Chronology

Peloponnesian War: name of the conflict between Athens and Sparta that broke out in 431 and continued, with an interruption, until 404. Athens was forced to dismantle its empire. The war however, was not decisive, because within a decade, the defeated city had regained its strength. The significance of the conflict is that the divided Greeks could not prevent the Persian Empire from recovering their Asian possessions. Besides, this violent quarter of a century had important social, economic, and cultural consequences.

Prologue

435	Conflict between Corcyra and Corinth concerning Epidamnus
435/434
434	Corcyrans defeat Corinthians at Leucimme
434/433
433	Athens allies itself to Corcyra Battle of Sybota
433/432	Athens renews its alliance with Rhegium and Leontini
432	Revolt of Potidea Megarian Decree	87th Olympic games Meton improves the calendar
432/431	Siege of Potidea Conference of the Peloponnesian League in Sparta

Archidamian War

431	March: Theban attack on Plataea (text); outbreak of Archidamian War Siege of Potidea continued First Spartan invasion of Attica	Euripides, Medea
431/430	Siege of Potidea continued	Funeral oration of Pericles
430	Second Spartan invasion of Attica Siege of Potidea continued Plague in Athens (text) Pericles fails to take Epidauros Spartan failure to send an embassy to Persia (text)	Birth of Xenophon
430/429	Phormio sent to Naupactus Fall of Potidea
429	Siege of Plataea (text) Plague continues Victories of Phormio (text)	Death of Pericles
429/428	Sitalces of Thrace invades Macedonian
428	Third Spartan invasion of Attica Siege of Plataea continued Revolt of Mitylene	Euripides, Hippolytus 88th Olympic games Death of Anaxagoras Birth of Plato
428/427	Siege of Mitylene Siege of Plataea continued
427	Fourth Spartan invasion of Attica Fall of Mitylene Fall of Plataea Civil war in Corcyra First Athenian expedition to Sicily Death of the Spartan king Archidamus II; regency because his son Agis II is too young	Gorgias of Leontini in Athens
427/426	Plague breaks out again
426	Demosthenes in western Greece Cleon triples tribute of the subject allies
426/425	The Athenians purify Delos Battle of Olpae	Death of Artaxerxes I Makrocheir Spring: eruption of the Etna Aristophanes, Acharnians
425	Fifth Spartan invasion of Attica Demosthenes captures Pylos (text) Cleon captures of 292 Spartans at Sphacteria Destruction of the Corcyran oligarchs	Crisis of succession in the Persian empire
425/424		Darius II Nothus becomes sole ruler in Persia Aristophanes, Knights
424	Congress at Gela; peace at Sicily Fighting at Megara Athenians defeated by the Thebans at Delium	89th Olympic games
424/423	Brasidas captures Amphipolis (text); Thucydides exiled Brasidas captures Torone
423	Spring: armistice	Aristophanes, Clouds
423/422	Brasidas fails to capture Potidaea	Aristophanes, Wasps
422	End of the armistice; Cleon recovers Torone but is killed in action at Amphipolis; Brasidas killed
422/421	Peace negotiations
421	Peace of Nicias	Aristophanes, Peace (text)

The entr'acte

421	Athenians capture Scione Alliance between Argos and Corinth
421/420	Fruitless negotiations between Athens and Sparta
420	Alliance between Argos, Mantinea, Elis, and Athens	Cult of Asclepius introduced in Athens 90th Olympic Games: Alcibiades wins 1st, 2nd and 4th prizes
420/419
419	War between Argos and Epidaurus Agis II prefers not to intervene
419/418
418	Agis II defeats the Athenian coalition at Mantinea (text)
418/417	Oligarchic interlude in Argos
417		Ostracism of Hyperbolus
417/416		Agathon wins the Lenaea (occasion of Plato's Symposium)
416	Athens attcks Melos	91st Olympic games Euripides, Heracles?
416/415	Athens captures Melos Preparations for Sicilian Expedition

Sicilian Expedition

415	Mutilation of the Athenian herms; Alcibiades accused Launching of the Athenian expedition to Sicily Alcibiades recalled; he flees to Sparta	Euripides, Trojan Women Tissaphernes succeeds Pissuthnes
415/414	Hermocrates convinces the Camerinans not to support the Athenians
414	Athenians start siege of Syracuse The Spartan Gylippus arrives at Syracuse	Aristophanes, Birds Euripides, Iphigenia in Tauris?
414/413	Nicias asks for reinforcements
413	Demosthenes with reinforcements to Sicily Naval fight in harbor of Syracuse Late summer: destruction of the Athenian expeditionary force (text)

Decelean or Ionian War

413	Early spring: the Spartan king Agis captures and fortifies Decelea (beginning of the Decelean war) Mycalessus sacked	Euripides, Ion?
413/412	Athenian crisis measures	Agis' wife Timaea seduced by Alcibiades
412	Revolt of the Athenian allies (beginning of the Ionian War) Alcibiades brings Spartan support to Ionia; Athenians start the siege of Chios First agreement between Sparta and Persia	Euripides, Helen 92nd Olympic games
412/411	Siege of Chios continued; Tissaphernes in Miletus Second agreement between Sparta and Persia	Spartans capture Iasus; end of Amorges Aristophanes, Lysistrata
411	Third agreement between Sparta and Persia Oligarchic coup in Athens (the Four Hundred; text) Spartan attack on Euboea Countercoup by Theramenes (the Five Thousand) Athenian naval victories at Cynosema and Abydus [End of Thucyides' History]	Aristophanes, Thesmophoriazusae Euripides, Phoenician women?
411/410
410	Athenian naval victory at Cyzicus Spartan peace offer refused Restoration of the Athenian democracy	Euripides, Electra? Pogrom in Elephantine
410/409
409	Thrasyllus in Ionia Death of the Spartan king Pleistoanax; he is succeeded by Pausanias	Foundation of Rhodes Carthaginian expedition to Sicily Sophocles, Philoctetes
409/408		Aristophanes, Plutos (first version)
408	Athens recovers Byzantium Spartan embassy to Darius II Nothus	93rd Olympic games Euripides, Orestes
408/407	Cyrus becomes satrap of Lydia
407	Alcibiades in Athens Lysander in command of Spartan fleet
407/406		Death of Euripides
406	Athenian defeat at Notion; fall of Alcibiades Athenian victory at Arginusae Victorious generals executed	Death of Sophocles Second Carthaginian expedition to Sicily
406/405	Spartan peace offer of peace, rejected by Cleophon	Rise of Dionysius of Syracuse
405	Lysander defeats the Athenians at Aigospotamoi Revolt of many Athenian allies Pausanias, Agis, and Lysander lay siege to Athens	Aristophanes, Frogs Peace between Syracuse and Carthage
405/404	Siege of Athens continued; Theramenes conducts negotiations	Illness and death of Darius II Nothus
404	April: Fall of Athens; Long walls pulled down (text)	Artaxerxes II Mnemon becomes king of the Persian empire

Aftermath

404	Oligarchic regime of the Thirty; reign of terror (text)	94th Olympic games Alcibiades assassinated Revolt of Amyrtaeus in Egypt
404/403	December?: Democrats, led by Thrasybulus, capture Phyle Execution of Theramenes
403	Democrats capture of Piraeus; battle of Munichia Critias killed September: King Pausanias of Sparta restores democracy
403/402	Rewards for the liberators of Athens (text)
402	Fall of Lysander
402/401
401	Civil war in the Persian empire between king Artaxerxes II Mnemon and his younger brother Cyrus, who is supported by a Greek mercenary force (the Ten Thousand), which included Xenophon	Sophocles, Oedipus in Colonus (posthumous)
401/400	Return of the Ten Thousand through Armenia
400	Death of Agis II; he is succeeded by Agesilaus Spartan war against Tissapernes, led by Thibron	95th Olympic games
400/399
399		Xenophon in exile; Socrates executed