500s BC (4 events)
499 BC
ID: 227
Ionian Revolt begins - Greek cities in Asia Minor rebel against Persia, Athens sends aid
ID: 227
496 BC
ID: 2646
Battle of Lake Regillus - Rome defeats Latin League, Castor and Pollux allegedly appear to help Romans, independence secured
ID: 2646
495 BC
ID: 2807
Elephantine Jewish colony flourishing - papyri show Jewish military colony in Egypt with their own temple
ID: 2807
494 BC
ID: 2647
First Secession of the Plebs - plebeians withdraw to Sacred Mount, win right to elect tribunes to protect them from patricians
ID: 2647
490s BC (6 events)
490 BC
ID: 228
September 490 BC
Battle of Marathon - 10,000 Greeks defeat 25,000 Persians, Pheidippides runs to Athens with news
ID: 228
486 BC
ID: 3631
Death of Darius I - Xerxes inherits empire at its peak, plans Greek invasion
ID: 3631
483 BC
ID: 229
Xerxes begins preparations for invasion - builds bridge across Hellespont, digs canal through Mount Athos
ID: 229
483 BC
ID: 235
Buddha achieves parinirvana - final release from cycle of rebirth, disciples begin spreading dharma
ID: 235
483 BC
ID: 5320
Laurion silver funds Athenian fleet - 100 talents annually from mines employing 20,000 slaves, decisive for Salamis victory
ID: 5320
481 BC
ID: 230
Delphic Oracle prophecies 'wooden walls' will save Athens - Themistocles interprets as navy
ID: 230
480s BC (8 events)
480 BC
ID: 272
Battle of Himera - Greeks defeat Carthaginians in Sicily on same day as Salamis (tradition)
ID: 272
480 BC
ID: 5351
Laurion silver victories - Athenian fleet built with mining profits defeats Persians at Salamis, saving Greek independence
ID: 5351
480 BC
ID: 231
August 480 BC
Battle of Thermopylae - 300 Spartans and Leonidas make last stand against Persian army
ID: 231
480 BC
ID: 232
September 480 BC
Battle of Salamis - Greek fleet destroys Persian navy in narrow straits, Xerxes watches from shore
ID: 232
479 BC
ID: 233
Battle of Plataea - combined Greek forces finally defeat Persian army, end of Persian invasion
ID: 233
479 BC
ID: 234
Death of Confucius - leaves behind ethical system based on ren (humaneness) and li (ritual propriety)
ID: 234
478 BC
ID: 236
Delian League founded - Athens leads alliance against Persia, beginning of Athenian Empire
ID: 236
473 BC
ID: 2810
Purim instituted - celebrates Jewish deliverance from Haman's plot in Persian Empire under Xerxes I (Ahasuerus)
ID: 2810
470s BC (4 events)
468 BC
ID: 262
Death of Mahavira - establishes Jainism, absolute non-violence (ahimsa), liberation through asceticism
ID: 262
465 BC
ID: 266
Persepolis construction continues - magnificent ceremonial capital of Persian Empire
ID: 266
462 BC
ID: 267
Pay for jury service introduced in Athens - enables poor citizens to participate in democracy
ID: 267
461 BC
ID: 238
Pericles rises to power in Athens - begins Golden Age: democracy, building program, cultural flowering
ID: 238
460s BC (8 events)
460 BC
ID: 239
Democritus develops atomic theory - 'Nothing exists except atoms and empty space'
ID: 239
460 BC
ID: 240
Hippocrates begins medical practice - natural causes for disease, Hippocratic Oath established
ID: 240
458 BC
ID: 237
Aeschylus presents Oresteia trilogy - justice evolves from blood vengeance to law courts
ID: 237
458 BC
ID: 2648
Cincinnatus called from plow to dictatorship - defeats Aequi in 16 days, returns to farm, model of Roman virtue
ID: 2648
458 BC
ID: 2790
Ezra returns to Jerusalem - brings 1,500 exiles, commissioned by Artaxerxes to teach Law
ID: 2790
457 BC
ID: 2791
Ezra's marriage reform - discovers widespread intermarriage, public confession and covenant to separate from foreign wives
ID: 2791
453 BC
ID: 264
Partition of Jin in China - begins intense warfare leading to Legalist philosophy
ID: 264
451 BC
ID: 2649
Law of Twelve Tables published - first written Roman law, displayed in Forum, foundation of legal system
ID: 2649
450s BC (13 events)
450 BC
ID: 242
Protagoras teaches in Athens - 'Man is the measure of all things,' charges fees for wisdom
ID: 242
450 BC
ID: 263
Twelve Tables of Roman Law published - first written laws, foundation of Roman legal system
ID: 263
450 BC
ID: 270
Pythagorean theorem widely known - mathematics as key to understanding cosmos
ID: 270
450 BC
ID: 2808
Hebrew Bible reaches near-final form - Ezra the Scribe traditionally credited with compiling and editing texts
ID: 2808
450 BC
ID: 3662
La Tène culture develops - elaborate metalwork, curved designs, warrior culture spreads across Europe
ID: 3662
450 BC
ID: 5368
La Tène warrior culture spreads with wine trade - Celtic mercenaries paid in wine, new artistic styles spread along trade routes
ID: 5368
450 BC
ID: 5415
Hippocrates prescribes wine medicinally - different wines for different ailments, wine as antiseptic and digestive aid
ID: 5415
447 BC
ID: 241
Parthenon construction begins - Phidias oversees sculptures, pinnacle of Classical architecture
ID: 241
445 BC
ID: 2792
Nehemiah arrives as governor - inspects ruined walls at night, begins reconstruction despite Sanballat's opposition
ID: 2792
445 BC
ID: 2793
Jerusalem's walls rebuilt - completed in 52 days despite threats, armed workers, night and day guards
ID: 2793
444 BC
ID: 265
Empedocles teaches four elements and two forces - earth, air, fire, water moved by Love and Strife
ID: 265
444 BC
ID: 2794
Great Assembly - Ezra reads Law to people from dawn to noon, covenant renewed, Feast of Tabernacles celebrated
ID: 2794
441 BC
ID: 244
Sophocles presents Antigone - divine law versus human law, individual versus state
ID: 244
440s BC (7 events)
440 BC
ID: 243
Herodotus completes Histories - first historical work, describes peoples from India to Africa
ID: 243
440 BC
ID: 5909
Oracle declares Socrates wisest - Chaerephon asks if anyone wiser than Socrates, oracle says no, launches Socrates' philosophical mission
ID: 5909
434 BC
ID: 245
Anaxagoras expelled from Athens for impiety - taught sun was hot stone, not god, Mind (Nous) orders cosmos
ID: 245
433 BC
ID: 2795
Nehemiah's second governorship - returns from Persia, finds abuses, enforces Sabbath, closes gates to merchants
ID: 2795
432 BC
ID: 274
Meton discovers 19-year lunar cycle - reconciles solar and lunar calendars
ID: 274
431 BC
ID: 246
Peloponnesian War begins - Athens versus Sparta, democracy versus oligarchy, sea versus land power
ID: 246
431 BC
ID: 252
Euripides presents Medea - psychological realism, woman's revenge, questions traditional values
ID: 252
430s BC (8 events)
430 BC
ID: 247
Great Plague of Athens - kills 1/3 of population, possibly typhoid, Pericles loses sons
ID: 247
430 BC
ID: 268
Catapult invented in Syracuse - revolutionizes siege warfare
ID: 268
430 BC
ID: 2809
Malachi prophesies - last Old Testament prophet, announces coming of Elijah before 'great and terrible day,' 400 years of prophetic silence begins
ID: 2809
430 BC
ID: 3694
Plague of Athens - kills 1/3 of population including Pericles, possibly typhoid fever
ID: 3694
429 BC
ID: 248
Death of Pericles from plague - Funeral Oration idealizes Athenian democracy
ID: 248
429 BC
ID: 253
Sophocles presents Oedipus Rex - perfect tragedy, fate versus free will, tragic irony
ID: 253
425 BC
ID: 254
Aristophanes' Knights wins first prize - savage satire of demagogue Cleon during wartime
ID: 254
421 BC
ID: 249
Peace of Nicias - temporary halt to Peloponnesian War, both sides exhausted
ID: 249
420s BC (5 events)
420 BC
ID: 250
Socrates at height of influence - questioning youth in agora, 'unexamined life not worth living'
ID: 250
415 BC
ID: 5952
Alcibiades accused of profaning Mysteries - drunkenly mocks Eleusinian rites at party, flees Athens, sentenced to death in absentia
ID: 5952
413 BC
ID: 251
Sicilian Expedition ends in disaster - entire Athenian force destroyed, 40,000 men lost
ID: 251
411 BC
ID: 255
Thucydides exiled, begins History - scientific history, examines causes, Melian Dialogue on power
ID: 255
411 BC
ID: 256
Oligarchic coup in Athens - Four Hundred seize power, democracy temporarily overthrown
ID: 256
410s BC (5 events)
410 BC
ID: 257
Battle of Cyzicus - Athenian fleet wins major victory, democracy restored
ID: 257
406 BC
ID: 258
Battle of Arginusae - Athens wins but executes generals for not saving drowning sailors
ID: 258
404 BC
ID: 259
Athens surrenders to Sparta - Long Walls demolished, Athenian Empire ends, Thirty Tyrants installed
ID: 259
403 BC
ID: 278
Athenian democracy restored - Thirty Tyrants overthrown, general amnesty prevents cycle of vengeance
ID: 278
401 BC
ID: 276
March of the Ten Thousand - Greek mercenaries fight way home from Persia, Xenophon leads and documents
ID: 276
400s BC (7 events)
400 BC
ID: 269
La Tène culture spreads - Celtic art and culture across Europe, skilled metalwork
ID: 269
400 BC
ID: 271
Crop rotation practiced in Greece - beans restore nitrogen, agricultural productivity increases
ID: 271
400 BC
ID: 273
Panini composes Sanskrit grammar - most complete grammar of any language until modern times
ID: 273
400 BC
ID: 321
Hippocratic Oath formalized - 'First do no harm,' medical ethics foundation for 2,400 years
ID: 321
400 BC
ID: 5361
Celtic iron mining expands - Noricum (Austria) becomes famous for high-quality steel, Celtic smiths supply Mediterranean
ID: 5361
400 BC
ID: 5369
Celtic oppida urbanization begins - fortified towns with organized streets, markets, coin mints, populations reaching 10,000
ID: 5369
400 BC
ID: 5416
Athenian wine laws - symposiarch controls mixing ratios (usually 3:1 water to wine), unmixed wine considered barbaric
ID: 5416