istoryworld
Events relating to greek literature
The Homeric texts, the Iliad and the Odyssey, are written down - probably in Ionia
Parmenides is the first pure philosopher, using logic as a philosophical tool in his poem Nature
Aeschylus wins the prize for tragedy at the City Dionysia in Athens
Sophocles wins the prize for tragedy in Athens, defeating Aeschylus in the competition
Herodotus, the 'father of history', writes his account of the Greco-Persian Wars from a vantage point in Asia Minor
Euripides enters the drama contest at the City Dionysia in Athens for the first time
The Sophists, professional philosophers, travel round Greece educating the sons of the rich
The renewal of the Peloponnesian War prompts Thucydides to begin a great work of contemporary history
Aristophanes wins first prize in Athens for his comedy The Acharnians
Socrates is now sufficiently prominent to be satirized in Clouds, a comedy by Aristophanes
Greek mercenaries, on the losing side at Cunaxa, begin a long journey home - described by Xenophon in the Anabasis
Socrates, convicted in Athens of impiety, is sentenced to death and drinks the hemlock
Plato establishes a school in Akademeia, a suburb of Athens
Central to Plato's philosophy is the theory that there are higher Forms of reality, of which our senses perceive only a transient shadow
Aristotle, at the age of seventeen, comes to Athens to join Plato's academy
Aristotle tackles wide-ranging subjects on a systematic basis, leaving to his successors an encyclopedia of contemporary thought
Plautus and Terence, in the second and third century BC, create a Roman drama based on Greek originals
Justinian closes down the schools of Athens, famous for their tradition of pagan philosophy