Culture & Society in the 2nd century BC

32 sourced entries, 196 BCE to 100 BCE, oldest first. Also see Culture & Society across every century or everything else in the 2nd century BC.

• 196 BCEThe first triumphal arch built in Rome.source
• 196 BCEAccording to the Roman scholar and writer Marcus Terentius Varro, the foundation of a library at Pergamum around this time by Eumenes II of Pergamum, combined with an embargo on papyrus by Ptolemy V, leads to the invention of parchment.source
• 193 BCEEumenes II of Pergamum appeals to Rome for help against the Seleucid king Antiochus III who is threatening to conquer Greece. The Roman proconsul Titus Quinctius Flamininus supports the Roman championship of Greek autonomy in Anatolia.source
• 193 BCECarneades of Cyrene moves to Athens to found the third or new Academy.source
• 193 BCECleopatra I Syra, daughter of Antiochus III and Laodice, marries the Egyptian King Ptolemy V Epiphanes.source
• 190 BCEThe statue Nike (Victory) of Samothrace is created (possible date). It is discovered in 1863 and is now kept at Musée du Louvre in Paris.source
• 184 BCEThe oldest known basilica, the Basilica Porcia, is completed in Rome by Cato the Elder during the time he is censor. The building is used by the Romans for transacting business and disposing of legal matters.source
• 180 BCEPtolemy VI Philometor, aged 6, rules as co-regent with his mother, Cleopatra I, who, although a daughter of a Seleucid king, does not take King Seleucus IV's side and remains on friendly terms with Rome.source
• 177 BCEPerseus of Macedonia marries Laodice, the daughter of the Seleucid king Seleucus IV.source
• 175 BCEThe construction of the western front of the altar in Pergamum, Turkey, begins (approximate date) and is finished in 156 BC. A reconstruction of it is now kept at the Pergamon Museum in Berlin.source
• 174 BCEThe first street pavements were laid in Rome.source
• 173 BCEPtolemy VI Philometor marries his sister, Cleopatra II.source
• 166 BCEThe Roman playwright Terence's Andria (The Girl from Andros) is first performed.source
• 165 BCEThe Roman playwright Terence's play Hecyra (The Mother-in-Law) is first performed.source
• 164 BCEConstruction of the detail of the frieze from the east front of the altar in Pergamon, Athena Attacking the Giants, begins and is finished eight years later. It is now kept at the Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, Antikensammlung, Pergamonmuseum in Berlin, Germany.source
• 163 BCEThe Roman playwright Terence's play Heauton Timorumenos ("The Self-Tormentor") is first performed.source
• 161 BCEThe Roman playwright Terence's plays Eunuchus (The Eunuch) and Phormio are first performed.source
• 160 BCEA Painted banner, from the tomb of the wife of the Marquis of Dai, of the Han dynasty, in Mawangdui, Changsha, Hunan, is made (approximate date). It is nowadays preserved at the Historical museum in Beijing.source
• 160 BCEThe Roman playwright Terence's play Adelphoe (The Brothers) is first performed at the funeral of the Roman general, Lucius Aemilius Paullus Macedonicus.source
• 150 BCEThe making of the statue Hellenistic Ruler begins and is finished ten years later. It is now kept at the Museo Nazionale Romano in Rome.source
• 150 BCEThe new king of the Seleucid Empire, Alexander Balas, marries Cleopatra Thea, a daughter of Ptolemy VI Philometor of Egypt.source
• 149 BCEAndriscus, the last king of Macedon, ascends to the throne.source
• 138 BCEHymn to Apollo is written and inscribed on stone in Delphi; it is the earliest surviving notated music, in a substantial and legible fragment, in the western world.source
• 132 BCEThe Late Formative (or pre-Classic) period of the Maya civilization begins.source
• 130 BCEConcubine Wei Zifu gives birth to Liu Ju, the future Crown Prince.source
• 129 BCEMarch: Chen Jiao is deposed as Empress after she asks a sorceress to curse Emperor Wu's favourite consort, Wei Zifu, this being regarded an act of heresy and treason. Wei Zifu is made the new Empress.source
• 129 BCEHipparchus publishes his catalog of stars.source
• 128 BCECn. Octavius and T. Annius Rufus are this year's consulssource
• 123 BCEAix-en-Provence founded under the name of Aquae Sextiae by the Roman consul Sextius Calvinus.source
• 122 BCEEmperor Wu of Han appoints Liu Ju, his son by Empress Wei Zifu, as Crown Prince.source
• 113 BCEAn incense burner, later found in the tomb of Liu Sheng, Prince of Zhongshan in Mancheng, Hebei, is made during the Han dynasty. It is now kept at Hebei Provincial Museum, Shijiazhuang.source
• 100 BCEManius Aquillius celebrates an ovation for victories in the Second Servile War.source