title: 498 BC

year_label: 496 BCE

text: Hipparchos, son of Charmos (a relative of the 6th century BC tyrant Peisistratus), wins the archonship of Athens as leader of the peace party which argues that resistance against the Persians is useless.

title: 496 BC

text: Sophocles, Athenian dramatist and statesman (d. 406 BC)

title: 496 BC

year_label: 495 BCE

text: Pericles, Athenian politician (d. 429 BC)

title: 495 BC

year_label: 493 BCE

text: The Athenian people elect Themistocles as archon, the chief judicial and civilian executive officer in Athens. He favours resistance against the Persians.

title: 493 BC

section: Technology & Infrastructure

text: Themistocles starts the construction of a fortified naval base at Piraeus, the port town of Athens.

title: 493 BC

year_label: 492 BCE

section: Exploration & Expansion

text: The first expedition of King Darius I of Persia against Greece commences under the leadership of his son-in-law and general, Mardonius. Darius sends Mardonius to succeed his satrap (governor) in Ionia, Artaphernes, with a special commission to attack Athens and Eretria.

title: 492 BC

year_label: 491 BCE

text: Darius I sends envoys to all Greek cities, demanding "earth and water for vassalage" which Athens and Sparta refuse.

title: 491 BC

year_label: 490 BCE

text: The Greek historian Herodotus, the main source for the Greco-Persian Wars, mentions Pheidippides as the messenger who runs from Athens to Sparta asking for help, and then runs back, a distance of over 240 kilometres each way. After the battle, he runs back to Athens to spread the news and raise the spirits. It is claimed that his last words before collapsing and dying in Athens are "Chairete, nikomen" ("Rejoice, we are victorious").

title: 490 BC

text: When the Ionian Greeks in Asia Minor rebelled against Persia in 499 BC, Eretria joined Athens in sending aid to the rebels. As a result, Darius makes a point of punishing Eretria during his invasion of Greece. The city is sacked and burned and its inhabitants are enslaved. He intends the same fate for Athens.

title: 490 BC

text: The Athenian soldier and statesman, Aristides (the Just), is made chief archon of Athens.

title: 489 BC

text: The Athenian Archonship becomes elective by lot from all the citizens, an important milestone in the move towards radical Athenian democracy. There are nine archons and a secretary. Three of the archons have special functions: the basileus, or sovereign; the polemarch (originally a military commander); and the archon eponymous (chief magistrate), who gave his name to the year.

title: 487 BC

text: The island of Aegina and the city of Athens go to war. The island has earned the enmity of Athens by earlier submitting to the Persians. The Spartan King, Leotychidas, tries unsuccessfully to arrange a truce in the war.

title: 487 BC

text: The Athenian archon Themistocles realises that the Greeks need to be able to beat the Persians at sea. To carry out this strategy, however, Athens needs far more warships (that is to say the newly developed, specialised triremes) than the 70 it has. Themistocles is initially opposed by other Athenian leaders. However, when the state-owned silver mines at Laurium become the site of a rich strike, Themistocles persuades the assembly, instead of "declaring a dividend," to devote the whole surplus to increasing the navy to a proposed 200 ships.

title: 483 BC

text: The Athenian archon Themistocles secures the ostracism of his opponents and becomes the political leader of Athens. The Athenian soldier and statesman, Aristides, is one of those ostracised due to his opposition to Themistocles' naval policy.

title: 482 BC

text: The Athenian soldier and statesman, Aristides, as well as the former Athenian archon Xanthippus, return from banishment in Aegina to serve under Themistocles against the Persians.

title: 480 BC

text: The Greek congress decides to send a force of 10,000 Greeks, including hoplites and cavalry, to the Vale of Tempe, through which they believe the Persian army will pass. The force includes Lacedaemonians led by Euanetos and Athenians under Themistocles. Warned by Alexander I of Macedon that the vale can be bypassed elsewhere and that the army of Xerxes is overwhelming, the Greeks decide not to try to hold there and vacate the vale.

title: 480 BC

text: The sculpture of the Kritios Boy is made on Acropolis, Athens (approximate date). It is now preserved in the Acropolis Museum in Athens.

title: 480 BC

text: September 21 – The Persians sack Athens, whose citizens flee to Salamis and then Peloponnesus.

title: 480 BC

text: The Persian commander Mardonius, now based in Thessaly, wins support from Argus and western Arcadia. He tries to win over Athens, but fails.

title: 479 BC

text: Despite Spartan opposition, Athens works on refortifying and rebuilding after the Persian destruction of the city in 479.

title: 478 BC

text: Greek maritime cities around the Aegean Sea no longer wish to be under Spartan control and at Delos offer their allegiance, through Aristides, to Athens. They form the Delian League (also known as the Confederacy of Delos) with Cimon as their principal commander.

title: 477 BC

text: Cimon of Athens increases his power at the expense of Themistocles. He ousts Pausanias and the Spartans from the area around the Bosporus. The Spartans, hearing that Pausanias is intriguing with the Persians, recall him and he is "disciplined".

title: 476 BC

text: Cimon leads an Athenian attack on the island of Skyros and expels the indigenous inhabitants who are regarded as pirates.

title: 475 BC

text: Athenian politician Themistocles loses the confidence of the Athenian people, partly due to his arrogance and partly due to his alleged readiness to take bribes. As a result, he is ostracized and retires to Argos.

title: 471 BC

text: Aspasia of Miletus, mistress of Pericles of Athens (d. c. 400 BC)

title: 470 BC

text: The island of Naxos wishes to secede from the Delian League, but is blockaded by Athens and forced to surrender. Naxos becomes a tribute-paying member of the Delian League. This action is considered high-handed and resented by the other Greek city states.

title: 469 BC

text: Cimon carries the war against Persia into Asia Minor and wins the Battle of the Eurymedon in Pamphylia. This is a decisive defeat of the Persians as Cimon's land and sea forces capture the Persian camp and destroy or capture the entire Persian fleet of 200 triremes (manned by Phoenicians). Many new allies of Athens are now recruited, such as the trading city of Phaselis on the Lycian-Pamphylian border.

title: 466 BC

text: Thasos revolts from the Delian League. The revolt arises from rivalry over trade with the Thracian hinterland and, in particular, over the ownership of a gold mine. Athens under Kimon lays siege to Thasos after the Athenian fleet defeats the Thasos fleet

title: 465 BC

text: In Athens, the democratic statesman Ephialtes and the young Pericles attempt to get the oligarchic Kimon ostracized for allegedly receiving bribes. Kimon is charged by Pericles and other democratic politicians with having been bribed not to attack the King of Macedonia (who may have been suspected of covertly helping the Thasian rebels). Though Kimon is acquitted, his influence on the Athenian people is waning.

title: 463 BC

text: Kimon seeks the support of Athens' citizens providing help to Sparta. Although Ephialtes maintains that Sparta is Athens' rival for power and should be left to fend for itself, Kimon's view prevails. Kimon then leads 4,000 hoplites to Mount Ithome.

title: 462 BC

text: The Greek philosopher, Anaxagoras, moves to Athens and begins teaching there.

title: 462 BC

text: Pericles starts to effectively be the leader of Athens.

title: 462 BC

text: In Athens, Ephialtes and Pericles finally get agreement to the ostracism of Kimon, who had become unpopular for his unsuccessful pro-Spartan policy.

title: 461 BC

text: Ephialtes, leader of the radical democrats in Athens (assassinated)

title: 461 BC

text: Argos rises against Sparta. Athens supports Argos and Thessaly. The small force that is sent by Sparta to quell the uprising in Argos is defeated by a joint Athenian and Argos force at Oenoe. (Battle of Oenoe)

title: 460 BC

text: The First Peloponnesian War breaks out between the Delian League (led by Athens) and a Peloponnesian alliance (led by Sparta), caused in part by Athens' alliance with Megara and Argos and the subsequent reaction of Sparta. The Athenians have built long walls for the Megarans to their port at Nisaea, thereby earning the enmity of Megara's old rival Corinth.

title: 460 BC

text: Egypt revolts against Persian rule. The Egyptian leader, Inaros, asks Athens for assistance, which is willingly provided as Athens has plans to trade with and colonize Egypt. A force of 200 Athenian triremes, which is campaigning in Cyprus, is immediately ordered to Egypt to render assistance.

title: 460 BC

text: Athens allied itself with the city state of Megara which was under pressure from Corinth. This alliance leads to war between Corinth and Athens. The first battle of the war, at Haliesis in the Gulf of Argolis, resulted in a Corinthian victory, but the next battle, the battle of Cecryphalea (modern Angistrion), went Athens' way.

title: 459 BC

text: Pericles continues Ephialtes' democratising activities by making the archonship a paid office and the lower class of Athenian citizens eligible to hold the office.

title: 458 BC

text: The Athenian playwright Aeschylus completes his trilogy The Oresteia (which comprise Agamemnon, Choephoroi (The Libation Bearers) and The Eumenides).

title: 458 BC

text: Athens, the leader of the Delian League, comes into conflict with Corinth and its ally Sparta (leader of the Peloponnesian League) over Megara. Nicomedes of Sparta, regent for King Pleistoanax, leads an army of 11,500 hoplites into Boeotia to help Thebes put down a rebellion by Phocis.

title: 457 BC

text: Athens, under Athenian general Tolmides, sends 100 ships around the Peloponnesus and they set fire to the Spartan naval base at Gythion. As a result, Athens gains the agreement of the Achaean cities to join the Delian League. Athenian forces then go on to attack the Spartan allies on the Corinthian Gulf. Athens is now able to confine Sparta to the southern Peloponnesus.

title: 455 BC

text: Euripides presents his earliest known tragedy, Peliades, in the Athenian festival of Dionysia.

title: 455 BC

text: Persian rule in Egypt is finally restored by Megabyzus, satrap of Syria, after a prolonged struggle which has included dealing with a military intervention by Athens. The leader of the revolt, Inaros II, is crucified by the Persians.

title: 454 BC

text: Pericles leads a naval expedition in the Corinthian Gulf, in which Athens defeats Achaea. He then attacks Sicyon and Acarnania, after which he unsuccessfully tries to take Oeniadea on the Corinthian Gulf, before returning to Athens.

title: 454 BC

text: The Roman Plebs, suffering from a number of economic and financial ills, force the city’s patricians to begin the reform and codification of the law. As a first act, a three-man commission is sent to Athens to study that city's laws.

title: 454 BC

text: Pericles, the ruler of Athens, bestows generous wages on all Athens' citizens who serve as jurymen on the Heliaia (the supreme court of Athens).

title: 453 BC

text: The Persian fleet moves against a rebellious Cyprus to restore order. Kimon, who returns to favour, though not to power, in Athens, plans an expedition to help Cyprus. He gains Pericles' support.

title: 451 BC

text: The red-figure decorations A Painter, Assistants Crowned by Athena and Victories are made on a hydria in Athens. They are now kept in a private collection (approximate date).

title: 450 BC

text: During the siege Cimon dies and command of the fleet is given to Anaxicrates, who leaves Citium to engage the Phoenician fleet in the Battle of Salamis in Cyprus. The Greek fleet is victorious against the Persians and their allies and then returns to Athens.

title: 450 BC

text: The Greek city-states make peace with the Persian Empire through the Peace of Callias, named after Callias II, the chief Greek ambassador to the Persian Court, an Athenian who is a brother-in-law of Cimon. Athens agrees to end its support for the Egyptian rebels still holding out in parts of the Nile Delta, while the Persians agree not to send ships of war into the Aegean Sea. Athens now effectively controls all the Greek city states in Ionia.

title: 449 BC

text: Pericles places the Athenian sculptor Phidias in charge of all the artistic aspects of his reconstruction program. Construction begins on the Temple of Hephaestus in Athens, while the Athenian Senate commissions Callicrates to construct a temple to Athena Nike on the Acropolis.

title: 449 BC

text: Pericles leads the Athenian army against Delphi to restore the sanctuary of the oracle of Delphi to Phocis.

title: 448 BC

text: A revolt breaks out in Boeotia as the oligarchs of Thebes conspire against the democratic faction in the city. The Athenians, under their general Tolmides, with 1000 hoplites plus other troops from their allies, march into Boeotia to take back the towns revolting against Athenian control. They capture Chaeronea, but are attacked and defeated by the Boeotians at Coronea. As a result, the Athenians are forced to give up control of Boeotia as well as Phocis and Locris, which all fall under the control of hostile oligarchs who quit the Delian League.

title: 447 BC

text: Pericles leads Athenian forces in the expulsion of barbarians from the Thracian peninsula of Gallipoli, in order to establish Athenian colonists in the region. Thus Pericles starts a policy of cleruchy (klerouchos) or "out-settlements". This is a form of colonisation where poor and unemployed people are assisted to emigrate to new regions.

title: 447 BC

text: Pericles commissions the architects Kallikrates and Iktinos to design a larger temple for the Parthenon and the construction begins on rebuilding the great temple of Athena (the Parthenon) on the Acropolis at Athens soon afterwards.

title: 447 BC

text: Achaea achieves its independence from Athens, while Euboea, crucial to Athenian control of the sea and food supplies, revolts against Athens. Pericles crosses over to Euboea with his troops.

title: 446 BC

text: As a result of his failure to effectively challenge Pericles, the Athenian citizens ostracise Thucydides for 10 years and Pericles is once again unchallenged in Athenian politics.

title: 442 BC

text: Samos, an autonomous member of the Delian League and one of Athens' principal allies with a substantial fleet of its own, quarrels with Miletus. Miletus, also a member of the Delian League, appeals to Athens for assistance. Pericles decides in favour of Miletus, so Samos revolts. Pericles then sails to Samos with a fleet to overthrow its oligarchic government and install a democratic one. Sparta threatens to interfere. However, at a congress of the Peloponnesian League, its members vote not to intervene on behalf of Samos against Athens.

title: 440 BC

text: As a result of Persian assistance to Samos, it takes the Athenian army nine months to successfully complete its siege of Samos and force the Samians to surrender. Samos becomes a tributary of Athens.

title: 439 BC

text: The Greek playwright Euripides' play Alcestis is performed in the Dionysia, an Athenian dramatic festival.

title: 438 BC

text: The Parthenon on the Acropolis at Athens is completed by Ictinus and Callicrates and is consecrated after 9 years of construction. It is dedicated at the Panathenaea (a festival held in honour of Athena every four years on the Acropolis).

title: 438 BC

text: Pericles, concerned for Athenian trade with Greek settlements to the East, and in order to counteract a new and possibly threatening Thracian–Scythian alliance, leads Athens' fleet to Pontus on the Black Sea and establishes friendly relations with the Greek cities of the region.

title: 437 BC

text: Mnesikles starts to build Propylaia, Acropolis, Athens. The work is canceled in 432 BC, due to the Peloponnesian War, and thus is never finished.

title: 437 BC

text: Following Pericles' visit to the Black Sea, a large Athenian colony is founded at Amphipolis. This is disconcertingly close to an outpost of Corinthian influence at Potidaea in the Chalcidice. Corinth feels it is being indirectly pressured by Athens.

title: 436 BC

text: Isocrates, Athenian orator (d. 338 BC)

title: 436 BC

text: Philip, brother of Perdiccas II of Macedon challenges Perdiccas for the throne, and enlists the support of Athens and King Derdas of Elimea. Perdiccas responds by stirring up rebellion in a number of Athenian tribute cities, including Potidaea.

title: 434 BC

text: Under the leadership of Pericles, Athens introduces a series of measures (the "Megarian decree") imposing an economic embargo on Megara for violations of land sacred to Demeter. According to the provisions of the decree, Megarian merchants are to be excluded from the market of Athens and the ports in its empire. This ban strangles the Megarian economy and strains the fragile peace between Athens and Sparta, which is allied with Megara.

title: 434 BC

text: Pericles concludes a defensive alliance with Corcyra (Corfu), the strong naval power in the Ionian Sea, which is the bitter enemy of Corinth. As a result, Athens intervenes in the dispute between Corinth and Corcyra, and, at the Battle of Sybota, a small contingent of Athenian ships play a critical role in preventing a Corinthian fleet from capturing Corcyra. Following this, Athens places Potidaea, a tributary ally of Athens but a colony of Corinth, under siege.

title: 433 BC

text: Sparta calls and hosts a conference of the Peloponnesian League. The conference is attended by Athenian representatives as well as members of the League. Following arguments by Corinth against Athens, a majority of the League members vote to declare that the Athenians had broken the peace.

title: 432 BC

text: Pheidias completes the sculptures that form the decoration of the Parthenon in Athens.

title: 432 BC

text: Athens enters into an alliance with King Sitalkes of Thrace, after Nymphodorus, an influential Athenian, marries Sitalkes' sister. Nymphodorus then negotiates an agreement between Athens and Macedon's King Perdiccas II, through which Perdiccas regains Therma. As a result, Athens withdraws its support for Perdiccas' brother, Philip, and the Thracians promise to assist Perdiccas in capturing him. In return, Perdiccas marches on the Chalcidians, the people he has originally persuaded to revolt.

title: 431 BC

text: Phidias returns to Athens, where he is imprisoned (for having been portrayed on the shield of the statue of the goddess Athena) and dies before the trial.

title: 431 BC

text: Potidaea finally capitulates to the siege by Athenian forces in the winter.

title: 430 BC

text: The army of Sparta loots Attica for a second time, but Pericles is not daunted and refuses to revise his initial strategy. Unwilling to engage the Spartan army in battle, he again leads a naval expedition to plunder the coasts of the Peloponnesus, this time taking 100 Athenian ships with him.

title: 430 BC

text: An outbreak of a plague hits Athens and the disease ravages the densely packed city (modern DNA analyses of material from ancient cemeteries suggest the mortal disease may have been typhus). The plague wipes out over 30,000 citizens, sailors, and soldiers as well as Pericles' two sons. Roughly one-quarter of the Athenian population dies. The fear of plague is so widespread that the Spartan invasion of Attica is abandoned, their troops being unwilling to risk contact with the diseased enemy.

title: 430 BC

text: The Athenians under Xenophon march into Thrace to attack Chalcis. They destroy crops outside Spartolus and begin negotiating with pro-Athenian factions in Chalcis, but the anti-Athenian factions ask for help from Olynthus. An army from Chalcis, Spartolus, and Olynthus meet the Athenians in battle, but their hoplites are defeated. Reinforcements soon arrive from Olynthus, and they launch a second attack on the Athenians. The Athenians are routed, with all of their generals and 430 other men killed.

title: 429 BC

text: Pericles, Athenian statesman (epidemic) (born c. 495 BC)

title: 429 BC

text: The chief city of Lesbos, Mytilene, revolts against Athenian rule. The Spartan admiral, Alcidas, leads 40 Peloponnesian alliance ships with the aim of assisting the inhabitants of Mytilene. However, the rebellion by Mytilene is crushed before his forces can arrive.

title: 428 BC

text: Following the surrender of Mytilene to Athens, the Athenian leader Cleon insists that the city be destroyed. In response to the pleadings of a number of Athenian citizens, Cleon's decree to destroy the population of Mytilene is reversed with only the ringleaders of the Mytilenean revolt being executed.

title: 427 BC

text: In an effort to blockade Sparta from access to Sicilian corn, Athens responds to a plea for help from a delegation from the city of Leontini led by Gorgias, the sophist and rhetorician. Leontini is being threatened by Syracuse which is allied to Sparta. However, the Athenian mission led by the Athenian general Laches is unable to offer much help. Laches is later prosecuted by Cleon for his unsuccessful mission to support Athenian interests in Sicily.

title: 427 BC

text: The Athenian leader Cleon and Athenian general Demosthenes revitalise the city's military and naval forces despite opposition from Nicias, a rich merchant and soldier, and his supporters.

title: 426 BC

text: Demosthenes captures and fortifies the port of Pylos in the Peloponnesus, giving Athens a strong base close to Sparta. Meanwhile, a Spartan army, commanded by Brasidas, lands on the nearby island of Sphacteria, but is repulsed by the Athenians. An Athenian fleet summoned by Demosthenes bottles up the Spartan navy in Navarino Bay.

title: 425 BC

text: Callicrates starts to build the Temple of Athena Nike on the Acropolis in Athens (approximate date). Between 410 and 407 BC the temple is surrounded by a parapet.

title: 425 BC

text: Brasidas' capture of the city of Amphipolis is a major reverse for Athens, for which the Athenian general (and future historian) Thucydides is held responsible and banished. This gives Thucydides the opportunity for undistracted study for his History and travel and wider contacts, especially on the Peloponnesian side (Sparta and its allies).

title: 424 BC

text: At the Congress of Gela, the statesman Hermocrates of Syracuse persuades the cities of Sicily to agree to make peace and urges the exclusion of foreign powers. As a result, the three-year war between his city and Sicily's pro-Athenian town ends and the Athenian forces, which had been sent to Sicily to support Greek settlements, are forced to withdraw.

title: 424 BC

text: The Athenian general, Laches, successfully moves in the Athenian Assembly for an armistice with Sparta to check the progress of Sparta's most effective general, Brasidas. However, the "Truce of Laches" has little impact on Brasidas and collapses within a year.

title: 423 BC

text: Athenian leader, Cleon, ends the truce between Athens and Sparta after he resolves to rescue the town of Amphipolis in Macedonia. However, through skillful generalship by Brasidas, the Spartans rout the Athenians in the Battle of Amphipolis. Both Brasidas and Cleon are killed in the battle, thereby removing the key members of the pro-war factions on both sides.

title: 422 BC

text: Cleon, Athenian politician and general

title: 422 BC

text: The construction of the Porch of the Maidens (the Caryatid Porch) commences at the Erechtheion which is part of the Acropolis in Athens.

title: 421 BC

text: The young and popular Alcibiades is elected "Strategos" (one of a board of ten generals) and begins to dominate Athenian life and politics. A Quadruple Alliance of Athens, Argos, Mantineia and Elis, which has been organised by Alcibiades (in opposition to Nicias) confronts a Spartan-Boeotian alliance.

title: 420 BC

text: 17 Boedromion (Epidauria): The cult of Asclepius is introduced at Athens.

title: 420 BC

text: The Battle of Mantinea is the largest land battle of the Peloponnesian War (with as many as 10,000 troops on each side). Sparta under King Agis II has a major victory over Argos (and its allies Athens, Ellis and Mantinea), which has broken its treaty with Sparta's King Agis II at the insistence of Alcibiades. Agis II's major victory makes amends with the Spartans for his earlier truce with Argos. The commander of the Athenian forces, Laches, is killed in the battle.

title: 418 BC

text: Following the loss by Athens and its allies in the Battle of Mantinea, a political "tug of war" takes place in Athens. Alcibiades joins forces with Nicias against Hyperbolus, the successor of the demagogue politician Cleon as champion of the common people. Hyperbolus tries to bring about the ostracism of either Nicias or Alcibiades, but the two men combine their influence and induce the Athenian people to expel Hyperbolus instead.

title: 417 BC

text: With the encouragement of Alcibiades, the Athenians take the island of Melos (which has remained neutral during the Peloponnesian War). Its inhabitants are treated with great cruelty by the Athenians, with captured adult men being killed and the women and children made slaves.

title: 416 BC

text: Athenian orator and politician, Andocides is imprisoned on suspicion of having taken part in the mutilation of the sacred busts called "Hermae" shortly before the departure of Athens' military expedition to Sicily. These mutilations cause a general panic, and Andocides is induced to turn informer. Andocides' testimony is accepted, and those whom he implicates, including Alcibiades, are condemned to death. Andocides is sent into exile.

title: 415 BC

text: Athens responds to appeals from its general, Nicias, by sending out 73 vessels to Sicily under the command of Demosthenes to assist Nicias and his forces with the siege of Syracuse.

title: 414 BC

text: Nicias, Athenian soldier and statesman (b. 470 BC)

title: 413 BC

text: The Athenians vote to use their last reserves to build a new fleet.

title: 412 BC

text: Alcibiades helps stir up revolts amongst Athens' allies in Ionia, on the west coast of Asia Minor. However, Alcibiades loses the confidence of the Spartans and antagonises their king Agis II. As a result, he flees to the court of the Persian satrap Tissaphernes. Alcibiades advises Tissaphernes to withdraw his support from Sparta while conspiring with the oligarchic party in Athens, as Sparta's allied cities break away in a series of revolts.

title: 412 BC

text: The Persians under Darius II see their opportunity to play off one Greek city-state against another and to recover control of the Greek cities of Asia Minor, which have been under Athenian control since 449 BC. The satraps of Asia Minor, Tissaphernes and Pharnabazus, are ordered to collect overdue tribute.

title: 412 BC

text: Commanding 20 ships, the Athenian generals Theramenes and Thrasybulus collaborate with Alcibiades and the main Athenian fleet in inflicting a major defeat on the Spartan navy commanded by Mindarus and its supporting Persian land army near Cyzicus on the shore of the Propontis (Sea of Marmara). As a result of its victory in the Battle of Cyzicus, Athens regains control over the vital grain route from the Black Sea.

title: 410 BC

text: A relief decoration from the parapet (now destroyed), Nike (Victory) adjusting her sandal is constructed in the Temple of Athena Nike on the Acropolis in Athens and is ready in 407 BC. It is now preserved at the Acropolis Museum in Athens.

title: 410 BC

text: The grave stele of Hegeso is made and is finished about ten years later (approximate date). It is now preserved at the National Archaeological Museum in Athens.

title: 410 BC

text: Alcibiades recaptures Byzantium, ending the city's rebellion from Athens. This action completes Athenian control of the Bosporus which secures the Athenian supply route for grain from the Bosporan Kingdom in the Black Sea region.

title: 409 BC

text: Taking advantage of the quarrels between the Greek cities in Sicily and of the mutual exhaustion of Athens and Syracuse, Carthage seeks to reimpose its influence over the island. Hannibal Mago, grandson of Hamilcar, invades Sicily with a strong force. He defeats the Sicilian Greeks and avenges his grandfather through the torture and killing of 3,000 Greek prisoners. In the Battle of Selinus and Battle of Himera he captures and destroys both cities before returning triumphantly to Carthage with the spoils of war.

title: 409 BC

text: King Darius II of Persia decides to continue the war against Athens and give support to the Spartans. His wife, Parysatis, persuades him to appoint his younger son, Cyrus, as satrap (governor) of Lydia, Phrygia, and Cappadocia and commander in chief of the Achaemenian forces in Asia Minor in place of Tissaphernes.

title: 408 BC

text: Alcibiades enters Athens in triumph after an absence of 7 years. He leads the religious procession from Athens to Eleusis, thus atoning for his alleged impiety in 415 BC when he was held to have joined in profaning the Sacred Mysteries. Alcibiades is appointed commander-in-chief with autocratic powers and leaves for Samos to rejoin his fleet.

title: 408 BC

text: Euripides' plays Orestes and The Phoenician Women are performed. Euripides then leaves Athens in dissatisfaction and travels to the court of Archelaus I of Macedon at the King's invitation.

title: 408 BC

text: The Spartan admiral Lysander refuses to be lured out of Ephesus to do battle with Alcibiades. However, while Alcibiades is away seeking supplies, the Athenian squadron is placed under the command of Antiochus, his helmsman, who is routed by the Spartan fleet (with the help of the Persians under Cyrus) in the Battle of Notium (or Ephesus).

title: 407 BC

text: Callicratidas is appointed as the navarch of the Spartan fleet, replacing Lysander. Callicratidas assembles a fleet and sails to Methymna, on Lesbos, to which he lays siege. This move threatens the Athenian grain supply.

title: 406 BC

text: Euripides, Athenian playwright (b. c. 480 BC)

title: 406 BC

text: Sophocles, Athenian dramatist and politician (b. c. 495 BC)

title: 406 BC

text: After their victory in the Battle of Arginusae over the Spartans, the Athenian fleet follows the reappointed Spartan admiral, Lysander, to the Hellespont. The Athenian fleet under Admiral Conon is destroyed by the Spartans under Lysander in the Battle of Aegospotami in the Sea of Marmara and Conon flees to Cyprus.

title: 405 BC

text: The Erechtheum, which includes The Porch of Maidens (Caryatid Porch), is completed in the Ionian style on the Acropolis in Athens after 16 years of construction.

title: 405 BC

text: Athens, full of refugees and weakened by plague and hunger, capitulates and the Peloponnesian War ends.

title: 404 BC

text: Alcibiades, Athenian statesman (b. c. 450 BC)

title: 404 BC

text: Theramenes, Athenian statesman

title: 404 BC

text: Thrasybulus leads the democratic resistance to the new oligarchic government, known as the Thirty Tyrants, that the victorious Spartans have imposed on Athens. He commands a small force of exiles that invades Attica and, in successive battles, defeats first a Spartan garrison and then the forces of the oligarchic government (which includes the Spartan general, Lysander) in the Battle of Munychia. The leader of the Thirty Tyrants, Critias, is killed in the battle.

title: 403 BC

text: Under archon Eucleides, the Athenians accept a spelling reform, adopting the Ionian alphabet, which includes eta and omega. The new alphabet came to be known as the Euclidean alphabet.

title: 403 BC

text: Critias, leading member of the Athenian Thirty Tyrants oligarchy (b. 460 BC)

title: 403 BC

text: Phocion, Athenian statesman and general (d. c. 318 BC)

title: 402 BC

text: Sophocles' tragic play Oedipus at Colonus is performed posthumously. It is produced by his grandson (also called Sophocles) at the Festival of Dionysus in Athens.

title: 401 BC

text: With the outbreak of the war between Sparta and the Persians, the Athenian admiral, Conon, obtains joint command, with Pharnabazus, of a Persian fleet.

title: 400 BC

text: Aspasia of Miletus, widow of Pericles of Athens (approximate date) (b. c. 470 BC)

title: 400 BC

text: February 15 – The Greek philosopher Socrates is sentenced to death by Athenian authorities, condemned for impiety and the corruption of youth. He refuses to flee into exile and dies by drinking hemlock.

title: 399 BC

text: The Persians assemble a joint Phoenician, Cilician, and Cypriot fleet, under the command of the experienced Athenian admiral, Conon, and seize Rhodes.

title: 396 BC

text: Unable to defeat Agesilaus's army, Pharnabazus decides to force Agesilaus to withdraw by stirring up trouble on the Greek mainland. He dispatches Timocrates of Rhodes to visit Athens, Thebes, Corinth, and Argos to incite and bribe them to act against Sparta. Timocrates succeeds in persuading powerful factions in each of those states to pursue an anti-Spartan policy.

title: 395 BC

text: The "Corinthian War" begins, with Athens, Thebes, Corinth and Argos (with the backing of Persia) against Sparta. The Spartans prepare to send out an army against this new alliance, and order Agesilaus to return to Greece. Agesilaus sets out for Sparta with his troops, crossing the Hellespont and marching west through Thrace.

title: 395 BC

text: The allies, Athens, Thebes, Corinth and Argos, gather a large army at Corinth. A sizable army is sent out from Sparta to challenge this force. The two sides meet on the dry bed of the Nemea River, in Corinthian territory. In the resultant Battle of Nemea, the Spartans win a major victory over the allies.

title: 394 BC

text: Pharnabazus dispatches Conon with substantial funds and a large part of the fleet to Attica, where he joins in the rebuilding of the long walls from Athens to Piraeus, a project that had been initiated by Thrasybulus in the previous year. The construction is soon completed and Athens quickly takes advantage of its walls and its fleet to seize the islands of Scyros, Imbros, and Lemnos, on which it establishes cleruchies (citizen colonies).

title: 393 BC

text: The Athenian general Conon and the Persian satrap Pharnabazus sail to mainland Greece, where they raid the coast of Laconia and seize the island of Cythera, where they leave a garrison and an Athenian governor.

title: 393 BC

text: During the Corinthian War, the Spartans dispatch an ambassador, Antalcidas, to the Persian satrap Tiribazus, hoping to turn the Persians against the allies by informing them of Conon's use of the Persian fleet to begin rebuilding the Athenian empire. Learning of this, the Athenians send an embassy led by Conon to present their case to the Persians at Sardis. Alarmed by Conon's actions, Tiribazus arrests him, and secretly provides the Spartans with money to equip a fleet. Although Conon quickly escapes, he dies in Cyprus without returning to Athens.

title: 392 BC

text: The Athenian general, Iphicrates, with a force composed almost entirely of light troops and peltasts (javelin throwers), wins a decisive victory against the Spartan regiment that has been stationed at Lechaeum in the Battle of Lechaeum. This is the first time that a force of light infantry defeats a unit of Greek hoplites.

title: 391 BC

text: The Pharaoh of Egypt, Hakor (Akoris), concludes a tripartite alliance with Evagoras, king of Cyprus, and Athens.

title: 390 BC

text: The Athenian general, Thrasybulus, leads a force of triremes to levy tribute from cities around the Aegean and support Rhodes, where a democratic government is struggling against Sparta. On this campaign, Thrasybulus captures Byzantium, imposes a duty on ships passing through the Hellespont, and collects tribute from many of the Aegean Islands.

title: 389 BC

text: Plato, having left Athens on Socrates' death to visit Megara and possibly Egypt, travels to Syracuse at the invitation of Dionysius I's brother-in-law Dion.

title: 388 BC

text: The Athenian general, Thrasybulus, sails to Lesbos, where, with the support of the Mytileneans, he defeats the Spartan forces on the island and wins over a number of cities. While still on Lesbos, however, Thrasybulus is killed by raiders from the city of Aspendus where his financial exactions have made him unpopular.

title: 388 BC

text: Plato is forced by Dionysius to leave Syracuse after having exercised the right of free speech too broadly. Plato returns to Athens, outside which he founds a school.

title: 387 BC

text: Plato founds the Platonic Academy in Athens, where he teaches Aristotle until 347 BC.

title: 387 BC

text: Lysias, the Athenian orator, on the occasion of the Olympiad, rebukes the Greeks for allowing themselves to be dominated by the Syracusan tyrant Dionysius I and by the barbarian Persians.

title: 384 BC

text: Pelopidas, a Theban general and statesman, flees to Athens and takes the lead in attempts to liberate Thebes from Spartan control.

title: 382 BC

text: Evandrus takes over being Archon of Athens from Demonstrates.

title: 382 BC

text: Persia forces the Athenians to withdraw their general Chabrias from Egypt. Chabrias has been successfully supporting the Egyptian Pharaohs in maintaining their independence from the Persian Empire.

title: 380 BC

text: Timotheus, the son of the Athenian general Conon, is elected strategos of Athens.

title: 378 BC

text: Athens allies itself with Thebes and forms the Second Athenian League. The confederacy includes most of the Boeotian cities and some of the Ionian islands.

title: 378 BC

text: The Athenian admiral Chabrias wins a naval victory for Athens over the Spartan fleet, off the island of Naxos (the Battle of Naxos). The battle is brought on by the Athenians to break the Spartans' blockade of Athens' corn-ships from the Black Sea.

title: 376 BC

text: Athens tries to retire from the Theban-Spartan war and makes peace with Sparta. However, the peace is quickly broken.

title: 374 BC

text: Iphicrates leads an Athenian expedition which successfully relieves Corcyra of a Spartan siege.

title: 373 BC

text: Jason of Pherae, the ruler of Thessaly, allies himself first with Athens and then with Macedon.

title: 372 BC

text: A fresh peace congress is summoned at Sparta. At the peace conference, the Spartan King Agesilaus II (with the support of Athens) refuses to allow the Thebans to sign the treaty on behalf of all Boeotia. The Theban statesman Epaminondas, who is boeotarch (one of the five magistrates of the Boeotian federation), maintains Thebes' position, even when it leads to the exclusion of Thebes from the peace treaty.

title: 371 BC

text: Athens does not welcome the Theban victory, fearing the rising aggressiveness of Thebes. After the Theban victory, the old alliance between the Persians and the Thebans is restored.

title: 371 BC

text: The Spartans under King Agesilaus II invade Arcadia. After appealing in vain to the Athenians for help, Arcadia turns to the Thebans. Epaminondas of Thebes arrives with an army, finds that the Spartans have retired and follows them.

title: 370 BC

text: The sculptor Praxiteles begins his active career in Athens (approximate date).

title: 370 BC

text: In a search for a balance of power against the now powerful Thebes, Athens responds to an appeal for help from Sparta and allies itself with its traditional enemy.

title: 369 BC

text: Pelopidas forces Alexander to abandon his alliance with Athens in favour of Thebes by threatening to support Alexander's brother-in-law, Ptolemy of Aloros. As part of this new alliance, Alexander is compelled to hand over hostages, including his younger brother Philip, the future conqueror of Greece.

title: 369 BC

text: The Greek philosopher and scientist, Aristotle, goes to Athens as a pupil at Plato's Academy.

title: 367 BC

text: Athens founds the town of Kos on the island of Kos in the Aegean Sea.

title: 366 BC

text: The Athenian forces under general Timotheus overrun Samos, then occupied by a Persian garrison, after a 10-month siege.

title: 365 BC

text: The Athenian general, Iphicrates, fails in attempts to recover Amphipolis. Retiring to Thrace, Iphicrates fights for his father-in-law, the Thracian king Cotys I, against Athens for the possession of the Thracian Chersonese. Cotys I is victorious and controls the whole Chersonese peninsula by 359 BC.

title: 364 BC

text: On the advice of the city's military leader, Epaminondas, Thebes builds a fleet of 100 triremes to help combat Athens. Thebes destroys its Boeotian rival Orchomenus.

title: 364 BC

text: The Theban general, Epaminondas, makes a bold attempt to challenge Athens' naval empire. With a new Boeotian fleet, he sails to Byzantium, with the result that a number of cities in the Athenian Empire rebel against their now threatened masters.

title: 363 BC

text: The Egyptians under their King Teos and the Spartans under King Agesilaus II, with some Athenian mercenaries under their general Chabrias, set out to attack the Persian King's Phoenician cities. However, they have to return almost at once due to revolts back in Egypt. Subsequently, Agesilaus II quarrels with the Egyptian king and joins a revolt against him.

title: 361 BC

text: The Illyrians prepare to close in, the Paeonians raid from the north and two claimants to the Macedonian throne are supported by foreign powers. Philip II buys off his dangerous neighbours and, with a treaty, cedes Amphipolis to Athens.

title: 359 BC

text: Cersobleptes, in conjunction with his brothers, Amadocus II and Berisades, inherits the dominions of the Thracian king, Cotys I, following his murder. However, the overall management of Thracian affairs is assumed by the Euboean adventurer, Charidemus, who is connected by marriage with the royal family, and who plays the prominent part in the ensuing negotiations with Athens for the possession of the Thracian Chersonese.

title: 358 BC

text: The Macedonian general, Parmenion, wins a great victory over the Illyrians. King Philip II of Macedon, having disposed of an Illyrian threat, occupies the Athenian city of Amphipolis (which commands the gold mines of Mount Pangaion). Philip II now has control of the strategic city which secures the eastern frontier of Macedonia and gives him access into Thrace.

title: 357 BC

text: Euboean mercenary Charidemus recaptures the Thracian Chersonese for Athens. He receives, from Athens, a golden crown for his part in the victory.

title: 357 BC

text: Philip II of Macedon secretly offers the city of Amphipolis back to the Athenians in exchange for the valuable port of Pydna. Despite the Athenians being willing to comply, both Pydna and Potidaea are conquered by the Macedonians (along with other Athenian strongholds in Thessaly and Chalcidice) despite being defended by Athenian forces led by general and mercenary commander, Chares, as well as generals Iphicrates and Timotheus.

title: 356 BC

text: The Social War begins between the Second Athenian League, led by Athens, and its revolting allies of Chios, Rhodes, and Kos as well as the independent state Byzantium. Mausolus, the tyrant of Caria, instigates the rebellion against the Athenian control of these states. The revolting allies ravage the islands of Lemnos and Imbros which are loyal to Athens.

title: 356 BC

text: King Artaxerxes III of Persia forces Athens to conclude a peace which requires the city to leave Asia Minor and to acknowledge the independence of its rebellious allies.

title: 355 BC

text: Athens recognises the independence of Chios, Kos and Rhodes and makes peace with Mausolus of Caria.

title: 354 BC

text: Philip II of Macedon takes and destroys Methone, a town which has belonged to Athens. During the siege of Methone, Philip loses an eye.

title: 354 BC

text: The Phocians suffer a defeat in the Sacred War against Athens.

title: 354 BC

text: Iphicrates, Athenian general (b. c. 418 BC)

title: 353 BC

text: Idrieus, the second son of Hecatomnus, succeeds to the throne of Caria on the death of Artemisia II, the widow of his elder brother Mausolus. Shortly after his accession, at the request of the Persian king, Artaxerxes III, Idrieus equips a fleet of 40 triremes and assembles an army of 8,000 mercenary troops and despatches them against Cyprus, under the command of the Athenian general Phocion.

title: 350 BC

text: After recovering from illness, Philip II of Macedon turns his attention to the remaining Athenian controlled cities in Macedonia and to the city of Olynthus, in particular. The Athenians organize to send help.

title: 349 BC

text: The city of Eretria on the island of Euboea successfully rebels against the rule of Athens and Euboea is declared independent. The Athenian statesman and general, Phocion's tactical skills save an Athenian force sent to fight the supporters of Philip II on Euboea.

title: 348 BC

text: The Athenian help to its cities in Macedonia is diverted by a revolt in Euboea which Philip II of Macedon has fomented. He conquers the city of Olynthus in the Chalcidice and he annexes Chalcidice to Macedonia.

title: 348 BC

text: Aristotle leaves Athens and Plato's Academy, after which he resided in Assus in northwestern Anatolia.

title: 348 BC

text: In the wake of the Macedonian victory at Olynthus, Athens seeks to make peace with Macedonia. Because his financial policy is based on the assumption that Athens should not be involved in major wars, the Athenian leader, Eubulus, works for peace with Philip II of Macedon. Demosthenes is among those who support a compromise.

title: 347 BC

text: Aristotle leaves Athens due to the anti-Macedonian feeling that arises in Athens after Philip II of Macedon has sacked the Greek city-state of Olynthus in 348 BC. With him goes another Academy member of note, Xenocrates of Chalcedon. They establish a new academy on the Asia Minor side of the Aegean Sea at the newly built town of Assus.

title: 347 BC

text: Plato, Greek philosopher and founder of the Academy in Athens (b. c. 427 BC)

title: 347 BC

text: The Peace of Philocrates is signed between Macedonia and Athens. The document agrees to a return to the status quo, but Philip II of Macedon keeps the right to punish the Phocians for starting the Sacred War.

title: 346 BC

text: Supported by Thebes and Thessaly, Macedonia takes over Phocis' votes in the Amphictyonic League, a Greek religious organisation formed to support the greater temples of Apollo and Demeter. Despite some reluctance on the part of the Athenian leaders, Athens finally accepts Philip II's entry into the Council of the League. The Athenian statesman Demosthenes is among those who recommend this stance in his oration On the Peace.

title: 345 BC

text: Nicochares, Athenian poet of the Old Comedy

title: 345 BC

text: The Athenian statesman, Demosthenes, travels to Peloponnesus, in order to detach as many cities as possible from Macedon's influence, but his efforts are generally unsuccessful. Most of the Peloponnesians see Philip II as the guarantor of their freedom, so they send a joint embassy to Athens to express their grievances against Demosthenes' activities. In response to these complaints, Demosthenes delivers the Second Philippic, which is a vehement attack against Philip II.

title: 344 BC

text: Philip II of Macedon besieges Perinthus, which had defied him and was inclining towards his opponents the Athenians, the Perinthian's allies Byzantium and the Achaemenid Empire support Perinthus in their defence of the city.

title: 344 BC

text: Philip begins a series of campaigns in Thrace with the aim of annexing it to be a province of Macedonia. When the Macedonian army approaches Thracian Chersonese (the Gallipoli Peninsula), an Athenian general named Diopeithes ravages this district of Thrace, thus inciting Philip's rage for operating too near one of his towns in the Chersonese. Philip demands his recall. In response, the Athenian Assembly is convened. Demosthenes convinces the Athenians not to recall Diopeithes.

title: 342 BC

text: A grand alliance is organised by Demosthenes against Philip II, which includes Byzantium and former enemies of Athens, such as Thebes. These developments worry Philip and increase his anger towards Demosthenes. The Athenian Assembly, however, lays aside Philip's grievances against Demosthenes' conduct and denounces the Peace of Philocrates which has been signed by both sides in 346 BC, an action equivalent to an official declaration of war by Athens against Macedonia.

title: 341 BC

text: Philip II of Macedon completes his annexation of Thrace. This is regarded by Athens as a further threat to the city's safety.

title: 341 BC

text: The Athenians give Demosthenes a public vote of thanks after Philip's unsuccessful siege of Byzantium.

title: 340 BC

text: Athens arranges an alliance with Euboea, Megara, Achaea, Corinth, Acarnania and some other states in the Peloponnesus. However, the most desirable ally for Athens is Thebes. Therefore, the Athenian leader, Demosthenes, goes to the Boeotian city and secures an alliance with Thebes despite the efforts of a Macedonian deputation to persuade Thebes to join with Macedonia. In return, Athens agrees to Thebes controlling Boeotia, Thebes being in command solely on land and jointly at sea, and Athens paying two thirds of the campaign's cost.

title: 338 BC

text: Conscription is introduced in Athens. Young men are required to perform duties which are part military and part civic.

title: 336 BC

text: Aeschines brings a suit against Ctesiphon for illegally proposing the award of a crown to the Athenian leader Demosthenes in recognition of his services to Athens.

title: 336 BC

text: A rumour that Alexander has been killed by the Illyrians leads the Thebans and Athenians to take up arms again. Alexander defeats the Greeks and razes Thebes. In Thebes, 6,000 people are killed and all survivors are sold into slavery.

title: 335 BC

text: The sculptor Praxiteles ends his active career in Athens (approximate date).

title: 335 BC

text: While Alexander is fighting in Asia, Agis III of Sparta, profiting from the Macedonian king's absence from Greece, leads some of the Greek cities in a revolt. With Persian money and 8,000 Greek mercenaries, he holds Crete against Macedonian forces. In the Peloponnesus he routs a force under the Macedonian general Coragus and, although Athens stays neutral, he is joined by Elis, Achaea (except Pellene) and Arcadia, with the exception of Megalopolis, the staunchly anti-Spartan capital of Arcadia, which Agis III's forces besiege.

title: 331 BC

text: Aeschines continues to try to prevent Demosthenes from being awarded a golden crown for his services to Athens. The case, which has begun in 336 BC, finally concludes with the overwhelming defeat of Aeschines, largely because of Demosthenes' brilliant speech for Ctesiphon (On the Crown).

title: 330 BC

text: Alexander the Great's treasurer, Harpalus, fearing arrest, flees from Susa to Athens. On arriving in Athens, he is imprisoned by the Athenians after a proposal of Demosthenes and Phocion, despite Hypereides' opposition, who wanted an immediate uprising against Alexander. Harpalus brings with him considerable wealth collected from the spoils of Alexander's conquest of Asia. This money is entrusted to a committee led by Demosthenes.

title: 324 BC

text: Some Greek cities, including Athens, revolt against the Macedonian regent, Antipater, following the news of Alexander's death. Athens' actions are incited by the speeches of the Athenian general Leosthenes and the Athenian orator Hypereides. Joined by cities in central and south Greece, the Athenians defeat Antipater in battle. They force him to take refuge in Lamia, where he is besieged for several months by the Greek allies.

title: 323 BC

text: October 12 – Demosthenes, Athenian statesman, recognized as the greatest of ancient Greek orators (b. 384 BC)

title: 322 BC

text: The Athenian orator and diplomat, Demades, is sent to the Macedonian court, but either the Macedonian regent Antipater or his son Cassander, learning that Demades has intrigued with the former regent Perdiccas, puts him to death.

title: 319 BC

text: Cassander, who has allied himself with Ptolemy and Antigonus, declares war on the regent, Polyperchon. Most of the Greek states support him, including Athens. Cassander further effects an alliance with Eurydice, the ambitious wife of King Philip III Arrhidaeus of Macedon.

title: 318 BC

text: In a power struggle in Athens after the death of Antipater, Phocion is deposed as the ruler of Athens, convicted of treason, and executed by those Athenians hoping to restore democracy to the city. Shortly afterward, the Athenians decree a public burial and a statue in his honor.

title: 318 BC

text: After capturing Athens from Macedonia's regent Polyperchon, Cassander entrusts the government of Athens to the Athenian orator, statesman, and philosopher, Demetrius Phalereus.

title: 317 BC

text: Thebes, which has been destroyed by Alexander the Great, begins to be rebuilt by Cassander with the help of the citizens of Athens.

title: 316 BC

text: Cassander orders Dionysius (the commander of his garrison in Athens) and Demetrius of Phalerum (the tyrant of Athens) to send a fleet of 20 warships to try and recapture Lemnos. An Athenian strategos named Aristoteles is sent, ravaging the island in conjunction with Seleucus (who was sent into the Aegean by Ptolemy). After Seleucus sails away, Aristoteles is attacked by the Antigonid fleet, most of his ships being captured.

title: 313 BC

text: A census is carried out in Athens. 21,000 citizens, 10,000 foreign residents and 400,000 others – women, children and slaves – are living in the city.

title: 309 BC

text: Cassander invades Attica and besieges Athens. He captures the island of Salamis off the coast of Athens.

title: 304 BC

text: Athens falls to Demetrius Poliorcetes after a bitter siege, and its tyrant Lachares flees into exile.

title: 295 BC

text: Menander, Athenian dramatist, considered to be a master of Greek New Comedy (b. c. 342 BC)

title: 291 BC

text: Dinarchus, Athenian speech writer whose work is generally thought to reflect the gradual decline of Attic oratory (b. c. 361 BC)

title: 291 BC

text: Although the Egyptian fleet blockades the Saronic Gulf, the Macedonian King Antigonus II defeats the Spartans and kills the king of Sparta, Areus I near Corinth, after which he besieges Athens.

title: 265 BC

text: Alexander, Antigonus II's nephew and regent, leads a revolt in Corinth with Ptolemy II's help and declares himself an independent monarch. As a result, Antigonus loses Corinth and Chalcis, the two bases from which he has dominated southern Greece. As the Aetolians occupy Thermopylae, Antigonus II is cut off from Athens and the Peloponnese.

title: 253 BC

text: With Aetolia now as its ally, the Achaean League under the command of Aratus of Sicyon repeatedly attacks Athens and Argos.

title: 239 BC

text: Aratus of Sicyon brings Argos into the Achaean League and then helps liberate Athens. This brings Aratus into conflict with Sparta.

title: 229 BC

text: First Mithridatic War: Siege of Athens (87–86 BC) – Sulla arrives in Greece and from Autumn besieges Athens. He orders Lucius Licinius Lucullus to raise a fleet from Rome's allies around the eastern Mediterranean.

title: 87 BC

text: March 1 – Siege of Athens (87–86 BC) ends when Sulla captures Athens from the Pontic army, removing the tyrant Aristion.

title: 86 BC

text: Cicero travels to Athens and then to Rhodes to continue his studies of philosophy and oratory.

title: 79 BC

text: Mark Antony leaves Alexandria. After receiving news of the outcome at Perusia while en route to Phoenicia, he sets sail for Italy meeting the ambassadors of Sextus Pompey in Athens.

title: 40 BC

text: Spring – Final War of the Roman Republic: Mark Antony transfers his headquarters from Samos to Athens, where he assembles a fleet of 500 combat vessels and 300 transport ships, crewed by 150,000 men.

title: 32 BC

text: Emperor Trajan sails from Rome to begin his expedition against Parthia. He arrives in Athens where Parthian envoys greet him with olive branches, a sign of peace.

title: AD 113

text: A monument to Philopappos, prince-in-exile of old Commagene (a buffer-state between Rome and Parthia) is erected in Athens.

title: AD 114

text: Emperor Hadrian begins to rebuild the Olympeion in Athens.

title: AD 124

text: The Temple of Olympian Zeus is completed at Athens.

title: AD 130

text: Arrian becomes archon in Athens.

title: AD 145

text: The Germans devastate the Balkans and ransack the sanctuary of Eleusis, near Athens.

title: AD 167

text: The Costoboci cross the Danube (Dacia) and ravage Thrace in the Balkan Peninsula. They reach Eleusina, near Athens, and destroy the temple of the Eleusinian Mysteries.

title: AD 170

text: The Costoboci cross the Danube (Dacia) and ravage Thrace in the Balkan Peninsula. They reach Eleusis, near Athens, and destroy the temple of the Eleusinian Mysteries.

title: AD 171

text: The Goths sack several cities of southern Greece including Athens, Corinth, Argos and Sparta. After the Sack of Athens, an Athenian militia force (2,000 men), under the historian Dexippus, pushes the invaders to the north where they are intercepted by the Roman army under emperor Gallienus. He wins an important victory near the Nestos River, on the boundary between Macedonia and Thrace.

title: 267

text: The Heruli capture Athens and raid the Aegean Islands as far as Crete and Rhodes.

title: 269

text: The Goths, led by Alaric, invade and devastate Thrace and Macedonia and impose a tribute on Athens.

title: 395

text: Greek Neoplatonist philosopher Proclus begins studying at the Academy in Athens.

title: 431

text: The Academy, originally founded at Athens by Plato around 387 BC, closes down by order of Justinian I, on charges of un-Christian activity. Many of the school's professors emigrate to Persia and Syria.

title: 529

text: Siege of Sirmium: The Avars, under their ruler (khagan) Bayan I, aided by Slavic auxiliary troops, capture the city of Sirmium after almost a 3-year siege. Bayan establishes a new base of operations within the Byzantine Empire, from which he plunders the Balkan Peninsula, including Athens.

title: 582

text: The Slavs push south on the Balkan Peninsula – partly in conjunction with the Avars under their ruler (khagan) Bayan I – ravaging the cities Athens and Corinth, and threatening the Long Walls of Constantinople.

title: 584

text: A Sicilian fleet (some 70 ships) under George of Antioch attacks Corfu, the island surrenders and welcomes the Normans as their liberators. Leaving a garrison of 1,000 men, George sails to the Peloponnesus. He pillages the cities of Corinth, Athens and Thebes. King Roger II begins an 11-year war between Sicily and the Byzantine Empire.

title: 1147

text: Othon de la Roche, a Burgundian nobleman, founds the Duchy of Athens (one of the Crusader states set up in Greece) and takes the title of "Grand Lord" (Megaskyr) in Athens.

title: 1205

text: March 18 – After Donato Acciaioli, Duke of Athens, rewards Captain Andrea Bembo for defending Athens against an Ottoman attack, Senate of the Republic of Venice votes to annex the Duchy of Athens.

title: 1395

text: June – Francesco II Acciaioli, last Duke of Athens, surrenders the city to the Ottoman Empire and Sultan Mehmed II enters peacefully in August. Ottoman authorities issue a decree to protect the Acropolis.

title: 1458

text: July 12 – In the fourth year of the Ottoman–Venetian War, Admiral Vettore Cappello of the Republic of Venice Navy lands on the Greek mainland at Piraeus and the Venetians begin marching toward Athens to free it from Ottoman control.

title: 1466

text: September 26 – Half of the Parthenon is destroyed in Athens after mortar shells are fired by Republic of Venice forces under the command of Francesco Morosini in a battle against the Ottoman Empire for control of the city. The strike ignites a stock of gunpowder that the Ottomans had stored inside the 2,200-year-old temple, which had been completed in 438 BC as a shrine to the goddess Athena. During the fighting September 23 and September 29 for control of the Acropolis in the Morean War, the Temple of Athena Nike is demolished and the Propylaea suffers damage.

title: 1687

text: April 9 – Morean War: The Venetian forces under Francesco Morosini evacuate Athens and Piraeus.

title: 1688

text: June 7 – Greek defenders in Athens surrender to Egyptian forces under the command of General Rashid Pasha.

title: 1827

text: September 18 – Athens becomes Greece's capital city, replacing the provisional capital of Nafplio.

title: 1834

text: September 15 (Sept. 3, O.S.) – A Popular uprising in Athens, Greece, including citizens and military captains, demands from King Otto a liberal Constitution from the state, which has been governed since independence (1830) by various domestic and foreign business interests.

title: 1843

text: March 30 – Prince Wilhelm George of Denmark is elected at the age of 17 by the Hellenic Parliament as George, King of the Hellenes; he will reign in Greece for 50 years. He arrives in Athens on October 30 to take the throne.

title: 1863

text: March 16 – The foundation stone for a new National Library of Greece is laid in Athens.

title: 1888

text: April 6 – The opening ceremonies of the 1896 Summer Olympics, the first modern Olympic Games, are held in Athens, Greece.

title: 1896

text: February 3 – Panathinaikos A.O., a well-known professional multi-sports club of Greece, is founded in Athens.

title: 1908

text: September 27 – Feast of the Cross according to the Old Calendar: a celestial cross appears over Athens, Greece, while the Greek police pursues a group of Greek Old Calendarists. The phenomenon lasts for half an hour.

title: 1925

text: May 30 – WWII: Manolis Glezos and Apostolos Santas tear down the Nazi swastika on the Acropolis in Athens and replace it with the Greek flag.

title: 1941

text: September 18 – In Athens, King Constantine II of Greece marries Princess Anne-Marie of Denmark, who becomes Europe's youngest Queen at age 18 years, 19 days.

title: 1964

text: August 5 – Black September members open fire at the Athens airport; 3 people are killed, 55 injured.

title: 1973

text: November 17 – The Athens Polytechnic uprising occurs against the military regime in Athens, Greece.

title: 1973

text: September 8 – TWA Flight 841 crashes into the Ionian Sea 18 minutes after takeoff from Athens on an Israel–New York flight after a bomb explodes in the cargo hold, and kills 88 people.

title: 1974

text: August 24 – Officers responsible for the military coup in Greece in 1967 are sentenced to death in Athens. The sentences are later commuted to life imprisonment.

title: 1975

text: November 2 – The worst storm in Athens' modern history causes havoc across the Greek capital and kills 38 people.

title: 1977

text: February 24 – A powerful magnitude earthquake hits Athens, killing 22 people, injuring 400 people and destroying several buildings and 4,000 houses, mostly in Corinth and the nearby towns of Loutraki, Kiato and Xylokastro.

title: 1981

text: June 14 – TWA Flight 847, carrying 153 passengers from Athens to Rome, is hijacked by a Hezbollah fringe group. One passenger, U.S. Navy Petty Officer Robert Stethem, is killed. Greek police arrest a 65-year-old Lebanese suspect on September 21, 2019.

title: 1985

text: September 5 – The International Olympic Committee picks Athens, Greece, to be the host city for the 2004 Summer Olympics.

title: 1997

text: August 13–29 – The 2004 Summer Olympics are held in Athens, Greece.

title: 2004

text: May 18–20 – The Eurovision Song Contest 2006 takes place in Athens, Greece, and is won by Finnish band entrant Lordi with the song "Hard Rock Hallelujah".

title: 2006


slug: atlanta

label: Atlanta

description: capital city of the U.S. state of Georgia and seat of Fulton County, also located in DeKalb County

text: Atlanta is fixed as the terminal of the Western and Atlantic Railroad; it is originally named Marthasville.

title: 1837

section: Events › Date unknown

date: August 31

text: August 31 – American Civil War: Union forces, led by General William T. Sherman, launch an assault on Atlanta.

title: 1864

section: Events › August

date: July 20

text: July 20 – Battle of Peachtree Creek – Near Atlanta, Confederate forces led by General John Bell Hood unsuccessfully attack Union troops under General William T. Sherman.

title: 1864

section: Events › July

date: October 5

text: October 5–December 31 – The International Cotton Exposition is held in Atlanta, Georgia, USA.

title: 1881

section: Events › October

date: October 13

text: October 13 – The Georgia Institute of Technology is established in Atlanta as the Georgia School of Technology.

title: 1885

section: Health & Medicine

date: January 15

text: January 15 – The Coca-Cola Company is originally incorporated as the Pemberton Medicine Company in Atlanta, Georgia.

title: 1889

section: Events › January

date: December

text: December – New York toy salesman Edwin S. Lowe popularizes Bingo after coming across the game of "Beano" in Atlanta, Georgia. After someone accidentally yells "bingo" instead of "beano" with a group of friends in Brooklyn, New York, he begins production of the game, going on to develop more than 6,000 card combinations under the E. S. Lowe company, as the popularity of the game grows to become a national pastime.

title: 1929

section: Events › December

date: December 15

text: December 15 – The epic historical romance film Gone with the Wind, starring Vivien Leigh, Clark Gable, Olivia de Havilland and Leslie Howard, premieres at Loew's Grand Theatre in Atlanta. Based on Margaret Mitchell's best-selling novel of 1936, it is the longest American film made up to this date (at nearly four hours) and rapidly becomes the highest-grossing film up to this time.

title: 1939

section: Disasters & Accidents

date: December 7

text: December 7 – The Winecoff Hotel fire in Atlanta, United States, kills 119.

title: 1946

date: June 3

text: June 3 – Air France Flight 007 (a Boeing 707) crashes on take-off at Orly Airport in Paris; 130 of 132 people on board are killed, 2 flight attendants survive. Most victims are cultural and civic leaders of Atlanta.

title: 1962

section: Events › June

date: September 18

text: September 18 – The International Olympic Committee awards the 1996 Summer Olympics to Atlanta.

title: 1990

section: Events › September

date: July 19

text: July 19 – The 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, Georgia, United States, begin.

title: 1996


slug: atlantic-ocean

label: Atlantic Ocean

description: ocean between Europe, Africa and the Americas

section: Geopolitics & Diplomacy

text: Ostrogothic King Theodoric the Great assumes the regency over Amalaric, his grandson and future king of the Visigothic Kingdom - Theodoric now rules over territory stretching from the Atlantic Ocean to the Adriatic Sea.

title: 511

section: Deaths

date: December 21

text: December 21 – Caliph Al-Mu'izz dies in Egypt after a 22-year reign in which he has extended his realm from Sicily to the Atlantic. He is succeeded by his son Al-Aziz Billah as ruler of the Fatimid Caliphate.

title: 975

section: Events › By place › Africa

section: Conflict & Security

text: After a series of defeats, the Almohad fleet under the admiral Ahmad al-Siqilli, crushes the Portuguese navy and reasserts its control over the Atlantic Ocean.

title: 1181

section: Events › Europe

date: November 28

text: November 28 – After navigating through the strait at the southern end of South America, three ships under the command of Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan reach the Pacific Ocean. Magellan thankful to find a peaceful sea after the dangerous trip through the strait, names the body of water "El Mar Pacifico" because of its pacifying waters. becoming the first Europeans to sail from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific (the strait is later named the Strait of Magellan).

title: 1520

section: Events › October–December

section: Science & Discovery

date: November 16

text: November 16 – An annular solar eclipse is visible in the southern Atlantic Ocean.

title: 1705

date: July 4

text: July 4 – At Rome, New York, construction on the Erie Canal begins in the U.S. to link the Hudson River to Lake Erie, with the long-range goal of making the first navigable waterway between the Atlantic Ocean and the Great Lakes, and reducing the amount of time and costs for transporting goods westward past the Appalachian mountains.

title: 1817

section: Events › July–September

date: December 6

text: December 6 – WWI: U.S. Navy destroyer is torpedoed and sunk in the Atlantic Ocean south west of the British Isles by German submarine , killing 66 crew in the first significant American naval loss of the war, the first ever U.S. destroyer loss to an enemy.

title: 1917

date: June 5

text: June 5 – Ernst Alexanderson sends the first facsimile across the Atlantic Ocean, which goes to his father in Sweden.

title: 1924

date: April 11

text: April 11 – Pan Am Flight 526A, Douglas DC-4 Clipper Endeavor, suffers failure of two engines and ditches in rough seas 11.3 miles (18 km) northwest of San Juan, Puerto Rico in the Atlantic Ocean, sinking in minutes; 52 of the 69 people on board die. After this accident the implementation of pre-flight safety demonstrations is recommended. The aircraft's wreckage will be discovered in 2026.

title: 1952

section: Events › March–April

date: July 23

text: July 23 – Telstar relays the first live trans-Atlantic television signal.

title: 1962

date: September 23

text: September 23 – Flying Tiger Line Flight 923, a Lockheed L-1049H Super Constellation registered as N6923C, ditched into the Atlantic Ocean killing 28 occupants out of 76 on board. The remaining 48 were rescued six hours later.

title: 1962

date: September 25

text: September 25 – Benoit Lecomte finishes his 72-day swim across the Atlantic Ocean, but uncertainty over the exact route and distance covered prevent him from being recognized as the first person to swim across the Atlantic.

title: 1998

date: November 15

text: November 15 – The Argentinian submarine ARA San Juan suddenly vanished with 44 crew members on board whilst on a routine patrol in the South Atlantic. It would be found one year later wrecked 907 m feet below the Atlantic Ocean.

title: 2017

section: Events › November

section: Climate & Environment

date: October 7

text: October 7 – Hurricane Milton becomes the fourth most intense hurricane in the Atlantic Basin, and the most intense storm in the Gulf of Mexico tying with Hurricane Rita in 2005. Milton is also the first hurricane to reach a pressure below 900 millibars in nearly 20 years.

title: 2024


slug: atropatene

label: Atropatene

description: ancient Iranian kingdom (c. 323 BC – 226 AD)

year_label: 220 BCE

text: Antiochus III the Great defeats Molon at the Tigris River, defeating and killing. Antiochus goes on to conquer Atropatene.

title: 220 BC

section: Events › By place › Seleucid Empire

year_label: 59 BCE

section: Births

text: Artavasdes I, king of Media Atropatene (approximate date)

title: 59 BC

year_label: 43 BCE

text: Iotapa, princess of Media Atropatene (daughter of Artavasdes I)

title: 43 BC

year_label: 20 BCE

title: 20 BC

text: King Hormizd I of Persia dies after a brief reign in which he has shown tolerance toward the ascetic, anti-materialist Manichean faith. He is succeeded by his brother Bahram I, who has been governing the province of Atropatene. Bahram proceeds to crush a rebellion by various vassal kings.

title: 273

section: Events › By place › Persia

text: Caesar Galerius restores Tiridates III to the throne of Armenia and invades the Sassanid Empire. His army marches through Adiabene, Atropatene, Susiana and Lower Mesopotamia. He then retakes the strategically important city of Nisibis in Upper Mesopotamia.

title: 298

section: Events › By place › Roman Empire

text: Peace of Nisibis: Emperor Diocletian signs a treaty with the Persian king Narseh that will last for 40 years. The Persians accept Roman dominion over Armenia, the Caucasus, and Upper Mesopotamia. The pro-Roman ruler Tiridates III receives all of Armenia as far as the border with Atropatene. Mirian III of the Kingdom of Iberia is made a Roman client, and at some point in time, as a result of the treaty, Caucasian Albania will follow suit. Rome also gains five satrapies beyond the Tigris, which are perhaps given to Tiridates to administer.

title: 299

text: Byzantine–Sassanid War: Emperor Maurice, seeing an opportunity to end the prolonged war to the advantage of Constantinople, assists Khosrau II to regain the Persian throne. He sends a Byzantine army (35,000 men) under Narses into Mesopotamia, through Syria. At the same time, an expeditionary force in Armenia advances through Caucasian Iberia into Media (modern Azerbaijan).

title: 591

section: Events › By place › Byzantine Empire


slug: attalus-i-soter

label: Attalus I Soter

year_label: 269 BCE

text: Attalus I Soter, ruler of Pergamon, from 241 to 197 BC. He will be the first of the Attalid dynasty to assume the title of king (d. 197 BC).

title: 269 BC

year_label: 241 BCE

text: Attalus I Soter succeeds his uncle, Eumenes I, to the throne of Pergamum. He defeats the Galatians at the Battle of the Caecus River.

title: 241 BC

section: Events › By place › Pergamum

year_label: 230 BCE

text: The city of Pergamum is attacked by the Galatians (Celts who have settled in central Anatolia) because the leader of Pergamum, Attalus I Soter, has refused to pay them the customary tribute. Attalus crushes his enemy in a battle outside the walls of his city and to mark the success he takes the title of king and the name Soter.

title: 230 BC

section: Events › By place › Asia Minor

year_label: 228 BCE

text: King Attalus I Soter of Pergamum defeats Antiochus Hierax (brother of the Seleucid king Seleucus II) in three battles and thereby gains control over all the Seleucid domains in Anatolia except Cilicia in the southeast.

title: 228 BC

year_label: 225 BCE

text: Seleucus III Ceraunus succeeds his father Seleucus II Callinicus as ruler of the Seleucid dynasty, and takes up the task of reconquering Pergamum in Anatolia from Attalus. However, Andromachus, the first general whom he sends, is decisively defeated and captured by Attalus.

title: 225 BC

year_label: 223 BCE

text: The Seleucid king Seleucus III is assassinated by members of his army while on campaign against Attalus of Pergamon in Phrygia.

title: 223 BC

text: Antiochus III's commander in Anatolia, Achaeus, having recovered all the districts which Attalus of Pergamum has gained, is accused by Hermeias, the chief minister of Antiochus, of intending to revolt. In self-defence, Achaeus assumes the title of king and rules over the Anatolian parts of the Seleucid kingdom.

title: 220 BC

section: Events › By place › Anatolia

year_label: 215 BCE

text: The Seleucid king, Antiochus III, crosses the Taurus Mountains, uniting his forces with Attalus of Pergamum and, in one campaign, deprives his rebel general, Achaeus, of all his dominions and takes Sardis (with the exception of the citadel).

title: 215 BC

year_label: 213 BCE

text: In alliance with Attalus I of Pergamum, Antiochus III finally captures the rebel king of Anatolia, Achaeus, in his capital, Sardis, after a siege of two years. Antiochus III then has Achaeus executed.

title: 213 BC

year_label: 210 BCE

text: After allying with Hannibal, Philip V of Macedon attacks the Roman positions in Illyria, but fails to take Corcyra or Apollonia, which are protected by the Roman fleet. Rome's command of the sea prevents his lending any effective aid to his Carthaginian ally in Italy. The Aetolians, Sparta and King Attalus of Pergamum join the Romans in the war against Philip V. This coalition is so strong that Philip V has to stop attacking Roman territory.

title: 210 BC

section: Events › By place › Greece

year_label: 200 BCE

text: The Acarnanians, with Macedonian support, invade Attica, causing Athens, which has previously maintained its neutrality, to seek help from the enemies of Philip. Attalus I of Pergamum, who is with his fleet at Aegina, receives an embassy from Athens asking him to come to the city for consultations. After he is told that Roman ambassadors are also in Athens, Attalus goes there in haste.

title: 200 BC

section: Exploration & Expansion

text: The Roman consul, Publius Sulpicius Galba Maximus, asks Attalus I and his fleet to meet up with the Roman fleet off the Greek Aegean coast and they conduct a naval campaign against Philip V, harassing Macedonian possessions in and along the Aegean.

title: 200 BC

year_label: 197 BCE

text: Eumenes II becomes King of Pergamum following the death of his father Attalus I Soter.

title: 197 BC

text: Attalus I Soter, ruler of Pergamum from 241 BC, who has taken on the title of king after about 230 BC. Through his military and diplomatic skills, he has created a powerful kingdom in Anatolia (b. 269 BC)

title: 197 BC


slug: attica

label: Attica

description: historical region of Greece, including the city of Athens

year_label: 480 BCE

section: Conflict & Security

text: Breaking through the pass at Thermopylae from Macedonia into Greece, the Persians occupy Attica.

title: 480 BC

text: Antiphon, Attic orator (d. 411 BC)

title: 480 BC

year_label: 446 BCE

text: Megara joins the revolt against Athens. The strategic importance of Megara is immediately demonstrated by the appearance, for the first time in 12 years, of a Spartan army under King Pleistoanax in Attica. The threat from the Spartan army leads Pericles to arrange, by bribery and by negotiation, that Athens will give up its mainland possessions and confine itself to a largely maritime empire.

title: 446 BC

year_label: 431 BCE

text: The Spartans, led by King Archidamus II, invade Attica effectively starting the first phase of the Peloponnesian War, actually the second of such wars, between the Athens-led Delian League and the Sparta-led Peloponnesian League. The Spartans lay waste to the countryside around Athens. Athenian leader, Pericles, does not seriously oppose them, rather withdrawing the rural population of the country districts within Athens' city walls. Instead, he pursues active naval warfare and reduces any danger from the island of Aegina by replacing its native population with Athenians.

title: 431 BC

year_label: 430 BCE

text: The army of Sparta loots Attica for a second time, but Pericles is not daunted and refuses to revise his initial strategy. Unwilling to engage the Spartan army in battle, he again leads a naval expedition to plunder the coasts of the Peloponnesus, this time taking 100 Athenian ships with him.

title: 430 BC

year_label: 415 BCE

text: Alcibiades openly joins with the Spartans and persuades them to send Gylippus to assist Syracuse and to fortify Decelea in Attica. He also encourages Ionia to revolt against Athens. As a result, a Spartan fleet soon arrives to reinforce their allies in Syracuse and a stalemate ensues.

title: 415 BC

year_label: 403 BCE

text: Thrasybulus leads the democratic resistance to the new oligarchic government, known as the Thirty Tyrants, that the victorious Spartans have imposed on Athens. He commands a small force of exiles that invades Attica and, in successive battles, defeats first a Spartan garrison and then the forces of the oligarchic government (which includes the Spartan general, Lysander) in the Battle of Munychia. The leader of the Thirty Tyrants, Critias, is killed in the battle.

title: 403 BC

year_label: 393 BCE

section: Geopolitics & Diplomacy

text: Pharnabazus dispatches Conon with substantial funds and a large part of the fleet to Attica, where he joins in the rebuilding of the long walls from Athens to Piraeus, a project that had been initiated by Thrasybulus in the previous year. The construction is soon completed and Athens quickly takes advantage of its walls and its fleet to seize the islands of Scyros, Imbros, and Lemnos, on which it establishes cleruchies (citizen colonies).

title: 393 BC

year_label: 307 BCE

text: At the beginning of June (the 26th day of the Attic month of Thargelion: Plut. Dem. 8,3) Demetrius, son of Antigonus, launches a surprise attack on Pireaus, Athens' harbour; his forces are able to secure control of the entire port city, except the fortress on the Munychia which remains in the hands of Dionysius, the commander of Cassander's garrison in Athens.

title: 307 BC

year_label: 304 BCE

text: Cassander invades Attica and besieges Athens. He captures the island of Salamis off the coast of Athens.

title: 304 BC

title: 200 BC

year_label: 134 BCE

text: Caius Fulvius Flaccus, as consul, is sent against the slaves. Uprising of 4,000 slaves crushed at Sinuessa, in Campania. Slave uprisings repressed in Attic silver mines and on the island of Delos.

title: 134 BC

section: Events › By place › Roman Republic

year_label: 32 BCE

text: Sparta under Caius Iulius Eurycles, whose father Antony had been ordered to be executed for piracy, declares his support for Octavian. Lappa (modern Argyroupoli) in Attica and Kydonia in Crete revolt against Cleopatra.

title: 32 BC

date: March 15

text: March 15 – The Battle of Halmyros is fought in Greece as the mercenaries of the Catalan Company defeat the Latin forces (some 15,000 men), and their allies under Walter V at Halmyros (southern Thessaly). After the battle, they take control of the Duchy of Athens. Later, Catalan forces peacefully occupy all of Attica and Boeotia, which they rule as part of Greece (until the 1380s).

title: 1311

section: Events › January – March


slug: attila

label: Attila

description: 5th-century ruler of the Hunnic Empire

text: Attila the Hun, ruler of the Hunnic Empire (approximate date) (d. 453)

title: 406

section: Crime & Justice

text: Attila, age 2, is sent as a child hostage to the court at Rome and in return, the Romans send Flavius Aetius to the Huns.

title: 408

text: Attila, king of the Huns, consolidates his power in the Hungarian capital, probably on the site of Buda (modern Budapest). He jointly rules the kingdom with his brother Bleda.

title: 434

section: Events › By place › Europe

text: End of the Burgundian Revolt of Gunther: Flavius Aetius, Roman general (magister militum), attempts to put an end to Burgundian raids in Gaul. He calls in Hun mercenaries under the command of Attila and his brother Bleda, which plunder Augusta Vangionum, killing some 20,000 Burgundians. The Kingdom of the Burgundians is destroyed; King Gunther and his family are killed (this epic disaster will later provide the source for the Nibelungenlied).

title: 436

text: Winter – Hun and Roman envoys meet at Margum (modern Bosnia and Herzegovina), an important market town on the Sava River. After negotiations, Attila and his brother Bleda, who are present, accept a four-point peace plan. Trading rights between the two states are confirmed and emperor Theodosius II pays an annual tribute of 700 pounds of gold.

title: 439

section: Events › By place › Byzantium

text: The Huns under Attila reappear in force, along the frontier of the Western Roman Empire. They attack merchants on the north bank of the Danube and cities in Illyricum, including (according to Priscus) Viminacium, city of Moesia.

title: 440

text: The Huns, led by Attila, attack Constanţa (modern Romania), one of the few remaining Roman forts on the northern bank of the Danube, and designated as a secure trading post. On a crowded market day, the Huns take the town by surprise and slaughter the garrison.

title: 441

text: Attila the Hun establishes his residence along the Tisza River (modern Hungary), and plans the coming campaign in the Balkans.

title: 444

section: Deaths

text: Bleda, co-ruler of the Huns, dies in a hunting accident. He is possibly murdered at the instigation of his younger brother Attila, with whom he has ruled since 434. Now about 39, Attila takes the throne for himself, and becomes king of the Hunnic Empire.

title: 445

text: The Britons and Anglo-Saxon mercenaries, under King Vortigern, appeal to Flavius Aetius (magister militum of Gaul) for military assistance in their struggle against the Picts and Irish. Aetius has enough problems with Attila the Hun and is unable to send any help (according to Groans of the Britons).

title: 446

text: The Huns, led by Attila, cross the Danube, and invade the Balkans as far as Thermopylae (Greece). During the invasion, Serdica (modern Sofia) is destroyed. For disobeying the terms of the treaty made in 442, Attila triples his demand for tribute to 2,100 pounds (ca. 700 kg) of gold per year; and the ransom for each Roman prisoner to 12 solidi.

title: 447

text: Emperor Theodosius II sends an embassy to Attila the Hun; Anatolius, an Eastern Roman general (magister militum) responsible for the security of the Eastern frontier, achieves a peace treaty with the Huns, in exchange for an annual tribute of 2100 lb kg of gold per year.

title: 448

text: Emperor Valentinian III sends an emissary to Attila the Hun. The purpose of the meeting is a long-running dispute over spoils of war during the Danube offensive (441–442). Attila claims his lost property, but Valentinian and Flavius Aetius (magister militum) refuse this request.

title: 449

text: Spring – Attila gathers his vassals—Bastarnae, Gepids, Heruls, Ostrogoths, Rugians, Scirians and Thuringians (among others), and smashes through Germany, causing widespread panic and destruction. He arrives in Belgica with an army (50,000 men) and crosses the Rhine.

title: 451

text: The Huns under Attila invade Northern Italy. Emperor Valentinian III flees from Ravenna to Rome, and sends Pope Leo I to persuade Attila to return to the Hungarian Plain. The cities of Aquileia, Padua and Verona are destroyed by the Huns. Milan is saved because Attila is offered a huge amount of gold. Flavius Aetius (magister militum) is unable to raise a new army against him.

title: 452

text: c. March – Attila the Hun is found dead in bed, after a wedding feast with the Goth princess Ildico. He dies of a nosebleed at his Hungarian stronghold, drowning in his own blood, aged about 47. The Huns celebrate a strava (lamentation) over his burial place with great feasting. Attila's son Ellac is appointed successor, but his brothers Dengizich and Ernakh divide the Hunnic Empire by establishing their own kingdoms north of the Black Sea (Ukraine), supported by vassal states.

title: 453

text: c. March – Attila, ruler of the Huns (b. 406)

title: 453

text: Battle of Nedao: Allied forces of subjected peoples (Gepids, Heruli, Ostrogoths, Rugii, Sciri and Suebi), under the leadership of King Ardaric, defeat the Huns under Ellac, eldest son of Attila the Hun, in Pannonia. Ellac is killed during the battle and succeeded by his brother Dengizich.

title: 454

text: Dengizich, son of Attila the Hun, sends an embassy to Constantinople to demand money. Leo I offers the Huns settlement in Thrace in exchange for recognition of his authority. Dengizich refuses and crosses the Danube.

title: 468

text: King Ernakh, third son of Attila the Hun, dies after a 34-year reign. He is succeeded by his two sons (Utigur and Kutrigur), who share the power with the unified Bulgars.

title: 503

section: Events › Europe


slug: augsburg

label: Augsburg

description: city in Bavaria, Germany

year_label: 15 BCE

text: The Raeti tribes of the Alps are subjugated by Tiberius and Nero Claudius Drusus and the new Roman province of Raetia is established with Chur (in modern-day Switzerland) as its capital. During the campaign, Roman triremes destroy the fleet of the Vindelici in the Battle of Lake Constance. Augsburg is founded as Augusta Vindelicorum; and Legio XXI Rapax is stationed at Regensburg in the new province.

title: 15 BC

text: Aetius campaign in the Alps: Flavius Aetius, Roman general (magister militum), fights the rebellion in Rhaetia (Switzerland) and Noricum (Austria). He is attested in the city of Vindelicia (modern Augsburg), reestablishing Roman rule on the Danube frontier.

title: 431

section: Religion & Belief

text: The Hungarians besiege Augsburg in Bavaria, then conquer the monastery of St. Gallen (modern Switzerland). After an unsuccessful battle with the locals, they burn the suburbs of Konstanz, then they cross westwards and defeat a Frankish army led by Duke Liutfred of Alsace.

title: 926

text: Summer – At the Reichstag in Augsburg (assembled by King Otto I), joined by German nobles and bishops, Berengar of Ivrea pays homage. He becomes a vassal of the East Frankish Kingdom. Otto leaves a strong garrison at Pavia in the hands of his son-in-law Conrad the Red, duke of Lotharingia.

title: 952

text: Summer – Liudolf, duke of Swabia, and his brother-in-law Conrad the Red rebel against King Otto I. Otto and his army fail to capture the cities of Mainz and Augsburg. He declares Liudolf and Conrad as outlaws in absentia. His brother Bruno I, archbishop of Cologne, restores royal authority in Lorraine, but some of the rebellious dukes receive support from the Hungarians. They seize the opportunity to invade Bavaria.

title: 953

date: August 10

text: August 10 – Battle of Lechfeld: King Otto I ("the Great") defeats the Hungarians (also known as Magyars) near Augsburg (Germany). Otto's army (7,000 men), mainly composed of heavy cavalry, overwhelms the Hungarians along the Lech River. The German losses are heavy, among them Conrad ("the Red") and many other nobles. The commanders of the Hungarian army, Bulcsú, Lehel and Súr, are captured and executed. This victory puts an end to the Hungarian campaigns into western Europe.

title: 955

text: Winter – Henry II (anxious to be crowned as Holy Roman Emperor) mobilises a German expeditionary army at Augsburg, to begin his second Italian military campaign.

title: 1013

section: Culture & Society

date: October 29

text: October 29 – The 18-year-old Prince Henry, eldest surviving son of Frederick I, is engaged to Princess Constance, heiress to the Kingdom of Sicily, at Augsburg in the episcopal palace.

title: 1184

date: March 9

text: March 9 – Augsburg is granted the status of a free imperial city. Later this year, Ravensburg also receives the status.

title: 1276

section: Events › By topic › Cities and towns

text: The first printing of Thomas à Kempis' The Imitation of Christ (De Imitatione Christi) is made in Augsburg after Kempis's death in 1471 it will reach 100 editions and translations by the end of the century.

title: 1472

section: Events › Undated

text: Conrad of Megenberg's book, Buch der Natur, is published in Augsburg.

title: 1475

section: Events › Date unknown

date: June 22

text: June 22 – The first known book printed by a woman, Anna Rügerin, is an edition of Eike of Repgow's compendium of customary law, the Sachsenspiegel, produced in Augsburg.

title: 1484

section: Events › April–June

date: May 14

text: May 14 – At Augsburg, Maximilian, King of the Romans, grants an audience to Sir Christopher Urswick, the Kingdom of England's ambassador to the Empire, and informs his advisers that he believes the Ambassador is a spy gathering intelligence on the Empire's intentions toward England. Zacharia Contarini, the Empire's ambassador to France, then sends the report to the Doge of the Republic of Venice, Agostino Barbarigo.

title: 1496

text: Gun barrel rifling is invented in Augsburg, Bavaria.

title: 1498

date: July 28

text: July 28 – At Augsburg, Maximilian I, Germany's King of the Romans signs a treaty with representatives of King Henry VII of England, agreeing not to provide assistance to English rebels.

title: 1502

section: Events › July–September

section: Science & Discovery

text: Paolo Ricci (Camillo Renato) moves to Augsburg.

title: 1514

section: Technology & Infrastructure

text: Fuggerei is established in Augsburg (Bavaria), as the world's oldest social housing complex still in use.

title: 1516

date: August 20

text: August 20 – Sixty Anabaptists meet at the Martyrs' Synod in Augsburg.

title: 1527

date: April 8

text: April 8 – At the invitation of the Holy Roman Emperor, the members of the Imperial Diet open their session at Augsburg in Germany to prepare the Augsburg Confession, an official imperial set of rules for Protestantism.

title: 1530

date: January 21

text: January 21 – Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor, issues letters from his winter residence in Bologna, inviting members of the Imperial Diet to convene at Augsburg on April 8 to discuss various theological questions.

title: 1530

section: Events › January–March

text: April 8 – Maurice, Elector of Saxony, liberates Augsburg and sets about to capture Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor.

title: 1552

text: The Welser banking families of Augsburg lose colonial control of Venezuela.

title: 1556

date: July 10

text: July 10 – The German Catholic League is formed in Munich by Maximilian I, Elector of Bavaria to counteract the Protestant Union. Maximilian assembles representatives from Augsburg, Konstanz, Passau, Regensburg, and Würzburg in an alliance "for the defense of the Catholic religion and peace" within the Holy Roman Empire.

title: 1609