450s BC

Centuries: 6th century BC - 5th century BC - 4th century BC

Decades: 500s BC 490s BC 480s BC 470s BC 460s BC - 450s BC - 440s BC 430s BC 420s BC 410s BC 400s BC

459 BC 458 BC 457 BC 456 BC 455 BC 454 BC 453 BC 452 BC 451 BC 450 BC

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Events and trends

• 459 BC - Pleistoanax succeeds his father Pleistarchus as king of Sparta.
• 459 BC - Destruction of the Sicilian town of Morgantina by Douketios, leader of the Sikels, according to Diodoros Siculus.
• 459 BC - Ezra leads the second body of Jews from Babylon to Jerusalem.
• 458 BC - Greek playwright Aeschylus completes the Oresteia, a trilogy that tells the story of a family blood feud. The plays will have a great influence on future writers.
• 458 BC - Cincinnatus is named dictator of the Roman Republic in order to defend it against Aequi. Sixteen days later, after defeating the invaders at the Battle of Mons Algidus, he resigns and returns to his farm.
• 457 BC - Athenian statesman Pericles' greatest reform, allowing common people to serve in any state office, inaugurates Golden Age of Ancient Athens.
• 457 BC - Battle of Tanagra–The Spartans defeat the Athenians, near Thebes.
• 457 BC - Battle of Oenophyta–The Athenians defeat the Thebans and take control of Boeotia.
• 457 BC - Decree of Artaxerxes I to re-establish the city government of Jerusalem. See Ezra 7, Daniel 9 and Nehemiah 1 in Old Testament.
• 455 BC - A thirty years' truce concluded between Athens and Lacedaemon.
• 455 BC - Euripides presents his first known tragedy, Peliades, in the Athenian festival of Dionysia.

Death

• 459 BC - Pleistarchus, King of Sparta.
• 456 BC - Aeschylus, Greek playwright (b. 525 BC).