istoryworld
All Events
Xerxes I, renewing the campaign of his father Darius against the Greeks, leads a large army round the Aegean and through Thrace
The Greek city-states meet in Corinth to devise a joint strategy against the Persians
Kritios sculpts a naturalistic male nude, now the earliest surviving masterpiece in a central tradition of Greek art
300 Spartans, led by Leonidas, die attempting to hold the pass of Thermopylae against the advancing Persian army
Athens, abandoned to the advancing Persians, is looted and destroyed
The Athenian fleet defeats a considerably larger Persian force in the narrow strait between Salamis and the mainland
A Spartan army, led by Pausanias, wins a victory at Plataea, completing the rout of the Persians on the Greek mainland
An Athenian force destroys at Mykale the remainder of the Persian fleet, ending the threat from them at sea
In the last joint campaign by Sparta and Athens the strategically important city of Byzantium is liberated from Persian rule
Representatives of Athens and other Aegean city-states meet in Delos to form a coalition, later known as the Delian League
The Delian League is formed for mutual defence, but also to liberate the Greek cities of Ionia from Persian rule
A life-size bronze of a racing chariot, with its driver and horses, is presented to Delphi to commemorate a victory in the games
The Olympic games are extended to five days, the first and last of which are taken up with religious ceremonies
Vardhamana, an Indian prince, leaves home to live as a beggar - at the start of the Jain religion
Sophocles wins the prize for tragedy in Athens, defeating Aeschylus in the competition
The Athenian general Cimon wins a spectacular victory over the Persians at the mouth of the Eurymedon River, in southwest Turkey
Pericles is one of a radical group in Athens, eager to curb the reactionaries controlling the Areopagus, and hostile to Sparta
An earthquake in Sparta leads to an uprising by the helots, who take up a defensive position on Mount Ithome
Sparta appeals to its allies for help against the helots, and Athens - against the wishes of Pericles and his group - sends an army
With the army away, Pericles introduces full democracy for all Athenian citizens, enabling them to vote and participate in the administration of the state
Sparta causes offence in Athens by dismissing the Athenian army without using them against the helots
Athens makes provocative alliances with two city-states opposed to Sparta
Pericles is given the task of constructing Athens' two famous Long Walls, stretching from the city to either side of the harbour at Piraeus
Herodotus, the 'father of history', writes his account of the Greco-Persian Wars from a vantage point in Asia Minor
Simmering hostilities between the allies of Sparta and Athens develop into endemic conflict among the Greek city states of the Peloponnese
