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

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, brought to power by popular support, puts into effect a major programme of political reform in Athens

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 followers of Pythagoras discover the mathematical basis of the octave

The Greeks add a third bank of oars to their war galleys, turning the bireme into a trireme

The Greek cities of Ionia rebel against Persian rule, with the partial support of Athens

After six years the Persians recover control of Ionia, but Athens is now identified as a target for invasion