440s BC

Events

449 BC

By place

Greece

• The Greek city-states make peace with the Persian Empire through the Peace of Callias, named after the chief Greek ambassador to the Persian Court, an Athenian who is a brother-in-law of Cimon. Athens agrees to end its support for the Egyptians rebels still holding out in parts of the Nile Delta, while the Persians agree not to send ships of war into the Aegean Sea. Athens now effectively controls all the Greek city states in Ionia.
• Pericles begins a great building plan including the re-fortification of Piraeus and its long walls extending to Athens.
• Pericles proposes a "Congress Decree" allowing the use of 9,000 talents to finance the massive rebuilding program of Athenian temples. This leads to a meeting ("Congress") of all Greek states in order to consider the question of rebuilding the temples destroyed by the Persians. The Congress fails because of Sparta's opposition.
• Pericles places the Athenian sculptor Phidias in charge of all the artistic aspects of his reconstruction program. Construction begins on the Temple of Hephaestus in Athens, while the Athenian Senate commissions Callicrates to construct a temple to Athena Nike on the Acropolis.
• The Second Sacred War erupts between Athens and Sparta, when Sparta forcefully detaches Delphi from Phocis and renders it independent.

Roman Republic

• The Law of the Twelve Tables (developed by the Decemvirates) is formally promulgated in 450 B.C. The Twelve Tables are literally drawn up on twelve ivory tablets which are posted in the Forum Romanum so that all Romans can read and know them.
• When the Decemvirate's term of office expires, the decemviri refuse to leave office or permit successors to take office. Appius Claudius Crassus is said to have made an unjust decision which would have forced a young woman named Verginia into prostitution, prompting her father to kill her. This leads to an uprising against the Decemvirate forcing the decemviri to resign their offices. The ordinary magistrates (magistratus ordinarii) are re-instituted. Appius Claudius is said to have committed suicide as a result of these events.

By topic

Literature

• Herodotus completes his History, which records the events concerning the Persian War.

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Births

• 446 BC
  • Aristophanes, Greek playwright (approximate date) (d. c. 386 BC)
  • Marcus Furius Camillus, Roman soldier and statesman (traditional date) (d. c. 365 BC)

Deaths

• 449 BC
  • Appius Claudius, former decemvir, suicide
  • Spurius Oppius, former decemvir, suicide
• 443 BC – Pindar, Greek poet (b. c. 522 BC)
• 442 BC – Zhou zhen ding wang, King of the Zhou Dynasty of China

References