440s BC

Events and trends

* 449 BC — Construction begins on the Temple of Hephaestus in Athens.
* 449 BC — The Twelve Tables are promulgated to the people of Rome — the first public laws of the Roman Republic.
* 449 BC — Romans revolt against the decemvirate. The decemvirs resign and the tribunate is re-established.
* 449 BC — Herodotus completes his "History", which records the events concerning the Persian War.
* 448 BC — The Peace of Callias between the Delian League and Persia ends the Persian Wars.
* 448 BC — Phidias finishes a 9 meter high statue of Athena on the Acropolis.
* 447 BC — Athens begins construction of the Parthenon, at the initiative of Pericles.
* 447 BC — Battle of Coronea — The Athenians are driven out of Boeotia.
* 447 BC — Achaeus of Eretria, a Greek playwright, shows his first play.
* 445 BC — Pericles declares Thirty Years Peace between Athens and Sparta.
* 445 BC — Artaxerxes I gives Nehemiah permission to rebuild Jerusalem.
* 445 BC — The Lacus Curtius is created by a lightning strike in Rome. It is consecrated by Gaius, Mettius or Marcus Curtius.
* 443 BC — The Roman Republic creates the office of censor, initially exclusive to patricians.
* 443 BC — Foundation of the Greek colony of Thurii in Italy. Its colonists include Herodotus and Lysias.
* 442 BC — Sophocles writes "Antigone".
* 441 BC — Zhou ai wang becomes King of the Zhou Dynasty of China but dies before the year's end, to be succeeded by Zhou si wang.
* 441 BC — Zhou si wang becomes King of the Zhou Dynasty of China but dies before the year's end.
* 440 BC — Famine in Rome.
* 440 BC — Zhou kao wang becomes King of the Zhou Dynasty of China.
* 440 BC — Meron determines the two points of the solstice.
* 440 BC — Democritus proposes the existence of indivisible particles, which he calls atoms.
* The metope relief, "Lapith fighting a centaur", from the Doric metope on the south side of the Parthenon, is made. It is now preserved at The British Museum in London (approximate date).

Births

* c. 446 BC — Aristophanes, Greek playwright (d. c. 386 BC)
* 446 BC — Marcus Furius Camillus, Roman soldier and statesman (traditional date) (d. c. 365 BC)

Deaths

* 449 BC — Appius Claudius, former decemvir, suicide
* 449 BC — Spurius Oppius, former decemvir, suicide
* 443 BC — Pindar, Greek poet (b. c. 522 BC)
* 442 BC — Zhou zhen ding wang, King of the Zhou Dynasty of China