500 BC

Millennium:	1st millennium BC
Centuries:	6th century BC 5th century BC 4th century BC
Decades:	520s BC 510s BC 500s BC 490s BC 480s BC
Years:	503 BC 502 BC 501 BC 500 BC 499 BC 498 BC 497 BC

500 BC in various calendars

Gregorian calendar	500 BC D BC
Ab urbe condita	254
Ancient Egypt era	XXVII dynasty, 26
- Pharaoh	Darius I of Persia, 22
Ancient Greek era	70th Olympiad (victor)¹
Assyrian calendar	4251
Balinese saka calendar	N/A
Bengali calendar	−1092
Berber calendar	451
Buddhist calendar	45
Burmese calendar	−1137
Byzantine calendar	5009–5010
Chinese calendar	庚子年 (Metal Rat) 2198 or 1991     — to — 辛丑年 (Metal Ox) 2199 or 1992
Coptic calendar	−783 – −782
Discordian calendar	667
Ethiopian calendar	−507 – −506
Hebrew calendar	3261–3262
Hindu calendars
- Vikram Samvat	−443 – −442
- Shaka Samvat	N/A
- Kali Yuga	2601–2602
Holocene calendar	9501
Iranian calendar	1121 BP – 1120 BP
Islamic calendar	1155 BH – 1154 BH
Javanese calendar	N/A
Julian calendar	N/A
Korean calendar	1834
Minguo calendar	2411 before ROC 民前2411年
Nanakshahi calendar	−1967
Thai solar calendar	43–44
Tibetan calendar	阳金鼠年 (male Iron-Rat) −373 or −754 or −1526     — to — 阴金牛年 (female Iron-Ox) −372 or −753 or −1525

Map of the Eastern Hemisphere in 500 BC.

The year 500 BC was a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar. In the Roman Republic it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Camerinus and Longus (or, less frequently, year 254 Ab urbe condita). The denomination 500 BC for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevalent method in Europe for naming years.

Events

By place

Europe

• Vulca makes Apollo of Veii, from Portonaccio Temple, now kept at Museo Nazionale di Villa Giulia, Rome.
• The Nordic Bronze Age civilization ends and the Pre-Roman Iron Age begins in Scandinavia, according to the Oscar Montelius periodization system (approximate date).
• Refugees from Teos resettle Abdera.

Middle East

• Darius I of Persia proclaims that Aramaic will be the official language of the western half of his empire.

Africa

• Bantu-speaking people migrate into south-west Uganda from Central Africa. (approximate date)
• The Hutu tribe emerges around this time, in Middle and Southern Africa. (approximate date)
• Hanno the Navigator's naval exploration of the western coast of Africa could have reached as far south as Gabon.

Asia

• The first republic in Vaishali, Bihar, India, is founded.
• States in existence include the Kingdom of Pratipalapura (centered on modern Bhattiprolu, in Guntur district, Andhra Pradesh).
• Yayoi period starts in Ancient Japan (approximate date).

Mesoamerica

• The oldest known Zapotec writing appears (approximate date).
• The Olmecs establish Monte Albán, the sacred city, and continue building pyramids. Founded toward the end of the Middle Formative period at around 500 BC, by the Terminal Formative (ca.100 BC–AD 200) Monte Albán soon becomes the capital of a large-scale expansionist polity that dominates much of the Oaxacan highlands and interacts with other Mesoamerican regional states, such as Teotihuacan to the north (Paddock 1983; Marcus 1983).

By topic

Demographics

• The world population reaches 100,000,000—85,000,000 in the Eastern Hemisphere and 15,000,000 in the Western Hemisphere, primarily Mesoamerica and northern South America (Mexico, Central America, Colombia, Peru, Venezuela).

Arts and culture

• The She-wolf, with late 15th century or early 16th century additions (twins), is made. It is now kept at the Museo Capitolino in Rome (approximate date).

Inventions, discoveries, introductions

• Mesoamerican calendars are developed by the Olmec civilisation

Births

• Anaxagoras, Pre-Socratic Greek philosopher (approximate date) (d. 428 BC)