480 BC
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Centuries: | 6th century BC · 5th century BC · 4th century BC |
| Decades: | 510s BC 500s BC 490s BC 480s BC 470s BC 460s BC 450s BC |
| Years: | 483 BC 482 BC 481 BC 480 BC 479 BC 478 BC 477 BC |
| Gregorian calendar | 480 BC |
| Ab urbe condita | 274 |
| Armenian calendar | N/A |
| Chinese calendar | 2157/2217 ([[Sexagenary cycle|]]年) — to —
2158/2218([[Sexagenary cycle|]]年) |
| Ethiopian calendar | -487 – -486 |
| Hebrew calendar | 3281 – 3282 |
| Hindu calendars | |
| - Vikram Samvat | -424 – -423 |
| - Shaka Samvat | N/A |
| - Kali Yuga | 2622 – 2623 |
| Iranian calendar | 1101 BP – 1100 BP |
| Islamic calendar | 1135 BH – 1134 BH |
| Japanese calendar | |
| - Imperial Year | Kōki 181 (皇紀181年) |
| - Jōmon Era | 9521 |
| Thai solar calendar | 64 |
[edit] Events
[edit] By place
[edit] Greece
- May - King Xerxes I of Persia marches from Sardis and onto Thrace and Macedonia.
- 11 August - The Battle of Thermopylae ends in victory for the Persians under Xerxes. His army of nearly 200,000 engulfs a force of 300 Spartans and 700 Boeotians under the Spartan King, Leonidas I. The Greeks under Leonidas resist the advance through Thermopylae of Xerxes' vast army. For two days Leonidas withstands the Persian attacks; he then orders most of his troops to retreat, and he and his 300-member royal guard fight to the last man.
- A member of the Agiad royal family, and the son of King Cleombrotus I and nephew of King Leonidas, Pausanias becomes regent for Leonidas' son, Pleistarchus, after Leonidas I is killed at Thermopylae.
- Phocis and the coasts of Euboea are devastated by the Persians. Thebes and most of Boeotia join Xerxes.
- King Alexander I of Macedon is obliged to accompany Xerxes I in a campaign through Greece, though he secretly aids the Greek allies. With Xerxes' apparent acquiescence, Alexander seizes the Greek colony of Pydna and advances his frontiers eastward to the Strymon, taking in Crestonia and Bisaltia, along with the rich silver deposits of Mount Dysorus.
- Athenian soldier and statesman, Aristides as well as former Athenian archon Xanthippus, return from banishment in Aegina to serve under Themistocles against the Persians.
- August - Battle of Artemisium - The Persians achieve a naval victory over the Greeks in an engagement fought near Artemisium, a promontory on the north coast of Euboea. The Greek fleet holds its own against the Persians in three days of fighting but withdraws southward when news comes of the defeat at Thermopylae.
- Breaking through the pass at Thermopylae from Macedonia into Greece, the Persians occupy Attica.
- 21 September - The Persians sack Athens, whose citizens flee to Salamis and the Peloponnesus.
- 28 September - The Battle of Salamis brings victory to the Greeks, whose Athenian general Themistocles lures the Persians into the Bay of Salamis, between Athenian port-city of Piraeus and the island of Salamis. The Greek triremes then attack furiously, ramming or sinking many Persian vessels and boarding others. The Greeks sink about 300 Persian vessels while losing only about 40 of their own. The rest of the Persian fleet is scattered, and as a result Xerxes has to postpone his planned land offensives for a year, a delay that gives the Greek city-states time to unite against him.
- An eclipse of the sun discourages the Greek army from following up the victory of Salamis. Xerxes returns to Persia leaving behind an army under Mardonius, which winters in Thessaly.
[edit] Roman republic
[edit] Carthage
- Xerxes encourages the Carthaginians to attack the Greeks in Sicily. Under the Carthaginian military leader, Hamilcar, Carthage sends across a large army.
- The Greek city of Himera in Sicily, in its quarrel with Acragas, enlists Carthaginian support. With the help of Gelon, the tyrant of Syracuse, and Theron of Acragas, the Carthaginians are defeated at the Battle of Himera. After the defeat, Hamilcar kills himself.
[edit] By topic
[edit] Arts
- The archaic period of sculpture ends in Ancient Greece and is succeeded by the transitional (Early Classical) period (approximate date).
[edit] Births
- Euripides, Greek playwright (died in 406 BC).
- Antiphon, Attic orator (died in 411 BC).
- Philolaus, Greek mathematician and philosopher (died around 405 BC).
[edit] Deaths
- Leonidas I and 300 Spartans and 700 Thespians (died at Thermopylae).
- Xenophanes, Greek philosopher.
[edit] References
- Livy Book 2
- Burn, A.R., "The Pelican History of Greece", Penguin Books, England, 1987.
- Hornblower, S. & Spawforth, T., ed. "Who's Who in the Classical World", Oxford University Press, Oxford, 2000.
- Mellersh, H.E.L., "Chronology of the Ancient World", Barrie & Jenkins, London, 1976.
- Trager, J., "The People's Chronology", Aurum Press, London, 1992.
