The World of Classical Greek Drama
| Arts and Literature | Politics | Science and Philosophy |
| 500 b.c. The great Indian epic, the Mahabharata is composed. |
500 b.c. Darius the Great is enraged by Greek intervention in Asia Minor. The Persian Wars begin. |
500 b.c. Alcmaeon of Creton carries out the first formal studies of the structure and behavior of animals |
| 486 b.c. Comedy is added as a category of competition in the City Dionysia of Athens. |
490 b.c. The Greeks defeat the Persians at the battle of Marathon. 481 b.c. In China the "period of the Warring States" begins |
475 b.c. Greek philosopher Parmenides postulates that the world is a sphere 470 b.c. Disciples of Confucius collect and write down his teachings |
| 458 b.c. Aeschylus - The Orestia 455 b.c. Eurpides - The Daughters of Pelias |
458 b.c. Ezra is sent to Jerusalem by Artaxerxes |
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| 448 b.c. Phidas starts work on the Parthenon 441 b.c. Sophocles - Antigone |
445 b.c. Empedocles states that all substances are made up of the "four element" -- earth, fire, water, and air and explains the development of the universe in terms of attraction and repulsion |
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| 438 b.c. Eurpides - Alcestis 431 b.c. 430 b.c. Sophocles - Oedipus Rex |
431 b.c. The Peloponnesian War begins 430 b.c. The Spartans make the second of five invasions of Attica. The Athenians have some successes in sea raids. Athens itself is full to the bursting point with refugees. Plague breaks out. |
430 b.c. Socrates begins to establish himself as a teacher |
| 428 b.c. Euripides - Hipplytus 427 b.c. Euripdes - Andromache 424 b.c. Thucydides begins to write his History of the Peloponnesian War Aristophanes - The Knights 423 b.c. Aristophanes - The Clouds 422 b.c. Aristophanes - The Wasps |
425 b.c. Demosthenes lands at Pylos with an Athenian fleet. Sparta breaks off the invasion of Attica to send troups to Pylos. Cleon takes command and wins a victory for Athens. Sparta makes peace overtures, but the Athenians reject them. 424 b.c. The Athenians spreat the war into Boeotia, but are defeated at the battle of Delium. They suffer additional defeats in Thrace. 420 b.c. Roman troops defeat the Aequii and the Volscians.
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420 b.c. The Celts invent the claymore, a double-edged and double-bladed weapon |
| 414 b.c. Aristophanes - The Birds 413 b.c. Eurpides - Electra 411 b.c. Aristophanes - Lysistrata |
410 b.c. Celtic tribes migrate south across the alps 409 b.c. Hanibal invades Sicily and defeats the Sicilian Greeks at the second battle of Himera. |
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| 404 b.c. Athens falls to the Spartans. The Peloponnesian War ends. |
400 b.c. Hippocrates recognizes that disease has natural causes. |