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.
Roman Republic
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
patricianpraefectus annonae ("president of the market"), to accuse Maelius of seeking to take over the government.
Maelius is summoned before Cincinnatus (who has again become
dictator of the
Roman Republic, to put down a revolt by the plebeians), but refuses to appear. Shortly thereafter, Maelius is killed by
Gaius Servilius Ahala and his house is burnt to the ground.
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).
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.
Telephus, a play by the renowned playwright
Euripides, is produced in Athens. This tragedy did not survive to modern times.
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.
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.
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.
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.
By topic
Art
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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).
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.
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.[2]
The Athenian admiral,
Phormio, continues the siege of
Potidaea by blocking the entrance to the
Gulf of Corinth. Meanwhile an Athenian fleet, led by
Archestratus, sails for Potidaea. However, instead of attacking Potidaea, they attack the
Macedonians under
Perdiccas II, who have allied with the Potidaeans. The Athenians capture
Therma (modern
Thessalonica) and then go on to besiege
Pydna. However, as the Athenians are besieging Pydna, they receive news that Corinth has sent a force under the command of
Aristeus to support Potidaea. In response, Athens sends more troops and ships under the command of
Hipponicus. The combined Athenian force sails to Potidaea and lands there. In the ensuing
Battle of Potidaea, the Athenians are victorious against Corinth and its allies.[citation needed]
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.[4]
By topic
Astronomy
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.[5]
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.
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.
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.
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.
The
GreekphilosopherEmpedocles 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.
Literature
Euripides' play Medea wins third prize at the
Dionysia, the famous Athenian dramatic festival.
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.
Potidaea finally capitulates to the siege by
Athenian forces in the winter.
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.
Pericles becomes ill from the plague but he recovers, temporarily. He is deposed from his position as General (or
Strategos) but is later reappointed.
By topic
Art
Polyclitus completes one of his greatest statues, the Diadumenos (Diadem-bearer).
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.