istoryworld
Events relating to europe
The Greeks develop the Babylonian theme of the zodiac, naming it the zodiakos kyklos or circle of animals
The city-states of the Peloponnese unite in a defensive league under Spartan leadership
The murals of Etruscan tombs, such as the Tomb of the Lionesses in Tarquinia, give a lively glimpse of an earlier tradition in Greek art
An Etruscan dynasty rules in Rome and Etruscan influence is now dominant throughout central Italy
The hoplite - a Greek citizen, heavily armed in bronze and leather - proves a formidable fighting man
The phalanx, though not originally devised in Greece, is a devastating formation on the battlefield when composed of hoplites
The Greek city states pioneer the use of citizen armies, made up of free men who bring their own fighting equipment
Cyrus annexes the Greek territory of Ionia as part of his empire, giving Persia a presence on the Aegean
Thespis, traditionally considered the first actor, wins the drama competition in Athens
The Greek colonists of Paestum, in southern Italy, build the first of their three superb temples
The Greek mathematician Pythagoras establishes himself, along with his followers, in southern Italy
The Athenian ruler Peisistratos dies and is peacefully succeeded by his son, Hippias
The Athenian ruler Hippias is toppled by the nobles of Attica, with the help of Sparta
Hecateus, a geographer in Miletus, produces a map showing the Greek idea of the known world
According to legend, the Etruscans are driven from Rome by popular outrage after the rape of Lucretia by Sextus Tarquinius
The Roman senate becomes an executive body with two of its members elected annually as consuls, or joint heads of state
Cleisthenes gives every Athenian citizen a voice in the demos, the local council at village or town level
The Greeks are intrigued by the iron-attracting property of a mineral which they find in the district of Magnesia
The Isthmian games at Corinth are by now a regular event, as are the Pythian games and the Nemean games
The Greeks observe the strange effect of electricity, seen when amber (known to them as electron) is rubbed
The new and more sophisticated fashion in Greek vases is the red-figure style
The Lapps, hunters of reindeer, have Scandinavia to themselves before the arrival of Germanic tribes
Parmenides is the first pure philosopher, using logic as a philosophical tool in his poem Nature
The Celts, moving west from central Europe, settle in France and northern Spain
