Traditionally, the Romans expel King Tarquin the Proud and establish a republic led by elected consuls.
Approximate date.
Cleisthenes reorganizes Athenian citizens into new tribes and broadens political participation, often seen as the birth of Athenian democracy.
Athenian forces defeat the first Persian invasion of Greece.
The Greek fleet, urged on by Themistocles, defeats the Persian navy, turning the tide of Xerxes' second invasion of Greece.
A small Greek force led by the Spartan king Leonidas holds off the Persian army of Xerxes I before being overwhelmed.
Under Pericles, the Athenians build the Parthenon on the Acropolis, dedicated to the goddess Athena.
A long war between Athens and the Sparta-led Peloponnesian League ends in Athens' defeat.