Solon is elected archon in Athens, immediately cancelling the debts of the peasants of Attica and making it illegal to enslave a debtor

Thales of Miletus, traditionally the first philosopher, is credited with the prediction of a solar eclipse

Peisistratos seizes power in Athens and rules as a benevolent dictator for more than thirty years

The painters of Greek vases develop the black-figure style, with the scene depicted in black silhouette against a red ground

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 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 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

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

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

Darius sends a fleet across the Aegean, carrying a large army of infantry and cavalry for an attack on Athens

The Persian fleet secures the Greek island of Euboea before making the short crossing to Marathon on the mainland – where they await the Greeks