year_label: 429 BCE

text: The Athenian admiral Phormio has two naval victories, the Naupactus and the Battle of Rhium at the mouth of the Corinthian Gulf. In the first battle, his 20 ships defeat 47 Corinthian ships commanded by Machaon, Isocrates, and Agatharchidas that were advancing to reinforce the Spartan general, Cnemus's campaign in Acarnania. In the second battle, Phormio routs Cnemus's 77-vessel fleet.


section: Conflict & Security

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.

source_section: Events › By place › Greece


text: The Athenians, in alliance with Polichne, destroy the Cretan city of Kydonia.


section: Health & Medicine

text: The plague in Athens that is killing thousands of the city's inhabitants, claims Pericles. Cleon, who has headed the opposition to Pericles's rule, succeeds to power in Athens following Pericles's death.


section: Births

text: Ateas, king of Scythia (d. 339 BC)

source_section: Births


section: Deaths

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

source_section: Deaths


year_label: 430 BCE

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


section: Exploration & Expansion

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.


section: Religion & Belief

text: Traditional date where scholars believe the Hebrew prophet known as Malachi writes the 39th and last book, and last of the prophetic books, of the Old Testament of the Biblical canon, the Book of Malachi. Biblical books written between now and the millennium will not be included in the Hebrew Bible and in some Christian traditions considered Biblical apocrypha.

source_section: Events › By topic › Religion


text: Polyclitus completes one of his greatest statues, the Diadumenos (Diadem-bearer).

source_section: Events › By topic › Art


text: Pericles becomes ill from the plague but he recovers, temporarily. He is deposed from his position as General (or Strategos) but is later reappointed.


section: Culture & Society

text: Approximate date – Sophocles' drama Oedipus Rex is first performed in Athens.


text: Empedocles, Greek philosopher (approximate date) (b. c. 490 BC)


text: Zeno of Elea, Greek philosopher (approximate date) (b. c. 490 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.


text: Phidias, Greek sculptor (approximate date) (b. c. 480 BC)


year_label: 44 BCE

date: April

section: Geopolitics & Diplomacy

text: April – Octavian returns from Apollonia in Dalmatia to Rome to take up Caesar's inheritance, against advice from Atia (his mother and Caesar's niece) and consul Antony.

source_title: 44 BC

source_section: Events › By place › Roman Republic


date: June

text: June – Antony is granted a five-year governorship of northern and central Transalpine Gaul (France) and Cisalpine Gaul (Northern Italy).


text: Comosicus succeeds Burebista as king of Dacia.

source_section: Events › By place › Europe


text: Consuls: Gaius Julius Caesar and Mark Antony.


date: March 15

text: March 15 (the Ides of March) – Julius Caesar, dictator of Rome, is assassinated by a group of senators, amongst them Gaius Cassius Longinus, Marcus Junius Brutus, and Caesar's Massilian naval commander, Decimus Brutus.


date: December

text: December – Antony besieges Brutus Albinus in Mutina (Modena), with Octavian, an ally of Decimus, who is one of his uncle's assassins, close by.


date: September 2

text: September 2 – Pharaoh Cleopatra VII of Egypt declares her son co-ruler as Ptolemy XV Caesarion.


date: March 20

section: Crime & Justice

text: March 20 – Caesar's funeral is held. Marcus Antony gives a eulogy and in his speech he makes accusations of murder and ensures a permanent breach with the conspirators against Caesar. He snatches Caesar's bloody tunic and purple toga to show the crowd the stab wounds; the citizens tear apart the forum and cremate their Caesar on a makeshift pyre. Antony becomes the highest ranking politician in Rome.


date: February

text: February – Rome celebrates the festival of the Lupercal. Mark Antony twice presents Caesar with a royal diadem, urging him to take it and declare himself king. He refuses this offer and orders the crown to be placed in the Temple of Jupiter.


date: April 18

text: April 18–April 21 – Octavian engages in a charm offensive with consular Cicero who is fulminating against Mark Antony.


text: September 2 – The first of Cicero's Philippicae (oratorical attacks) on Antony is published. He will make 14 of them over the next several months.


text: Gnaeus Calpurnius Piso, Roman statesman, consul and governor (d. 20 AD)


text: March 15 – Julius Caesar, Roman politician and general (assassinated in the Theatre of Pompey) (b. 100 BC)


text: Burebista, Thracian king of the Getae and Dacian tribes


text: Publius Servilius Vatia Isauricus, Roman consul


text: Lucius Caninius Gallus, Roman politician, tribune


text: Publius Sittius, Roman mercenary commander


text: c. August – Ptolemy XIV, king (pharaoh) of Egypt (presumed murdered) (b. c. 59 BC)


year_label: 431 BCE

text: A Theban raid on Plataea, the only pro-Athenian city in Boeotia, is a failure and the Plataeans take 180 prisoners and put them to death. Athens supports Plataea while Sparta aligns itself with Thebes. Sparta enlists the help of the Greek cities in Italy and Sicily. Both Sparta and Athens appeal to Persia, but without result.


text: The Athenian fleet raids the Peloponnese and pilages the area around Methone. The town is saved through an intervention by the Spartan general Brasidas. The Athenians then sail on laying waste to the coastal areas of the western Peloponnese.


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.


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.


text: The Romans defeat the Aequi and the Volsci at the Battle of Mount Algidus.


section: Science & Discovery

text: The Greek philosopher Empedocles distinguishes the four elements - earth, fire, water, and air - that he claims all substances are made of. He explains the development of the universe by the forces of attraction and repulsion known as Love and Strife.

source_section: Events › By topic › Science


text: Euripides' play Medea wins third prize at the Dionysia, the famous Athenian dramatic festival.

source_section: Events › By topic › Literature


text: Xenophon, Athenian Greek mercenary and writer (d. c. 354 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.


year_label: 432 BCE

text: The Greek colony of Heraclea in Southern Italy is founded by colonists from Tarentum and Thurii.

source_section: Events › By place › Italy


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.


text: Meton of Athens, a Greek mathematician and astronomer, calculates accurately the comparative chronology of the solar and lunar cycles. As a result, he introduces the 19-year Metonic cycle into the Athenian calendar as a method of calculating dates. Working with Euctemon, he observes the summer solstice on 27 June.

source_section: Events › By topic › Astronomy


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

source_section: Events › By topic › Architecture


text: The Chinese Marquis Yi of Zeng is buried (approximate date) with lavish tomb items including a 65 set of bronze bells (bianzhong) with five octave musical scale and two musical tones that can be produced by each bell. Marquis Yi was from the State of Chu during the Warring States phase of the Zhou dynasty.

source_section: Events › By place › China


text: Dionysius, tyrant of Syracuse (d. 367 BC) (approximate birth date)


year_label: 433 BCE

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.


text: The Corinthians, upset by Athens' actions, lobby Sparta to take action against Athens. This appeal is backed by Megara (which is being severely affected by Pericles' economic sanctions) and by Aegina (which is being heavily taxed by Pericles and which has been refused home rule).


text: Pericles renews alliances with the Rhegium on the southwest corner of Italy and Leontini in southeast Sicily, threatening Sparta's food supply route from Sicily.


text: A set of sixty-five bells, from the Tomb of Marquis Yi of Zeng (Zhou dynasty) in Suixian, Hubei, is made. It is now preserved at the Hubei Provincial Museum in Wuhan.


text: Zeng Hou Yi, marquis of the state of Zeng, subordinate to Chu


year_label: 434 BCE

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.


section: Economy & Finance

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.


text: Anaxagoras is arrested by Pericles' political opponents on a charge of contravening the established dogmas of Athenian religion. It takes Pericles' power of oratory and persuasion to secure his release, and even then, he is fined and forced to retire from Athens to Lampsacus in Ionia.


text: While in prison, Anaxagoras tries to square the circle with straightedge and compasses.

source_section: Events › By topic › Mathematics


year_label: 435 BCE

text: A dispute arises between Epidamnus' oligarchs and democratic forces in the Greek colony. Most of the colony's inhabitants originate from Corinth or Corcyra (Corfu). Epidamnus' oligarchs are exiled and then appeal to Corcyra for help, while the democrats enlist the support of Corinth. Corcyra is then attacked by Corinth as the dispute heats up.


text: Forces of the Roman Republic, led by dictator Quintus Servilius Priscus, captured the nearby city of Fidenae by tunneling in through the hill the town was built upon. He was awarded the cognomen 'Fidenas' as a reward for his success.


text: A gold and ivory statue of Zeus, king of the gods, is completed at Elis by the Athenian sculptor Phidias for the Temple of Zeus at Olympia. The statue becomes one of the Seven Wonders of the World. The Olympian Zeus is about seven times life size (or 13 metres) and occupies the full height of the temple.


text: Philoxenus of Cythera, Greek dithyrambic poet (d. 380 BC)


year_label: 436 BCE

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.


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


text: Artaxerxes II, king of Persia (approximate date) (d. 358 BC)


text: Zengcius, Chinese philosopher (b. 505 BC)


year_label: 437 BCE

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.


section: Technology & Infrastructure

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.


year_label: 438 BCE

text: The city of Capua falls to the Samnites.


text: The colossal statue of the Athena Parthenos, which Phidias has made for the Parthenon, is completed and dedicated. It is made of gold and ivory and stands some 12 metres high.


text: Telephus, a play by the renowned playwright Euripides, is produced in Athens. This tragedy did not survive to modern times.


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


text: Three seated Goddesses (possibly Hestia, Dione and Aphrodite), from the east pediment of the Parthenon, are made (finished in 432 BC). They are now kept at The British Museum in London.


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).


text: The Ionic frieze on the north side of the Parthenon, is created (finished in 432 BC). Parts of this frieze are now preserved in museums in Europe, including the Horsemen (at the British Museum, London), and the Marshals and Young Women (now at Musée du Louvre, Paris), which once formed part of the Procession on the frieze.


text: Cincinnatus, Roman politician, consul and dictator (b. 519 BC)


year_label: 439 BCE

text: Lucius Quinctius Cincinnatus is made dictator of the Roman Republic for a second time to deal with the Maelius controversy. He appoints Gaius Servilius Ahala as his Master of the Horse.


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.


text: Maelius is summoned before Cincinnatus but refuses to appear. Shortly thereafter, Maelius is killed by Gaius Servilius Ahala and his house is burnt to the ground.


section: Climate & Environment

text: Spurius Maelius, a wealthy Roman plebeian, tries to buy popular support with the aim of making himself king. During the severe famine affecting Rome, he buys up a large store of grain and sells it at a low price to the people of Rome – the first time this had been done in Rome. This leads Lucius Minucius, the patrician praefectus annonae ("president of the market"), to accuse Maelius of seeking to take over the government.


text: Spurius Maelius - was the youngest man to ever attempt taking over Rome


year_label: 440 BCE

text: Zhou Kao Wang becomes king of the Zhou dynasty of China.


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.


text: A temple for Poseidon is erected in Sounion.


text: Democritus proposes the existence of indivisible particles, which he calls atoms.

source_section: Events › By topic › Physics


text: Polykleitos completes one of his greatest statues, the Doryphorus (The Spear Bearer) (approximate date).


text: The stela, Demeter, Persephone and Triptolemos, from Eleusis, is made (approximate date). It is now kept at the National Archaeological Museum of Athens.


text: Cynisca, Greek princess of Sparta


text: Ducetius, a Hellenized leader of the Sicels and founder of a united Sicilian state


text: Ezra, Jewish scribe and priest (b. c. 480 BCE)


text: Amestris, Achaemenid queen (approximate date)


year_label: 45 BCE

text: Fourth consulship of Gaius Julius Caesar (without colleague).

source_title: 45 BC


date: March 17

text: March 17 – Civil War: In his last victory, Julius Caesar defeats the Pompeian forces of Titus Labienus and Pompey the younger in the Battle of Munda. Labienus dies in battle, Pompey the younger is executed, but Sextus Pompey escapes to take command of the remnants of the Pompeian fleet.


text: The veterans of Julius Caesar's Legions Legio XIII Gemina and Legio X Equestris demobilize. The veterans of the 10th legion are settled in Narbo, while those of the 13th are given somewhat better lands in Italia itself.


text: Caesar probably writes his Commentaries in this year.


text: Caesar is named dictator for life.


text: Possible first year of the Azes I Era.

source_section: Events › By place › Asia


date: January 1

text: January 1 – The Julian calendar takes effect as the civil calendar of the Roman Empire, establishing a solar calendar that is based on the Egyptian calendar of the day.


text: Wang Mang, usurper of the Han dynasty and emperor of the Xin dynasty (d. AD 23)


text: Iullus Antonius, son of Mark Antony and Fulvia; consul 10 BC (d. 2 BC)


text: February – Tullia, daughter of Cicero (b. 79 BC or 78 BC)


text: March 17 – Publius Attius Varus, Roman governor (killed in the Battle of Munda)


text: March 17 – Titus Labienus, Roman general (killed in the Battle of Munda) (b. c. 100 BC)


date: April 12

text: April 12 – Gnaeus Pompeius, son of Pompey the Great (executed after the Battle of Munda)


date: December 31

text: December 31 – Quintus Fabius Maximus, Roman general and politician


text: Nigidius Figulus, Roman scholar (b. 98 BC)


text: Publius Cornelius Sulla, Roman politician


year_label: 441 BCE

text: The Greek playwright Sophocles writes Antigone.


text: The Greek playwright, Euripides, wins his first victory in a dramatic festival.


text: King Si of Zhou, 30th king of the Zhou dynasty of China


text: King Ai of Zhou, 29th king of the Zhou dynasty of China


text: Zhou Ai Wang becomes king of the Zhou dynasty of China but dies before the year's end, to be succeeded by Zhou Si Wang.


text: King Zhending of Zhou, 28th king of the Zhou dynasty of China


year_label: 442 BCE

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.


text: Zhou zhen ding wang, king of the Zhou dynasty of China


year_label: 443 BCE

text: Pericles founds the colony of Thurii near the site of the former city of Sybaris, in southern Italy. Its colonists include Herodotus and Lysias.


text: No consuls are elected in Rome, but rather military tribunes with consular power are appointed in their stead. While only patricians could be consuls, some military tribunes were plebeians. These positions had responsibility for the census, a vital function in the financial administration of Rome. So to stop the plebeians from possibly gaining control of the census, the patricians remove from the consuls and tribunes the right to take the census, and rather entrust it to two magistrates, called censores who were to be chosen exclusively from the patricians in Rome.


text: Pindar, Greek poet (b. 522 BC)


text: Duke Ligong of Qin, 22nd ruler of the Zhou dynasty


year_label: 444 BCE

text: Nehemiah, the Jewish cupbearer to Artaxerxes I at Susa, is given permission by Artaxerxes to return to Jerusalem as governor of Judea, in order to rebuild parts of it.

source_section: Events › By place › Persian empire


text: Udayin, king of Magadha in ancient India.


year_label: 445 BCE

text: The Plebeians demand the right to stand for election as consul but the Roman senate refused to grant them this right. Ultimately, a compromise is reached, and consular command authority is granted to Consular Tribunes ("Military Tribunes with Consular powers" or tribuni militares consulari potestate).


text: A new law, the Lex Canuleia removes the ban on inter-marriage of the Roman classes, i.e. plebeian with patrician.


text: Approximate date – Antisthenes, Athenian philosopher (d. c.365 BC)


year_label: 446 BCE

text: After hearing that the Spartan army had accepted bribes from Pericles, Pleistoanax, the King of Sparta, is impeached by the citizens of Sparta, but flees to exile in Arcadia. His military adviser, Cleandridas also flees and is condemned to death in his absence.

source_section: Events › By place › Greece


text: Acragas declares war on Syracuse because of the return of Ducetius and is defeated by Syracuse in the Battle of the Himera River.

source_section: Events › By place › Sicily


text: In the Battle of Corbione, Titus Quinctius Capitolinus Barbatus leads Roman troops to a victory over the Aequi of north-east Latium and the Volsci of southern Latium.


text: The Spartan army retires, so Pericles crosses back to Euboea with 50 ships and 5,000 soldiers, cracking down any opposition. He punishes the landowners of Chalcis, who lose their properties, while the residents of Histiaea are uprooted and replaced by 2,000 Athenian settlers.


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.


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.


text: Ducetius, the Hellenised leader of the Siculi, an ancient people of Sicily, returns from exile in Corinth to Sicily and colonises Cale Acte on the north coast with Greek and Siculi settlers.


text: Aristophanes, Greek playwright (approximate year) (d. c. 385 BC)

source_section: Births


text: Marcus Furius Camillus, Roman soldier and statesman (traditional date) (d. 365 BC)


text: Cleinias, a close relative of Roman politician and military commander Alcibiades. (approximate year) (b. disputed)

source_section: Deaths


year_label: 447 BCE

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.


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.


text: The middle component of the Long Walls from Athens to the port of Piraeus is completed.


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.

source_section: Events › By subject › Architecture


text: Achaeus of Eretria, a Greek playwright, produces his first play.

source_section: Events › By subject › Literature


year_label: 448 BCE

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


text: Following the co-optation of two patricians to the office of Tribune of the Plebs, the tribune Lucius Trebonius Asper introduces the Lex Trebonia, a law forbidding tribunes from co-opting their colleagues in the future.

source_section: Events › By place › Rome


text: The Athenians begin constructing the middle component of the Long Walls from their main city to its port of Piraeus.


text: Bardyllis, king of Dardania (d. 358 BC)


year_label: 449 BCE

text: Pericles proposes the "Papyrus Decree" allowing the use of 5,000 talents to finance the massive rebuilding program of Athenian temples. This leads to a meeting ("Congress") of all Greek states in order to consider the question of rebuilding the temples destroyed by the Persians. The Congress fails because of Sparta's opposition.


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.


text: When the Decemvirate's term of office expires, the decemviri refuse to leave office or permit successors to take office. Appius Claudius Crassus is said to have made an unjust decision which would have forced a young woman named Verginia into prostitution, prompting her father to kill her. This leads to an uprising against the Decemvirate forcing the decemviri to resign their offices. The ordinary magistrates (magistratus ordinarii) are re-instituted. Appius Claudius is said to have committed suicide as a result of these events.


text: Herodotus completes his History, which records the events concerning the Persian War.


text: The Law of the Twelve Tables (developed by the Decemvirates) is formally promulgated in 450 B.C. The Twelve Tables are literally drawn up on twelve ivory tablets which are posted in the Forum Romanum so that all Romans can read and know them.


text: Pericles begins a great building plan including the re-fortification of Athens main port Piraeus and its long walls extending to Athens main city.


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.


text: The Second Sacred War erupts between Athens and Sparta, when Sparta forcefully detaches Delphi from Phocis and renders it independent.


text: Appius Claudius Crassus, former decemvir (suicide)


year_label: 450 BCE

text: The success of the first Decemvirate prompts the appointment of a second Decemvirate which also includes plebeians amongst its members. This second decemviri adds two more headings to their predecessor's ten, completing the Law of the Twelve Tables (Lex Duodecim Tabularum), which will form the centrepiece of Roman law for the next several centuries. Nevertheless, this Decemvirate's rule becomes increasingly violent and tyrannical.

source_section: Events › By place › Roman Republic


text: Perdiccas II succeeds Alexander I as king of Macedonia (approximate date).

source_section: Events › By place › Macedonia


text: Athenian general Cimon sails to Cyprus with two hundred triremes of the Delian League. From there, he sends sixty ships to Egypt to help the Egyptians under Amyrtaeus, who are fighting the Persians in the Nile Delta. Cimon uses the remaining ships to aid an uprising of the Cypriot Greek city-states against Persian control of the island. He lays siege to the Persian stronghold of Citium on the southern west coast of Cyprus. However, the siege fails and Cyprus remains under Phoenician (and Persian) control.


text: After minor preliminary successes (including the capture of Inessa from its Greek colonists), Ducetius, a Hellenised leader of the Siculi, an ancient people of Sicily, is decisively defeated by the combined forces of Syracuse and Acragas. Ducetius flees to exile in Corinth.


text: Polykleitos of Argos develops a set of rules (The Canon) for constructing the ideal human figure (approximate date).

source_section: Events › By topic › Arts


text: Polygnotos of Thasos ceases his work (approximate date).


text: The Athenians reduce the tribute due from their subject city-states (i.e. members of the Delian League), and each city is allowed to issue its own coinage.


text: The Corinthian order makes its first appearance in Greek architecture (approximate date).


text: The old bouleuterion, the west side of the agora in Athens, is built (approximate date).


text: Myron makes a bronze statue called The Discus Thrower (Discobolus). A Roman copy is now kept at Museo Nazionale Romano, Rome (approximate date).


text: Polykleitos starts making the bronze statue Achilles (also known as The Spear Bearer or Doryphoros), which he finishes about ten years later. A Roman copy of the original bronze is now kept in the Museo Archeologico Nazionale in Naples, Italy (approximate date).


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).


text: The grave stela from Paros, Little girl with a bird, is made. It is now kept at The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York (approximate date).


text: 5,000 talents are transferred to the treasury of the Delian League in Athens.


text: The statue Woman and maid in the style of Achilles Painter, white-ground and black-figure decoration on a lekythos, with additional painting in tempera, starts being made (finished about ten years later). It is now kept at the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston (approximate date).


text: The Severe (Early Classical) period of sculpture ends in Ancient Greece and is succeeded by the Mature Classical period (approximate date).


text: Aristophanes, Greek playwright (approximate year)


text: Alcibiades, Athenian general and politician (d. 404 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.


text: Cimon, Athenian statesman and general (b. c. 510 BC)


text: Alexander I, king of Macedonia (approximate date)


year_label: 46 BCE

date: April 20

text: April 20 – Cicero, in Rome, writes to Varro "If our voices are no longer heard in the Senate and in the Forum, let us follow the example of the ancient sages and serve our country through our writings, concentrating on questions of ethics and constitutional law."

source_title: 46 BC


text: Consuls: Gaius Julius Caesar, Marcus Aemilius Lepidus.


date: January 4

text: January 4 – Titus Labienus fights Julius Caesar in the Battle of Ruspina.


date: April 6

text: April 6 – Caesar defeats the combined army of Pompeian followers and Numidians under Metellus Scipio and Juba I of Numidia at Thapsus. After the battle Caesar grants Legio V Alaudae the right to bear the elephant symbol on its shields and standards, for bravery against a charge of elephants.


text: April – Caesar defeats Pompey loyalists at Thapsus.


date: September 26

text: September 26 – Julius Caesar dedicates a temple to his mythical ancestor Venus Genetrix in fulfillment of a vow he made at the battle of Pharsalus.


text: Caesar subdues a mutiny of his Tenth Legion.


text: Caesar's erstwhile mistress, Queen Cleopatra VII of Egypt, and his son by her, Caesarion, take up residence in one of the dictator's estates on the Tiber.


text: Julius Caesar establishes Julia Paterna Arelate as a colony in Gaul for veterans of the Sixth Legion, at the present day site of Arles.


text: Caesar reforms the Roman calendar to create the Julian calendar. The transitional year is extended to 445 days to synchronize the new calendar and the seasonal cycle. The Julian Calendar would remain the standard in the western world for over 1600 years, until superseded by the Gregorian Calendar in 1582.


text: Caesar appoints his nephew Octavian his heir.


date: November

text: November – Caesar leaves for Hispania to deal with a fresh outbreak of resistance.


text: Caesar celebrates his Gallic Triumph, after which Vercingetorix is executed. The celebrations run for forty days in Rome, and include public banquets, plays and gladiatorial games.


text: Lucius Seius Strabo, Roman prefect of the Praetorian Guard (d. 16 AD)


text: Imhotep-Pedubast, High priest of Ptah (d. 30 BC)


text: Publius Quinctilius Varus, Roman politician and general (d. 9 AD)


text: Antipater, son of Herod the Great (d. 4 BC)


text: April 12 - Marcus Porcius Cato (the Younger), Roman politician (b. 95 BC) (commits suicide)


text: Lucius Manlius Torquatus, Roman politician and general


text: Lucius Afranius, Roman consul and governor (b. 112 BC)


text: Quintus Caecilius Metellus Scipio, Roman consul and general (commits suicide)


text: Marcus Petreius, Roman politician and general (b. 110 BC) (commits suicide)


text: Juba I, king of Numidia (killed after the Battle of Thapsus)


text: Faustus Cornelius Sulla, Roman politician and quaestor


text: Vercingetorix, Gaulish king and chieftain of the Arverni tribe (executed at the end of a triumph)


text: Saburra, General of Juba I (killed in battle by Publius Sittius)


year_label: 451 BCE

text: Hostilities among the Greek states come to a formal end with the agreement to the Five Years' Truce. Kimon negotiates a five year truce with Sparta, in which Athens agrees to abandon its alliance with Argos, while Sparta promises to give up its alliance with Thebes. During the same year Argos signs the first "Thirty-Years Peace" with Sparta.


text: An Athenian law sponsored by Pericles is passed giving citizenship only to those born of Athenian parents. This marks an end to the policy where residents who were from other cities could be given an honourable status.


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.


text: Following the report of a three-man commission into the design of Roman law, the patricians set up in Rome a Board of Ten, the Decemviri. The first Decemviri, composed entirely of patricians is led by consuls Appius Claudius Crassus and Titus Genucius Augurinus. The first ten codes of the Roman Law of the Twelve Tables are completed by the first Decemvirate.


year_label: 452 BCE

text: An outbreak of plague spreads throughout Italy.

source_section: Events


text: Sextus Quinctilius, consul of the Roman Republic, 453–452 BC, plague.


year_label: 453 BCE

text: Achaea, on the southern shore of the Corinthian Gulf, becomes part of what is effectively now the Athenian Empire. The Delian League had changed from an alliance into an empire clearly under the control of Athens.

source_section: Events › Italy › Greece


date: May 8

text: May 8 – The Chinese city of Jinyang is severely flooded in the Battle of Jinyang, where the elite families of Jin, Zhao, Zhi, Wei and Han fight. The Wei and the Han swap allegiances to side with Zhao and eliminate the Zhi house, ending the Spring and Autumn period of Chinese history.

source_section: Events › Italy › China


text: Ducetius founds the town of Palice

source_section: Events › Italy


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).


text: Publius Curiatius Fistus Trigeminus


text: Spurius Furius Medullinus Fusus


year_label: 454 BCE

text: Hostilities between Segesta and Selinunte, two Greek cities on Sicily, take place over access to the Tyrrhenian Sea.


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.

source_section: Events › By place › Persian Empire


text: Pericles declares that the Delian League's considerable treasury at Delos is not safe from the Persian navy and has the treasury transferred to Athens, thus strengthening Athens' power over the League.


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.


text: Mahavira attains Kevala Jnana at the age of 43, according to the Śvetāmbara branch of Jain philosophy.

source_section: Events › By place › India


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.


year_label: 455 BCE

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.


text: Spring and Autumn period: The Battle of Jinyang begins with the armies of Zhi, Wei and Han laying siege to Jinyang.

source_section: Events › By place › China


text: The Athenians suffer a severe defeat in Egypt at the hands of the Persians. After being cut off in the Nile Delta, the Athenian fleet is defeated, and the Athenian army retreats across the Sinai Desert to Byblos before its remnants are rescued. The Egyptian rebel Inaros is crucified by the Persians. The Athenians decide against any further military activity in Egypt.

source_section: Events › By place › Greece


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

source_section: Events › By topic › Literature


year_label: 456 BCE

text: The temple of Zeus in Olympia is finished.


text: The first of the Athenian sculptor Phidias' monuments to Athena, the bronze Athena Promachos, is placed on the Athenian Acropolis, measuring about 9 metres high.


text: Aristophanes, Greek playwright (d. c. 386 BC)

source_section: Births


text: Aeschylus, Greek playwright (b. 525 BC)

source_section: Deaths


year_label: 457 BCE

text: The Athenians regroup after the battle and march into Boeotia. Led by Myronides, the Athenians defeat the Boeotians in the Battle of Oenophyta, and then destroy the walls of Tanagra and ravage Locris and Phocis.


text: Athens goes on to defeat Aegina later in the year, and to finish the construction of the Long Walls to the Athenian port of Piraeus (an action opposed by Sparta).


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.


text: Boeotia, Phocis and Opuntian Locris become members of the Delian League. Athens now has enrolled in the Delian League all the Boeotian cities except Thebes. Aegina is forced to become a member of the League. It is assessed, with Thasos, for a yearly contribution to the League of 30 talents.


text: Athenian forces block the routes back to the Peloponnese, so the Spartans decide to remain in Boeotia and await the Athenian attack. The Athenians and their allies, with 14,000 men under the command of Myronides, meet the Spartans at Battle of Tanagra. The Spartans win the battle, but they lose many men and so are unable to follow up on their victory.


text: The Zeus Temple at Olympia is completed. The forty-foot statue of Zeus inside it becomes one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World.


year_label: 458 BCE

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.


text: Pleistoanax succeeds Pleistarchus as king of Sparta.


text: The Roman general Lucius Quinctius Cincinnatus is summoned by the Roman Senate to defend the city from attack by the approaching Aequi. He is named dictator of Rome for six months. He goes on to defeat the enemy in a single day at the Battle of Mount Algidus and celebrates a triumph in Rome. Sixteen days after the battle, he resigns his dictatorship and returns to his farm.


text: Aegina joins the Peloponnesian alliance, but their combined fleet is defeated by the Athenians in the Battle of Aegina. The Athenians, under the command of Leocrates, land on the island of Aegina and besiege and defeat the city. Aegina is forced to pay tribute to Athens.


text: The Athenians start constructing the Long Walls to protect the route from the main city to their main port (Piraeus).


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


text: Pleistarchus, King of Sparta since 480 BC


year_label: 459 BCE

text: The Aequi occupied Tusculum. In response to the threat, the Roman Senate decided to send an army to help the allied city, under the command of consul Lucius Cornelius Maluginensis. In addition, the consul Fabius Vibulanus, who was at that point besieging Antium, moved his forces to attack Tusculum. The Tusculans were able to recapture their city. A truce was then arranged with the Aequi.


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.


text: The Sicilian town of Morgantina was destroyed by Ducetius, Hellenised leader of the Siculi (according to Diodorus Siculus).

source_section: Events › By place › Sicily


year_label: 460 BCE

text: Achaemenes, Persian satrap (governor) of Egypt, is defeated and slain in a battle at Papremis, on the banks of the Nile River, by Egyptian forces.


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)


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.


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.


text: Ducetius, a Hellenised leader of the Siculi, an ancient people of Sicily, takes advantage of the confusion that follows the collapse of the tyranny in Syracuse and other Sicilian states. With the support of the Syracusan democracy, he drives out the colonists of the former tyrant Hieron from Catana and restores it to its original inhabitants.

source_section: Events › Siculi


text: The construction of a sculpture of a Young Warrior (subsequently found in the sea off Riace, Italy) is begun and completed approximately ten years later. It is now preserved at the Museo Archeologico Nazionale, Reggio Calabria, Italy.


text: Polygnotos of Thasos decorates the Painted Stoa, on the north side of Ancient Agora of Athens (approximate date).


text: The construction of the ceremonial complex of Apadana (the audience hall of Darius I and Xerxes I) in Persepolis is completed.


text: A metope relief of Athena, Heracles and Atlas are made on a frieze in the Temple of Zeus in Olympia (approximate date). It is now preserved at the Archaeological museum in Olympia.


text: The sculpture Apollo with battling Lapiths and centaurs is built on the west pediment of the Temple of Zeus in Olympia (approximate date). Only fragments remain and are today preserved at the Archaeological museum in Olympia.


text: A statue of Apollo is cast (approximate date), of which today remains one leg, preserved at the Louvre, and the head, known as the Chatsworth Head, preserved at the British Museum.


text: Democritus of Abdera, Greek philosopher (approximate year) (d. 370 BC)


text: Hippocrates of Cos, Greek physician (approximate year) (d. 375 BC)


text: Achaemenes, Persian satrap (governor) of Egypt


text: Themistocles, Athenian politician and naval strategist (b. 525 BC)


text: Epicharmus, Greek poet (b. 550 BC)


text: Panini, Hindu Indian grammarian (b. 520 BC)


text: Publius Valerius Publicola, Roman consul


text: Conflicts arise between the Roman patricians and plebeians. There is also a revolt by Rome's slaves. During the revolt, the Campidoglio is held by the slaves for a lengthy period, along with the most important temples of Rome. It is during this revolt that consul Publius Valerius Publicola dies. The revolt only ends with the arrival of an army from Tusculum, led by Tusculan dictator Lucius Mamilius. Meanwhile, Lucius Quinctius Cincinnatus is appointed as consul to replace Publicola.


year_label: 47 BCE

date: January 13

text: January 13 – Queen Cleopatra VII promotes her younger brother Ptolemy XIV of Egypt to co-ruler.

source_title: 47 BC

source_section: Events › By place › Egypt


text: Julius Caesar returns to Rome and is dictator for a year.

source_section: Events › By place › Roman Republic


text: February – Caesar and his ally Cleopatra VII of Egypt defeat the forces of the rival Egyptian Queen Arsinoe IV in the Battle of the Nile. Ptolemy is killed; Caesar, with the aid of Mithridates I of the Bosporus, then relieves his besieged forces in Alexandria.


date: August 2

text: August 2 – Caesar defeats Pharnaces II of Pontus, king of the Bosphorus, in the Battle of Zela (the war Caesar tersely describes as veni, vidi, vici).

source_section: Events › By place › Anatolia


date: August

text: August – Julius Caesar quells a mutiny of his veterans in Rome.


text: August – Julius Caesar leads victory against Pharnaces II of Pontus and at the Battle of Zela.


date: October

text: October – Caesar's invasion of Africa, against Metellus Scipio and Labienus, Caesar's former lieutenant in Gaul.


text: Battle at Mount Tabor in Judea: Roman troops, commanded by Gabinius, defeat the forces of Alexander, son of Aristobulus II of Judea, who is attempting to re-establish Judean independence. Some 10,000 Jews die at the hands of the Romans.

source_section: Events › By place › Judea


text: Consuls: Quintus Fufius Calenus, Publius Vatinius.


text: Feng Yuan becomes consort to Emperor Yuan of the Han Dynasty.


date: June 23

text: June 23 – Caesarion, prince of Egypt, later Ptolemy XV (d. 30 BC)


text: Marcus Antonius Antyllus, son of Mark Antony and Fulvia (d. 30 BC)


text: Alexander, Hasmonean prince (executed)


text: Ptolemy XIII Theos Philopator, king of Egypt (drowned in the Nile)


text: Pharnaces II of Pontus, king of the Bosporan Kingdom (b. c. 97 BC)


year_label: 461 BCE

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


text: Ephialtes, with the support of Pericles, reduces the power of the Athenian Council of Areopagus (filled with ex-archons and so a stronghold of oligarchy) and transfers them to the people, i.e. the Council of Five Hundred, the Assembly and the popular law courts. The office of Judge is made a paid position and is recruited by lot from a list to which every citizen can have his name added.


text: Ephialtes is murdered by Aristodicus of Tanagra in Boeotia, who is said to have acted on behalf of members of the Athenian oligarchy.


text: The ostracism of Kimon and the murder of Ephialtes leave Pericles as the most influential orator in Athens.


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


year_label: 462 BCE

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.


text: The Spartans try to conquer the mountain stronghold of Mt Ithome in Messenia, where a large force of rebellious helots have taken refuge. They ask their allies from the Persian Wars, including the Athenians, to help.


text: After an attempt to storm Mt. Ithome fails, the Spartans start to distrust the Athenians over concerns that they may take the side of the helots. Retaining their other allies, the Spartans sent Kimon and his men home. This insulting rebuff causes the collapse of Kimon's popularity at Athens. Outrage over the dismissal swings Athenian opinion towards Ephialtes' views.


text: Argos, taking advantage of Spartan preoccupation with the revolt of its helots, finally conquers Mycenae. The inhabitants of the town are dispersed, with some finding their way into Macedonia.


text: Ephialtes passes a law in the Athenian ecclesia, which reforms the Areopagus, limiting its power to judging cases of homicide and religious crimes. He considers the Areopagus to be the centre of conservatism and Ephialtes' victory is seen as a defeat for the conservatives and the members of the oligarchy.


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

source_section: Events › By topic › Philosophy


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


year_label: 463 BCE

text: After a two year siege, Thasos falls to the Athenians under Kimon who compels the Thasians to destroy their walls, surrender their ships, pay an indemnity and an annual contribution to Athens.


text: Themistocles, who is in exile, approaches the Persian King Artaxerxes I seeking Persian help in regaining power in Athens. Artaxerxes is unwilling to help him, but gives him the satrapy of Magnesia.


text: The Senate and People of Rome appoint Gaius Aemilius Mamercus interrex.

source_section: Events › By place › Rome


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.


year_label: 464 BCE

text: Artaxerxes I succeeds Xerxes as king of the Persian empire.


text: Egypt seizes the opportunity created by the murder of Xerxes I to revolt against Persia. The revolt is led by Inaros, a Libyan, who gains control of the Delta region and is aided by the Athenians.


text: When the Messenian helots (serfs) revolt against their Spartan masters following the severe earthquake, King Archidamus II organises the defence of Sparta. The helots fortify themselves at Mount Ithome.


text: Sparta suffers the effects of a severe earthquake leading to a large loss of life.


year_label: 465 BCE

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


text: Tholos, west side of Ancient Agora of Athens, is built (approximate date).

source_section: Events › By topic › Arts


text: King Xerxes I of the Persian Empire, together with his eldest son, is murdered by one of his Ministers, Artabanus the Hyrcanian. The Persian general, Megabyzus, is thought to have been one of the conspirators in the assassination.


text: Artabanus gains control of the Achaemenid state for several months. However, he is betrayed by Megabyzus and is killed by Xerxes' son, Artaxerxes.


text: Phidias begins producing the sculpture called The Athena Promachos (The Defender) and completes it ten years later.


text: King Goujian of Yue, king of the Chinese State of Yue


text: Xerxes I, king of Persia (murdered) (b. c. 519 BC)


year_label: 466 BCE

text: The Greek colony of Taras, in Magna Graecia, is defeated by the native population of Apulia. As a result, the Tarentine monarchy falls, with the installation of a democracy.

source_section: Events › By place › Italy


text: The Tyrant, Thrasybulus, is driven out by the citizens of Syracuse, Sicily. The city moves to a democratic system of government.


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.


year_label: 467 BCE

text: Quintus Fabius Vibulanus becomes consul of the Roman Republic for the first of three times.


text: Aeschylus writes Seven Against Thebes and wins the Dionysia.


text: Aeschylus' play, The Persians is produced in Sicily.


text: After the death of his brother Hiero I, Thrasybulus becomes Tyrant of Syracuse.


year_label: 468 BCE

text: Sparta faces trouble near home, mainly from Arcadia with the support of Argos. Argos regains control of Tiryns.


text: Antium is captured by Roman forces.


text: Sophocles, Greek playwright, defeats Aeschylus for the Athenian Prize.


text: Zhou Zhen Ding Wang becomes the twenty-eighth sovereign of the Chinese Zhou dynasty.


text: Aristides, Athenian statesman (b. 530 BC)


year_label: 469 BCE

text: Themistocles, after being exiled from Athens, makes his way across the Aegean to Magnesia, an inland Ionian city under Persian rule.


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.


text: Socrates, Athenian philosopher (approximate date) (d. 399 BC)


text: Leotychides, king of Sparta (b. c.545 BC)


text: King Yuan of Zhou (Ji Ren), 27th king of the Zhou dynasty of China


text: Duke Chu of Wey, 30th and 33rd ruler of state of Wey


year_label: 470 BCE

text: Suspected of plotting to seize power in Sparta by instigating a helot uprising, Pausanias takes refuge in the Temple of Athena of the Brazen House to escape arrest. The sanctuary is respected, but the Spartans wall in the sanctuary and starve Pausanias to death.


text: The Charioteer, in the Sanctuary of Apollo, Delphi, is created in commemoration of a victory in the Pythian Games of 478 or 474 BC (approximate date). It is now preserved at the Delphi Archaeological Museum.

source_section: Events › By topic › Art


text: Pan Painter makes a "bell krater" (an earthenware piece that is used to mix water and wine) which has a red-figure decoration of Artemis slaying Actaeon. It is now preserved at the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston (approximate date).


text: The construction of the Temple of Zeus, begins at Olympia, Greece. This includes the relief sculpture (of which fragments now remain at the Archaeological Museum of Olympia) of Apollo with battling Lapiths and centaurs (approximate date).

source_section: Events › By topic › Architecture


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


text: Mozi (or Mo Tzu), Chinese philosopher (d. c. 391)


text: Socrates, Greek philosopher (d. c. 399 BC)


text: Hippocrates of Chios, Greek mathematician (d. c. 410 BC)


text: Pausanias, Spartan commander during the Greco-Persian Wars


year_label: 48 BCE

text: Yuan becomes emperor of the Han Dynasty (until 33 BC).

source_title: 48 BC

source_section: Events › By place › Asia


text: Consuls: Gaius Julius Caesar and Publius Servilius Vatia Isauricus. Caesar is named consul for a period of five years.


text: January 4 – Julius Caesar lands at Dyrrhachium (Durazzo).


date: March

text: March – Mark Antony joins Julius Caesar.


date: April

text: April – Siege of Dyrrhachium: Julius Caesar builds a fortified line of entrenchments and besieges Pompey the Great.


date: July 10

text: July 10 – Battle of Dyrrhachium: Julius Caesar barely avoids a catastrophic defeat to Pompey in Macedonia; he retreats to Thessaly.


text: August – Battle of Pharsalus: Julius Caesar decisively defeats Pompey at Pharsalus, who flees to Egypt. Pompey's army by and large is pardoned.


date: September 28

text: September 28 – Pompey the Great is assassinated on the orders of King Ptolemy XIII, after landing in Egypt (may have occurred September 29, records unclear).


date: December

text: December – Battle in Alexandria: Forces of Caesar and his ally Cleopatra VII and those of rival King Ptolemy XIII and Queen Arsinoe IV. The latter two are defeated and flee the city, but during the battle part of the Library of Alexandria catches fire.


text: December – Battle of Nicopolis: King Pharnaces II of Pontus defeats the Roman forces under Gnaeus Domitius Calvinus, a loyal partisan of Julius Caesar.


text: Winter – Siege of Oricum: Julius Caesar captures the strategic city port of Oricum in Epirus (modern Albania). The garrison opens the town's gate and Lucius Manlius Torquatus surrenders to Caesar.


date: May

section: Disasters & Accidents

text: May – Publius Servilius Vatia Isauricus, co-consul with Julius Caesar, destroys Caelius's magistrate's chair on his tribunal.


text: The Roman temple to Bellona on the Capitolinus outside Rome is burnt to the ground.


text: October – Julius Caesar reaches Alexandria, a city founded by Alexander the Great. He is met by an Egyptian delegation from Ptolemy XIII. The Egyptians offer him gifts: the ring of Pompey and his head.


text: Queen Cleopatra VII returns to the palace rolled into a Persian carpet and has it presented to Caesar by her servant. The Egyptian princess, only twenty-one years old, becomes his mistress.


text: Lucius Calpurnius Piso, Roman consul (d. AD 32)


text: Lady Ban, Chinese concubine and female poet


text: Publius Cornelius Scipio, Roman consul and governor


text: September 28 – Pompey (the Great), Roman politician (b. 106 BC)


text: Afriana Carfania, Roman orator


text: Titus Annius Milo, Roman politician


text: Gnaeus Cornelius Lentulus Marcellinus, Roman statesman


text: Cotys I, Thracian client king of the Odrysian Kingdom


text: Marcus Caelius Rufus, Roman orator and politician


text: Marcus Calpurnius Bibulus, Roman politician


text: Lucius Cornelius Lentulus Crus, Roman politician


text: Zhang Chang, Chinese scholar and official


year_label: 471 BCE

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.

source_section: Events › By place › Greece


text: The colony of Pixunte (Pixous) is founded in Magna Graecia.


text: Thucydides, Greek historian (alleged date, however, 460 BC is more probable) (d. c. 395 BC)


year_label: 472 BCE

text: Carystus in Euboea is forced to join the Delian League after the Athenians attack the city (approximate date).


text: The tragedy The Persians is produced by Aeschylus. It is the oldest surviving classical Greek play.

source_section: Events › By topic › Literature


text: Thucydides, Greek historian (d.c. 400 BC)

source_section: Births


year_label: 473 BCE

text: The State of Wu is annexed by the State of Yue.

source_section: Events › By place › China


text: The Hikawa Shrine is established in Saitama, Saitama.

source_section: Events › By place › Japan


text: King Fuchai of Wu, the last king of Wu in Zhou dynasty, China

source_section: Deaths


year_label: 474 BCE

text: Hiero I, tyrant of Syracuse, allied with naval forces from the maritime Greek cities of southern Italy defeats the Etruscan navy in the Battle of Cumae as the Etruscans try to capture the Greek city of Cumae. This victory marks the end of the Etruscan aggression against the Greeks in southern Italy and saves the Greeks of Campania from Etruscan domination.


text: Taras signs an alliance with Rhegion, to counter the Messapians, Peucetians, and Lucanians, but the joint armies of the Tarentines and Rhegines are defeated near Kailia.


text: Hiero builds Castello Aragonese on the island of Ischia.


text: Consuls: Lucius Lucius Furius Medullinus and Gnaeus Manlius Vulso


text: The Greek poet Pindar moves to Thebes after two years at the Sicilian Court of Hiero I of Syracuse. While at Thebes, he composes lyric odes to celebrate triumphs in the Olympic Games and other athletic events.


text: Pandukabhaya of Anuradhapura, ruler of Sri Lanka


year_label: 475 BCE

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


text: King Yuan of Zhou becomes king of the Zhou dynasty.


text: The painter Polygnotus of Thasos begins his work (approximate date).


text: The first recorded eruption of Mount Etna occurs.


text: Philolaus, Greek philosopher (approximate year)


text: Atossa, Achaemenid queen (approximate date)


text: Duke Ding of Jin, ruler of Jin in ancient China (r. 511–475 BC)


year_label: 476 BCE

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".


text: Under the leadership of Kimon, the Delian League continues to fight Persia and to remove the Ionian cities from Persian administration. The conquest of Eion on the Strymon from Persia is led by Cimon.


text: Convicted in Sparta on the charge of accepting a bribe from the Aleudae family whilst leading an expedition to Thessaly against the family for their collaboration with the Persians, the Spartan King Leotychidas flees to the temple of Athena Alea in Tegea, Arcadia. A sentence of exile is passed upon him; his house is razed, and his grandson, Archidamus II, ascends the Spartan throne in his place.


text: The Greek poet Pindar visits Sicily and is made welcome at the courts of Theron of Acragas and Hieron I of Syracuse. They commission some of his greatest poetry. It is through these connections that Pindar's reputation spreads all over the Greek world.


text: Zhou Jing Wang, king of the Chinese Zhou dynasty


year_label: 477 BCE

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.


text: Roman forces in a stronghold on the Cremera River are defeated by an army of Veientes from the Etruscan city of Veii in the Battle of the Cremera.


text: The Spartan co-ruler Leotychides and the Athenian leader Themistocles lead a fleet and army to reoccupy northern Greece and to punish the aristocratic family of the Aleuads for having aided the Persians. Leotychides is caught accepting a bribe during the operations in Thessaly.


text: Duke Dao of Qin, ruler of the state of Qin


text: Emperor Itoku of Japan, according to legend.


year_label: 478 BCE

text: The Delian League is established


text: With the help of the Athenian statesman and general, Cimon, Aristides commands an Athenian fleet of 30 ships that the Spartan commander Pausanias leads to capture the Greek cities on Cyprus and Byzantium, taking them from the Persians and their Phoenician allies.


text: A Temple of Confucius is established in (modern-day) Qufu.


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


text: While Pausanias is occupying Byzantium, his arrogance and his adoption of Persian clothing and manners offends the allies and raises suspicions of disloyalty. Pausanias is recalled to Sparta, where he is tried and acquitted of the charge of treason, but he is not restored to his command.


text: Hiero I (Hieron) becomes the Tyrant of Syracuse following the death of his brother Gelo.

source_section: Events › By place › Sicily


text: Gelo, tyrant of the cities of Gela and Syracuse in Sicily


text: Xenophanes, Greek poet and philosopher (approximate year)


year_label: 479 BCE

date: August 27

text: August 27 – The Battle of Plataea in Boeotia ends the Persian invasions of Greece as the Persian general Mardonius is routed by the Greeks under Pausanias, nephew of the former Spartan King, Leonidas I. The Athenian contingent is led by the repatriated Aristides. Mardonius is killed in the battle and the Greeks capture enormous amounts of loot. Thebes is captured shortly thereafter and the Theban collaborators executed by Pausanias.


text: August 27 – Meanwhile at sea, the Persians are defeated by a Greek fleet headed by Leotychidas of Sparta and Xanthippus of Athens in the Battle of Mycale, on the coast of Ionia in Asia Minor.


text: In 479 BC, when Persian soldiers besieged the Greek city of Potidaea, the tide retreated much further than usual, leaving a convenient invasion route, but this was not a stroke of luck. Before they had crossed halfway, the water returned in a wave higher than anyone had ever seen, drowning the attackers. The Potiidaeans believed they had been saved by the wrath of Poseidon, but what really saved them was likely the same phenomenon that has destroyed countless others: a tsunami.


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


text: Mardonius attacks Athens once more and the Athenians are forced to retreat, whereupon he razes the city. The Spartans march north to support Athens against the Persians.


text: Ongoing hostilities between Rome and Veii. The family of the Fabii requests and is granted sole responsibility for the war, and the Fabii march from Rome, establishing a fortified camp at the Cremera.


text: Ongoing hostilities between Rome and the Aequi. No major battle is fought.


text: The Roman consul Caeso Fabius proposed an agrarian law to distribute land won in recent wars amongst the plebs, but this was rejected by the senate.


text: Potidaea is struck by a tsunami.


text: August 27: Mardonius, Persian general (killed in the Battle of Plataea)


text: Confucius, Chinese philosopher (b. 551 BC)


year_label: 480 BCE

text: King Alexander I of Macedon is obliged to accompany Xerxes in a campaign through Greece, though he secretly aids the Greek allies. With Xerxes' apparent acquiescence, Alexander seizes the Greek colony of Pydna and advances his frontiers eastward to the Strymon, taking in Crestonia and Bisaltia, along with the rich silver deposits of Mount Dysorus.


date: August 20

text: August 20 or September 8-10 – The Battle of Thermopylae ends in victory for the Persians under Xerxes. His army engulfs a force of 300 Spartans and 700 Thespiae under the Spartan King, Leonidas I. The Greeks under Leonidas resist the advance through Thermopylae of Xerxes' vast army. For two days Leonidas and his troops withstand the Persian attacks; he then orders most of his troops to retreat, and he and his 300-member royal guard fight to the last man.


text: August – The Persians achieve a naval victory over the Greeks in an engagement fought near Artemisium, a promontory on the north coast of Euboea. The Greek fleet holds its own against the Persians in three days of fighting but withdraws southward when news comes of the defeat at Thermopylae.


date: September 21

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


text: The Romans achieve a significant victory against Veii after a close-fought battle. Tensions between the Roman classes flare during the battle. Quintus Fabius and the consul Manlius perish in the fighting.


text: Xerxes encourages the Carthaginians to attack the Greeks in Sicily. Under the Carthaginian military leader, Hamilcar, Carthage sends across a large army.


text: An eclipse of the sun discourages the Greek army from following up the victory of Salamis. Xerxes returns to Persia leaving behind an army under Mardonius, which winters in Thessaly.


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


text: Phocis and the coasts of Euboea are devastated by the Persians. Thebes and most of Boeotia join Xerxes.


text: A sculpture of the Dying Warrior is made in the left corner of the east pediment of the Temple of Aphaea in Aegina (approximate date). Today, it is preserved at the Staatliche Antikensammlungen und Glyptothek in Munich, Germany.


text: The Greek city of Himera in Sicily, in its quarrel with Akragas, enlists Carthaginian support. With the help of Gelo, the tyrant of Syracusae, and Theron of Akragas, the Carthaginians are defeated in the Battle of Himera. After the defeat, Hamilcar kills himself.


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.


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.


text: May – King Xerxes I of Persia marches from Sardis and onto Thrace and Macedonia.


text: Pausanias becomes regent for King Leonidas' son, Pleistarchus, after Leonidas I is killed at Thermopylae. Pausanias is a member of the Agiad royal family, the son of King Cleombrotus and nephew of Leonidas.


text: The tribune Titus Pontificius unsuccessfully advocates an agrarian law.


text: Work begins on the detail Musicians and Dancers on a wall painting in the Tomb of the Lionesses in Tarquinia. It is finished some ten years later.


text: The Imperial treasury at the Persepolis Palace is completed after a building time of thirty years.

source_section: Events › By place › Persian empire


text: The archaic period of sculpture ends in Greece and is succeeded by the Severe (Early Classical) period (approximate date).


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


date: September 22

text: September 22 (traditional date) – Euripides, Greek playwright (d. 406 BC)


text: Ezra, Jewish scribe and priest (d. c. 440 BCE)


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


text: Hippodamus of Miletus, Greek architect and urban planner (d. 408 BC)


text: Siddhartha Gautama (suggested), wandering ascetic and religious teacher (d. 400 BC)


date: August 11

text: August 11 – Leonidas I, Agiad King of Sparta (died at Thermopylae)


text: Heraclitus, Greek philosopher (approximate year)


text: Gnaeus Manlius Cincinnatus, Roman consul, dies in battle against Veii.


text: Quintus Fabius Vibulanus, a former consul (twice) of Rome, dies in battle against Veii.


text: Lady Nanzi, Chinese Duchess ruler.


text: Zhong You (Zilu), a prominent disciple of Confucius (b. 542 BC)


text: Xenophanes, Greek philosopher (b. 570 BC)


text: Hamilcar, Carthaginian general (suicide after his defeat in the Battle of Himera)


year_label: 49 BCE

date: January 1

text: January 1 – The Roman Senate receives a proposal from Julius Caesar that he and Pompey should lay down their commands simultaneously. The Senate responds that Caesar must immediately surrender his command.

source_title: 49 BC

source_section: Events › By place and Date › Roman Republic


date: January

text: January – Caesar leads his army across the Rubicon, which separates his jurisdiction in Cisalpine Gaul from that of the Senate in Rome, and thus initiates a civil war.


date: March 9

text: March 9 – Caesar advances against Pompeian forces in Spain.


date: April 19

text: April 19 – Siege of Massilia: Caesar commences a siege at Massilia against the Pompeian Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus. He leaves the newly raised legions XVII, XVIII and XIX to conduct the siege. Decimus Brutus – victor over the Veneti (see 56 BC) – is in charge of the fleet to blockade the harbor.


date: June

text: June – Caesar arrives in Spain; seizes the Pyrenees passes against the Pompeians L. Afranius and Marcus Petreius.


date: July 30

text: July 30 – Caesar surrounds Afranius and Petreius's army in Ilerda.


date: August 2

text: August 2 – Pompeians in Ilerda surrender to Caesar and are granted pardon.


date: August 24

text: August 24 – Caesar's general Gaius Scribonius Curio is defeated in North Africa by the Pompeians under Attius Varus and King Juba I of Numidia (whom he defeated earlier in the Battle of Utica) in the Battle of the Bagradas, after which he commits suicide.


date: September 6

text: September 6 – Massilia surrenders to Caesar, as he is coming back from Spain.


date: September

text: September – Brutus defeats the combined Pompeian-Massilian naval forces of the siege of Massilia, while the Caesarian fleet in the Adriatic Sea is defeated near Curicta (Krk).


date: February

text: February – Pompey's flight to Epirus (in Western Greece) with most of the Senate.


date: June 7

text: June 7 – Cicero slips out of Italy and goes to Thessaloniki.


date: October

text: October – Caesar is appointed Dictator in Rome.


text: Consuls: Lucius Cornelius Lentulus Crus, Gaius Claudius Marcellus.


text: Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus, Roman consul (d. 25 AD)


date: January 10

text: January 10 – Xuan of Han, emperor of the Han dynasty (b. 91 BC)


text: Zheng Ji, general of the Han dynasty


text: Marcus Perperna, Roman politician


text: Aristobulus II, king and high priest of Judea


text: Gaius Scribonius Curio, Roman politician


text: Gaius Memmius, Roman orator and poet (presumed).


text: Jieyou, princess of the Han dynasty (b. 121 BC)


year_label: 481 BCE

text: The Spring and Autumn period, which had begun in 722 BC, ends and compilation of the Spring and Autumn Annals ceases. It gives way to the Warring States period.


text: Continuation of hostilities with Veii. The Veientine army threatens to besiege Rome but nothing notable occurs.


text: The Aequi lay siege to Ortona but are defeated by the Romans. Tensions between the Roman classes flare during the battle.


text: The Persian King Xerxes I arrives at Sardis and begins to build up his great army and navy for the invasion of Greece. Egypt contributes 481 ships.

source_section: Events › By place › Persian Empire


text: The tribune Spurius Licinius unsuccessfully advocates an agrarian law.


text: Protagoras, Greek presocratic philosopher (d. c. 420 BC)


text: Sima Niu, the highest ranking aristocrat among the disciples of Confucius


year_label: 482 BCE

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.


text: While King Fuchai of Wu attends a meeting in Huangchi, in an attempt to gain hegemony over all the other duchies of Zhou dynasty China, his capital city in the State of Wu is captured in a surprise assault by King Goujian of Yue. In 473 BC the State of Wu will be annexed by the State of Yue.


text: Continuation of hostilities with Veii. The Veientine army enters Roman territory and ravages the countryside.


text: Continuation of hostilities with the Aequi.


year_label: 483 BCE

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.


text: Commencement of the Fabian war with Veii.


text: Ongoing hostilities with the Volsci.


text: Gelo, the tyrant of Syracuse conquers the nearby Sicilian cities of Euboea and Megara Hyblaea, selling their common people into slavery and bringing their oligarchs to Syracuse.


text: Xerxes I of Persia is encouraged by his cousin and brother-in-law, Mardonius, supported by a strong party of exiled Greeks, to take revenge for the defeat that Darius I suffered at the hands of the Greeks at Marathon in 490 BC. In response, Xerxes prepares for a major expedition to crush the Greeks. To avoid a repeat of the significant losses to the Persian fleet that occurred in 492 BC, Xerxes has a canal cut through the promontory of Mount Athos.


text: Punishment of the vestal virgin Oppia for a breach of chastity.


text: Following the death of Gautama Buddha, the relics associated with his cremation were divided amongst royal families and his disciples, then interned in 8 reliquaries. Each reliquary was then encased in its own burial mound, called a stupa (approximate date).

source_section: Events › By place › India


text: Gautama Buddha, Indian prince, founder of Buddhism (b. c. 563 BC)


year_label: 484 BCE

text: The Romans defeat the Volsci and Aequi in battle.

source_section: Events › By place › Rome


text: Xerxes I quells the Egyptian revolt against Persian rule. He ravages the Delta region in the process and then appoints his brother Achaemenes satrap (governor) of Egypt.


text: Despite an attempt at rebellion, the land and city of Babylon remains solidly under Persian rule.


text: Dedication of the Temple of Castor and Pollux


text: The Athenian general and statesman, Xanthippus, is ostracised.


text: The Athenian playwright, Aeschylus, wins first prize in drama at the Dionysia festival.

source_section: Events › By place › Literature


text: Astylos of Croton wins the stadion race for a second time at the 74th Olympic Games.


text: Achaeus of Eretria, Greek tragedian


text: Herodotus of Halicarnassus, Greek historian (approximate date) (died c. 425 BC)


text: Wu Zixu, political advisor from Chu who has been employed at the court of the State of Wu during the reign of King Helü of Wu; all Chinese people with the surname Wu consider him their first ancestor (born 526 BC)


text: Makkhali Gosala (according to historian Arthur Llewellyn Basham), Indian ascetic


year_label: 485 BCE

text: The consul Quintus Fabius Vibulanus defeated the Volsci and Aequi in battle, but incurred the anger of the plebs by lodging the spoils of victory with the publicum.

source_section: Events › By place › Roman Republic


text: Gelo, the tyrant of Gela, takes advantage of an appeal by the descendants of the first colonist of Syracuse, the Gamoroi, who had held power until they were expelled by the Killichiroi, the lower class of the city. He makes himself master of that city, leaving his brother Hieron to control Gela.


text: Three times Roman consul Spurius Cassius Vecellinus is tried, condemned and executed for high treason.


text: Some sources place the birth of Euripides in this year, though the more traditional date is 480.


text: Herodotus, Greek historian, is estimated to be born this year.


text: Spurius Cassius Vecellinus, three times Roman consul.


text: Xerxes I is just beginning his reign after the death of his father Darius the Great in 486 BC. During this time the Persian empire extends as far west as Macedonia and Libya and as far east as the Hyphasis (Beas) River; it stretches to the Caucasus Mountains and the Aral Sea in the north and to the Persian Gulf and the Arabian Desert in the south.


year_label: 486 BCE

text: Rome enters into a new treaty with the Hernici.


text: During his third consulate, the Roman consul Spurius Cassius Vecellinus proposes an agrarian law to assist needy plebeians. The proposal is vehemently opposed by the patricians including the other consul Proculus Verginius Tricostus Rutilus, and the plebs turn against the patricians. In the following year Cassius is condemned and executed for high treason.


text: The first part of the Grand Canal of China is built during the reign of King Fuchai of Wu. It links the Yangtze River with the Huai River, and is a measure to ship ample amount of supplies north for intended wars with the northern states of Song and Lu.


text: The construction of a relief in the Apadana, a ceremonial complex at Persepolis, is finished. It shows Darius and Xerxes receiving tribute.

source_section: Events › By topic › Art


text: Egypt revolts against Persian rule upon the death of king Darius I. The revolts, probably led by Libyans of the western Delta, are crushed the next year by Xerxes, who reduces Egypt to the status of a conquered province.


text: Darius I, king of the Persian Achaemenid Empire (b. 550 BCE)


text: Spurius Cassius Vecellinus, Roman consul (executed)


year_label: 487 BCE

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.


text: Siaspiqa becomes ruler of the Kushite kingdom of Meroe, likely succeeding Amaniastabarqa.

source_section: Events › By place › Kush


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.


text: Wars are fought between Rome and each of the Volsci and the Hernici. Rome prevails in both disputes.


text: First known use of ostracism, an instrument created in 508 by Cleisthenes which enabled the electorate to banish for ten years any citizen deemed to be a threat to democracy. It was intended, therefore, as a safeguard against tyranny. An ostracism could be held annually providing a quorum of 6,000 was achieved but, apparently, the Assembly declined to invoke it until 487 when there was a popular reaction against Hipparchos the Pisistradid who had been the peace party archon in 496. He was the first of several citizens to be ostracised through the fifth century.


text: Gorgias, Greek philosopher (approximate date) (d. c. 376 BC)


year_label: 488 BCE

text: Gaius Marcius Coriolanus and Attius Tullius, leading an army of the Volsci, besiege Rome. Coriolanus' mother and wife convince him to break off the siege. In recognition of the service of these women, a temple is erected in Rome dedicated to Fortuna. Subsequently, the Volsci and their allies the Aequi have a falling out, and their armies fight as a result, significantly diminishing the strength of each of them.


text: Theron becomes tyrant of Acragas in Sicily.


text: Astylos of Croton wins the stadion race at the 73rd Olympic Games.


year_label: 489 BCE

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


text: After his great victory in the Battle of Marathon, Miltiades leads a naval expedition to Paros to pay off a private score. However, the expedition is unsuccessful and, on his return, he is fined in a prosecution led by Xanthippus and put in prison where he dies of wounds received at Paros.


text: Cleomenes I, king of Sparta (approximate date)


text: Miltiades, Athenian general (b. c. 550 BC)


year_label: 490 BCE

date: September 12

text: September 12 – The Battle of Marathon takes place as a Persian army of more than 20,000 men is advised by Hippias to land in the Bay of Marathon, where they meet the Athenians supported by the Plataeans. The Persians are repulsed by 11,500 Greeks under the leadership of Callimachus and Miltiades. Some 6,400 Persians are killed at a cost of 192 Athenian dead. Callimachus, the war-archon of Athens, is killed in the battle. After the battle, the Persians return home.


text: Before the Battle of Marathon, the Athenians send a runner, Pheidippides, to seek help from Sparta. However, the Spartans delay sending troops to Marathon because religious requirements (the Carneia) mean they must wait for the full moon.


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").


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.


text: Darius I sends an expedition, under Artaphernes and Datis the Mede, across the Aegean to attack the Athenians and the Eretrians. Hippias, the aged ex-tyrant of Athens, is on one of the Persian ships in the hope of being restored to power in Athens.


text: Carthaginian navigator Himilco is the first known explorer from the Mediterranean Sea to reach the northwestern shores of Europe (approximate date).

source_section: Events › By place › Europe


text: The Athenians begin the building of a temple to Athena Parthenos (approximate date).

source_section: Events › By topic › Architecture


text: Stelae are once again allowed in Athenian cemeteries, having been banned since 510 BC.


text: Cleomenes I is forced to flee Sparta when his plot against Demaratus is discovered, but the Spartans allow him to return when he begins gathering an army in the surrounding territories. However, by this time he has become insane, and the Spartans put him in prison. Shortly after, he commits suicide. He is succeeded as King of Sparta by a member of the Agiad house, his half-brother, Leonidas.

source_section: Events › By place › Greece


text: Empedocles, Greek philosopher (d. c. 430 BC)

source_section: Births


text: Zeno of Elea, Greek philosopher (d. c. 430 BC)


text: Appius Claudius Sabinus Regillensis, legendary founder of the gens Claudia


text: Pheidippides, messenger and soldier of Athens


text: Hippias dies at Lemnos on the journey back to Sardis after the Persian defeat.


text: Callimachus, war-archon of Athens


year_label: 50 BCE

text: Consuls: Lucius Aemilius Paullus and Gaius Claudius Marcellus.

source_title: 50 BC


text: The Roman Republic takes control of Judea (approximate date).


text: The Senate recalls Julius Caesar and rescinds his authority. Caesar breaks alliance with Pompey.


text: Initiation Rites of the Cult of Bacchus, detail of a wall painting in the Villa of the Mysteries, Pompeii, is made (approximate date).


text: The Roman artillery piece called Scorpio is invented.


text: Antonia, daughter of Mark Antony


text: Gaius Antistius Vetus, Roman consul (d. 1 AD)


text: Shammai, Jewish scholar and rabbi (d. 30 AD)


text: Quintus Hortensius, Roman orator and advocate (b. 114 BC)


year_label: 491 BCE

text: The Greek city of Aegina, fearing the loss of trade, submits to Persia. The Spartan king, Cleomenes I tries to punish Aegina for its submission to the Persians, but the other Spartan king, Demaratus, thwarts him.


text: Hippocrates, tyrant of Gela, loses his life in a battle against the Siculi, the native Sicilian people. He is succeeded as Tyrant of Gela by Gelo, who had been his commander of cavalry.


text: Cleomenes I engineers the deposing of Spartan co-ruler Demaratus (and his replacement by Cleomenes’ cousin Leotychidas) by bribing the oracle at Delphi to announce that this action was divine will. The two Spartan kings successfully capture the Persian collaborators in Aegina.


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


text: On the Via Latina, a main road leading out of Rome, the Temple of Fortuna Muliebras was finished.


text: During this year there was a famine in Rome. General Gais Marcius Coriolanus suggested that people should not receive grains unless they agree to abolish the Office of Tribune. Because of this, the Tribunes had him exiled. In response, Coriolanus takes refuge with the leader of the Volsci, eventually leading the Volscian army in a war against Rome. It was only due to entreaties from his mother and wife that he abandoned his war against Rome.


text: The construction of a relief begins in the Apadana, a ceremonial complex at Persepolis. The relief pictures Darius I and Xerxes I receiving tribute and is now displayed in the Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago.


year_label: 492 BCE

text: Mardonius loses some 300 ships in a storm off Mount Athos, which forces him to abandon his plans to attack Athens and Eretria.


text: The Persians under Mardonius subdue and capture Thrace and Macedonia.


text: When Camarina, a Syracusan colony, rebels, Hippocrates, the tyrant of Gela, intervenes to wage war against Syracuse. After defeating the Syracusan army at the Heloros River, he besieges the city. However, he is persuaded by the intervention of forces from the Greek mainland city of Corinth to retreat in exchange for the possession of Camarina.


text: War with the Volsci is averted because a pestilence affects the Volsci. Rome sends additional colonists to Velitrae and establishes a new colony in Norba.


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.


text: Following the conclusion of the secession of the plebs, a famine strikes Rome. The consuls avert the crisis by obtaining grain from Etruria.


text: Tisicrates wins the stadion race for a second time at the 72nd Olympic Games.


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.


text: During his second consulate, the Roman consul Spurius Cassius Vecellinus concludes a treaty with the Latin League, the Foedus Cassianum, confirming Roman primacy in Latium.


text: The secession of the plebs concludes.


text: Among the refugees arriving from Ionia after the collapse of the Ionian Revolt is a chief named Miltiades, who has a fine reputation as a soldier. Themistocles makes him a general in the Athenian army.


text: The Roman army, led by Postumus Cominius Auruncus defeats the Volsci and the Romans capture the towns of Longula, Pollusca and Corioli. Gaius Marcius distinguishes himself in the battle for Corioli, and earns the cognomen Coriolanus.


text: A Phoenician-manned Persian fleet restores Persian control of Cyprus.


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


text: The Athenian poet Phrynicus produces a tragedy on the Fall of Miletus. The Athenian authorities ban the play from further production on the grounds of impiety.

source_section: Events › By topic › Literature


text: Agrippa Menenius Lanatus, former Roman consul.


year_label: 494 BCE

text: The dictator Valerius defeats the Sabines, and is awarded a triumph plus the honour of a curule chair in the Circus Maximus.


text: The Roman consul Aulus Verginius Tricostus Caeliomontanus defeats the Volsci, and a Roman colony is planted at Velitrae.


text: The Persian leaders Artaphernes and Mardonius grant a degree of autonomy to the Ionian cities. They abstain from financial reprisals and merely exact former levels of tribute. The Persians abolish the Greek tyrannies in Ionia and permit democracies.


text: The Senate appoints Manius Valerius Maximus to the office of dictator to deal with a series of military threats, and a popular uprising.


text: The Spartan king, Cleomenes I inflicts a severe defeat on Argos at Sepeia near Tiryns (approximate date).


text: The Roman consul Titus Veturius Geminus Cicurinus defeats the Aequi at the request of Rome's Latin allies.


text: The Phoenician allies of the Persians retaliate fiercely against the Greeks, whom they perceive as pirates, unleashing savage reprisals..


text: Having successfully captured several of the revolting Greek city-states, the Persians under Artaphernes lay siege to Miletus. The decisive Battle of Lade is fought at the island of Lade, near Miletus' port. Although out-numbered, the Greek fleet appears to be winning the battle until the ships from Samos and Lesbos retreat. The sudden defection turns the tide of battle, and the remaining Greek fleet is completely destroyed. Miletus surrenders shortly thereafter, and the Ionian Revolt comes to an end.


text: The Thracians and Scythians drive Miltiades the Younger from the Chersonesos. Miltiades loads five boats with his treasures and makes for Athens. One of the boats, captained by Miltiades' eldest son, Metiochos is captured. Metiochos is taken as a lifelong prisoner to Persia.


text: At the end of the military campaigns, the plebs retire to the Sacred Mountain outside Rome in the Secession of the Plebs. To end the secession, the plebeians gain acceptance from the patricians that they may choose two leaders to whom they give the title of Tribunes. The office of the tribunate is thereby established.


text: The aediles, magistrates of ancient Rome who are in charge of the temple and cult of Ceres, are first established. They are two officials of the plebeians, created at the same time as the tribunes, whose sanctity they share.


text: The Persians burn down the Temple of Apollo at Didyma.


year_label: 495 BCE

text: The number of Roman tribes is increased to 21.

source_section: Events › Roman Republic


text: King Fuchai of Wu ascends to the throne after his father, King Helü of Wu, reigning as the last king of Wu until 473 BC.

source_section: Events › China


text: The Volsci launch an invasion against Rome, but are defeated, and in retaliation Rome plunders Suessa Pometia.


text: Roman troops defeat an invading force of Sabines.


text: Roman troops defeat an army of the Aurunci near the town of Aricia.


text: Additional colonists were sent to the colony at Signia.


text: The beginning of discord between the plebs and patricians leading to the first secession of the plebs.


text: A temple is built on the Circus Maximus, between the Aventine and Palatine hills, in Rome, in honour of the god Mercury and was dedicated on 15 May.


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


text: Tarquinius Superbus, former king of Rome died in exile in Cumae

source_section: Deaths


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.


text: King Goujian of Yue defeats and mortally injures King Helü of Wu

source_section: Events › By place › China


text: The former Etruscan King of Rome, Tarquinius Superbus, who had been exiled by the Romans in 509 BC, and his ally Octavius Mamilius, of Tusculum, together with the Latins are defeated by the Roman Republic army in the Battle of Lake Regillus, near Frascati. The outcome of this battle establishes Roman supremacy over the Latins.


text: Tisicrates of Kroton wins the stadion race at the 71st Olympic Games.


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


text: Sun Tzu, military philosopher and author of The Art of War (most likely a colloquial date) (b. 544 BC)


text: Iccus of Epidaurus, Olympic boxer, died while boxing Cleomedes of Astypalaea


text: Octavius Mamilius, ruler of Tusculum also died at the Battle of Lake Regillus


text: Marcus Valerius Volusus and Titus Herminius Aquilinus, both former Roman consuls died at the Battle of Lake Regillus