066 - The Athenian Agora

In this episode, we discuss the construction, history, and significance of the Athenian Agora (the civic, religious, legal, and commercial nerve center for Athenian democracy), including a walking tour of what a visitor then and now would see

065 - The Athenian Acropolis

In this episode, we discuss the construction, the history, and the significance of the buildings on the Athenian Akropolis (including the Parthenon, the Propylaia, the Temple of Athena Nike, the Erechtheion, and a few others); together, these buildings mark the high point of the glorification of Athens, a confident assertion of Athens’ cultural leadership of Greece, a bold endorsement of its self-image, and a dazzling instrument of political propaganda, with the result that many people later would consider the Athenian Akropolis to be the symbol of the legacy and the glories of Classical Greece

064 - The Protectress of Athens

In this episode, we discuss the myths, iconography, and cultic worship of Athena, the goddess of wisdom, craftsmanship, and strategic warfare who served as a kind of symbol for the city of Athens and civilization in general

063 - The Lord of the Sea

In this episode, we discuss the myths, iconography, and cultic worship of Poseidon, the violent and unpredictable god who ruled over the sea

062 - Agricultural Festivals

In this episode, we discuss the Attic calendar year with a focus on the agricultural festivals and ceremonies; starting in the fall at the time of sowing we work our way around the year, month-by-month, until it is time to sow once again; particular attention is given to the Thesmophoria and the Eleusinian Mysteries but a dozen or so other festivals are described, including the Pyanepsia, the Oschophoria, the Chalkeia, the Proerosia, the Apaturia, the Haloa, the Thargelia, the Skira, the Kronia, the Herakleia, and the Boedromia (excluded are the Rural Dionysia, the Lenaia, the City Dionysia, and the Anthesteria)

Attic Calendar:

Pyanepsion (late October / early November)

Maimakterion (late November / early December)

Poseideion (late December /  early January)

Gamelion (late January / early February)

Anthesterion (late February / early March)

Elaphebolion (late March / early April)

Mounichion (late April / early May)

Thargelion (late May / early June)

Skirophorion (late June / early July)

Hekatombaion (late July / early August)

Metageitnion (late August  / early September)

Boedromion (late September / early October)

061 - The "Two Goddesses"

In this episode, we discuss the primordial goddess Gaia (the personification of Mother Earth) and her relationship with Demeter, the goddess of agriculture; the myths and iconography of Demeter and her daughter Persephone / Kore (including the daughter's abduction by Hades); Persephone's dual role as Queen of the Underworld and an agriculture goddess, like her mother; and the various ways in which these two were worshipped together, particularly in the Peloponnese and Magna Graecia (but not including their Attic cults)

Primary Sources:

Text/Homeric Hymn to Demeter

060 - Hades and the Underworld

In this episode, we discuss the mysterious, shadowy figure of Hades (Lord of the Underworld); the Greek perception of the afterlife and those who dwell in it; necromancy (the summoning of the dead to answer questions); where and how one can make a katabasis (decent) into the Underworld; and Homer's description of the abode of Hades in Book Eleven of the Odyssey and then comparing and contrasting that with the description found in Virgil's Aeneid Book Six, all while taking a tour of the Underworld, its major features, and its inhabitants

Primary Sources:

Text/Homer's Odyssey (Book 11)

Text/Virgil's Aeneid (Book 6)

059 - Olympian Zeus

In this episode, we discuss the myths, iconography, and cultic worship of Zeus, the mighty patriarch who ruled over Mount Olympus; included are his Indo-European origins as the supreme sky god; his role as the god who maintains order and justice by presided over normative civic, social, and family relationships; his connection with Themis (Divine Law), Nemesis (Revenge), and the three Moirai (the Fates); his worship as a rain-making, agricultural deity, both on mountain peaks (Attica and Crete) and the Underworld (symbolizing the regenerative life cycle); his worship in Arcadia and its relationship to werewolf transformation and human sacrifice; his oracles at Dodone and Siwa (where he was syncretized with Libyan god Ammon); his Pan-Hellenic sanctuary at Olympia; his connection with Nike (Victory) and his worship as a savior or bringer of freedom against foreign foes (Persia and Carthage); and the "philosophical Zeus" that arose when many people began to question polytheistic religions during the Hellenistic Period

058 - Classical Temples

In this episode, we discuss the innovation during the 5th century BC in the realm of temple building (outside of Attica); included are the Temple of Aphaia at Aegina, the Temple of Zeus at Olympia, the Temple of Hera II at Poseidonia (Paestum), the Temple of Victory at Himera, the Temple of Apollo at Syracuse, the Valley of the Temples at Akragas, the Temple of Hera at Selinus, the unfinished temple at Segesta, and the Temple of Apollo at Bassae

057 - Classical Paintings

In this episode, we discuss the innovation during the 5th century BC in the realm of vase, wooden panel, and wall paintings; included are some of the works of the Kleoprades Painter, the Berlin Painter, Onesimos, the Brygos Painter, the Pistoxenos Painter, Sotades, the Niobid Painter, Polygnotos, Mikon, Timarete, Parrhasios, Zeuxis, Apollodoros, the Achilles Painter, the Penthesilea Painter, the Pisticci Painter, the Meidias Painter, as well as the Tomb of the Diver at Poseidonia (Paestum) and the Pitsa Panels

056 - Classical Sculptures

In this episode, we discuss the innovation during the 5th century BC in the realm of free-standing statuary in the round, stelai, and architectural relief; included are the Kritios Boy and the Angelitos' Athena from the "Persian debris", the Tyrannicides by Antenor, the Charioteer of Delphi, the Artemision Zeus/Poseidon, the Riace Warriors, the Statue of Zeus Carrying Ganymede, the Mourning Athena, the Exaltation of the Flowers, the Enthroned Goddess, the Charioteer of Motya, the Relief of Hades and Persephone Enthroned, the Relief of Aphrodite and Hermes in a Chariot Drawn by Eros and Psyche, the Diskobolos (Discus Thrower) of Myron, the Doryphoros (Spear-Bearer) and Diadoumenos (Youth Tying a Headband) of Polykleitos, the Helmeted Athena, the Wound Amazon, the Cat Stele, and Stele of Hegeso

055 - The Dionysian Mysteries

In this episode, we discuss the Phrygian goddess Cybele; her cult's transportation to Greece in the 6th century BC; her assimilation with the cults of Gaia, Rhea, and Demeter as the Great Mother and as a civic protector (particularly in Athens); her cultic rites and influence on Dionysos (Bacchus), particularly music, wine, and an ecstatic following; the myths of two other Phrygian deities, Agdistis and Attis; some of the myths and the iconography of Dionysos and his companions (Silenus, Pan, the Satyrs, and the Maenads); the historicity and major themes of Euripides’ The Bacchae ("The Followers of Bacchus"); and the cultic elements of Dionysiac worship (particularly in Delphi, Boeotia, and the Peloponnese)

Primary Sources:

Text/Euripides' The Bacchae

054 - Old Comedy and Aristophanes

In this episode, we discuss the Lenaia, the intricacies of Athenian Old Comedy, and what is known about the lives and works of the earliest comedic poets, who set the stage for Aristophanes, whose eleven surviving works effectively define the genre today, which include The Acharnians, The Knights, The Clouds, The Wasps, Peace, The Birds, Lysistrata, The Women at the Thesmophoria, The Frogs, The Assembly Women, and Wealth

Primary Sources:
Text/Aristophanes' The Acharnians
Text/Aristophanes' The Knights
Text/Aristophanes' The Clouds
Text/Aristophanes' The Wasps
Text/Aristophanes' Peace
Text/Aristophanes' The Birds

Text/Aristophanes' Lysistrata
Text/Aristophanes' The Women at the Thesmophoria
Text/Aristophanes' The Frogs
Text/Aristophanes' The Assembly Women
Text/Aristophanes' Wealth

053 - Euripides at War

In this episode, we discuss the historicity and some of the major themes of Euripides' surviving plays that he produced against the backdrop of the Peloponnesian War, which include The Children of Herakles, Andromache, Hecuba, The Suppliants, Electra, The Madness of Herakles, The Trojan Women, Iphigenia in Tauris, Ion, Helen, The Phoenician Women, Orestes, and Iphigenia at Aulis (excluding The Bacchae)

480 BC - Euripides is born

455 BC - Euripides competes in his first Dionysia (unknown work)

ca. 442-441 BC - Euripides wins his first victory at the Dionysia (unknown work); Sophocles stages trilogy with Antigone and Ajax (his oldest surviving plays)

438 BC - Euripides stages a tetralogy with Alcestis (mixed satyr/drama) as the fourth play 

431 BC - Aeschylus' son, Euphorion, wins first prize at the Dionysia (unknown work); Sophocles places second (unknown work); Euripides places third (trilogy with Medea)

430 BC - Euripides stages trilogy with The Children of Herakles

428 BC - Euripides stages trilogy with Hippolytus and takes first place; Sophocles' son, Iophon, places second (unknown work); Ion places third (unknown work)

ca. 428-425 BC - Euripides stages trilogy with Andromache

424 BC - Euripides stages trilogy with Hecuba

423 BC - Euripides stages trilogy with The Suppliants

ca. mid-410s BC - Euripides stages trilogy with Electra

416 BC - Euripides stages trilogy with The Madness of Herakles

415 BC - Euripides stages trilogy with The Trojan Women and takes second place; defeated by Xenokles (unknown work); third place is unknown

ca. 414-412 BC - Euripides stages trilogies with Iphigenia in Tauris and Ion

412 BC - Euripides stages trilogy with Helen

412-408 BC - Euripides stages trilogy with The Phoenician Women

408 BC - Euripides stages trilogy with Orestes

ca. 408-406 BC - Euripides migrates to the court of Archelaos, King of Macedon, where he composed a play in his honor, titled Archelaos (lost work)

406 BC - Euripides dies while in Macedon

405 BC - Euripides' son or nephew posthumously wins first prize at the Dionysia by staging trilogy with his last two completed surviving plays, Iphigenia in Aulis and The Bacchae; the third play, Alcmeon in Corinth, survives only in fragments 

Primary Sources:
Text/Euripides' The Children of Herakles
Text/Euripides' Andromache
Text/Euripides' Hecuba
Text/Euripides' The Suppliants
Text/Euripides' Electra
Text/Euripides' The Madness of Herakles
Text/Euripides' The Trojan Women
Text/Euripides' Iphigenia in Tauris
Text/Euripides' Ion
Text/Euripides' Helen
Text/Euripides' The Phoenician Women
Text/Euripides' Orestes
Text/Euripides' Iphigenia at Aulis

052 - Early Euripides

In this episode, we discuss the life, theatrical innovations, and tragic works of the third great Athenian playwright, Euripides; and the historicity and some of the major themes of his earliest surviving plays, which include Cyclops, Rhesus, Alcestis, Medea, and Hippolytus

480 BC - Euripides is born

455 BC - Euripides competes in his first Dionysia (unknown work)

ca. 442-441 BC - Euripides wins his first victory at the Dionysia (unknown work); Sophocles stages trilogy with Antigone and Ajax (his oldest surviving plays)

438 BC - Euripides stages a tetralogy with Alcestis (mixed satyr/drama) as the fourth play 

431 BC - Aeschylus' son, Euphorion, wins first prize at the Dionysia (unknown work); Sophocles places second (unknown work); Euripides places third (trilogy with Medea)

430 BC - Euripides stages trilogy with The Children of Herakles

428 BC - Euripides stages trilogy with Hippolytus and takes first place; Sophocles' son, Iophon, places second (unknown work); Ion places third (unknown work)

ca. 428-425 BC - Euripides stages trilogy with Andromache

424 BC - Euripides stages trilogy with Hecuba

423 BC - Euripides stages trilogy with The Suppliants

ca. mid-410s BC - Euripides stages trilogy with Electra

416 BC - Euripides stages trilogy with The Madness of Herakles

415 BC - Euripides stages trilogy with The Trojan Women and takes second place; defeated by Xenokles (unknown work); third place is unknown

ca. 414-412 BC - Euripides stages trilogies with Iphigenia in Tauris and Ion

412 BC - Euripides stages trilogy with Helen

412-408 BC - Euripides stages trilogy with The Phoenician Women

408 BC - Euripides stages trilogy with Orestes

ca. 408-406 BC - Euripides migrates to the court of Archelaos, King of Macedon, where he composed a play in his honor, titled Archelaos (lost work)

406 BC - Euripides dies while in Macedon

405 BC - Euripides' son or nephew posthumously wins first prize at the Dionysia by staging trilogy with his last two completed surviving plays, Iphigenia in Aulis and The Bacchae; the third play, Alcmeon in Corinth, survives only in fragments 

Primary Sources:

Text/Euripides' Cyclops

Text/Euripides' Rhesus

Text/Euripides' Alcestis

Text/Euripides' Medea

Text/Euripides' Hippolytus

051 - Sophocles

In this episode, we discuss the life, theatrical innovations, and tragic works of the second great Athenian playwright, Sophocles; and the historicity and some of the major themes of his seven surviving plays, which include Antigone, Ajax, Oedipus Rex, The Women of Trachis, Philoctetes, Electra, and Oedipus at Colonus

497 BC - Sophocles is born

479 BC - 18-year-old Sophocles is chosen to lead the paean (a choral chant to a god), celebrating the Greek victory over the Persians at the Battle of Salamis

ca. 475-470 BC - Sophocles competes in his first Dionysia (unknown work)

468 BC - Sophocles wins his first victory at the Dionysia (unknown work) over Aeschylus; unusual in that Kimon and the other strategoi served as judges; Aeschylus and Sophocles dominate the dramatic competitions as rivals for the next decade

456 BC - Death of Aeschylus; Sophocles becomes preeminent playwright in Athens

443-442 BC - Sophocles served as one of the Hellenotamiai, or treasurers of Athena, who managed the finances of the city and the empire during the political ascendancy of Pericles

ca. 442-441 BC - Euripides wins his first victory at the Dionysia (unknown work); Sophocles stages trilogy with Antigone and Ajax (his oldest surviving plays)

441-440 BC - Sophocles, as one of the ten strategoi, served in Athens' campaign at Samos

431 BC - Aeschylus' son, Euphorion, wins first prize at the Dionysia (unknown work); Sophocles places second (unknown work); Euripides places third (trilogy with Medea)

429 BC - Sophocles stages trilogy with Oedipus Rex and takes second place; defeated by Aeschylus' nephew, Philokles (unknown work); third place is unknown

ca. 425-420 BC - Sophocles stages trilogy with Women of Trachis 

420 BC - After Asklepios is introduced from Epidauros into the city of Athens, Sophocles welcomes and set up at his house an altar for the image of the god, in his guise as a serpent; for this, after his death, he was worshipped at a hero shrine on the western slope of the Acropolis, where he was given the posthumous epithet, Dexion, meaning "the Receiver"

413 BC - Sophocles is elected as one of the probouloi, or "commissioners," who responded to the catastrophic destruction of the Athenian fleet in Sicily

409 BC - Sophocles stages trilogy with Philoctetes

ca. 409-406 BC - Sophocles stages trilogy with Electra

Winter 406/5 BC - Sophocles dies in Athens

401 BC - Sophocles' grandson (also named Sophocles) posthumously stages trilogy with his last completed and final surviving play, Oedipus at Colonus

Primary Sources:
Text/Sophocles' Antigone
Text/Sophocles' Ajax
Text/Sophocles' Oedipus the King
Text/Sophocles' The Trackers (fragmentary satyr play)
Text/Sophocles' The Women of Trachis

Text/Sophocles' Philoctetes
Text/Sophocles' Electra
Text/Sophocles' Oedipus at Colonus

050 - Early Tragedy and Aeschylus

In this episode, we discuss what is known about the lives and works of the earliest tragic poets that set the stage for the first great Athenian playwright, Aeschylus, to make all sorts of theatrical innovations at the onset of the Classical Period; and the historicity and some of the major themes of his seven surviving plays, which include The Persians, Prometheus Bound, Seven Against Thebes, The Suppliants, and the trilogy known as The Oresteia (whose three plays includes Agamemnon, The Libation Bearers, and The Eumenides)

534 BC - Tragedy competitions began at the Dionysia; Thespis is first victor (unknown work)

524 BC - Choirilos competes in his first Dionysia (unknown work)

ca. 520-500 BC - Choirilos, Pratinas, and Phrynichos are "big three" playwrights at Dionysia

511 BC - Phrynichos wins his first victory at the Dionysia (unknown work)

499 BC - Aeschylus competes in his first Dionysia (unknown work)

493 BC - Phrynichos produces a tragedy on the Capture of Miletus (lost work), which chronicles the fate of Miletus after it was sacked by the Persians during the Ionian Revolt; the Athenian authorities ban the play from further production on the grounds of impiety

487 BC - Chionides stages the first comedic play, The Persians (lost work), which may have been a funny dig at the customs of the Persians, who the Athenians had just recently defeated at Marathon; henceforth, comedy would have its own competition at the Dionysia

484 BC - Aeschylus wins his first victory at the Dionysia (unknown work)

476 BC - Phrynichos' Phoenician Women (lost work) is more successful as he uses the tragedy to celebrate the Greek defeat of Xerxes at the Battle of Salamis; Themistocles provided the funds as the choregos, and one of the play’s objectives was to remind the Athenians of his great deeds in defense of the city

475-473 BC - Aeschylus travels to Sicily and produces The Women of Aetna (lost work) in honor of the new city of Aetna that was founded (atop Katane) by the Syracusan tyrant Hieron

472 BC - Aeschylus wins first prize at the Dionysia with his trilogy whose theme centered on divine retribution; a young Pericles provided the funds as the choregos; the first play, Phineus (lost work), presumably dealt with Jason and the Argonauts' rescue of a Thracian king named Phineus who was being tortured by the monstrous harpies at the behest of Zeus; the second play, The Persians (the oldest surviving ancient Greek play), focuses on the hubris of Xerxes and his loss at the Battle of Salamis; the subject of the third play, Glaukos (lost work), was a mythical Corinthian king who was devoured by his horses because he angered Aphrodite

471 BC - Phrynichos' son, Polyphrasmon, competes in his first Dionysia (unknown work)

ca. 470-430 BC - Either Aeschylus or his son, Euphorion, stages a trilogy called the Prometheia; the first play, Prometheus Bound, survives in full, but the other two, Prometheus Unbound and Prometheus the Fire-Bringer, survive only in fragments

468 BC - Sophocles wins his first victory at the Dionysia (unknown work) over Aeschylus; unusual in that Kimon and the other strategoi served as judges; Aeschylus and Sophocles dominate the dramatic competitions as rivals for the next decade

467 BC - Aeschylus wins first place at the Dionysia with a connected Oedipus trilogy, called Oedipodeia, which tells the tragic story of Oedipus, the king of Thebes, who unknowingly killed his father, married his own mother, and had two sons and two daughters with her; the first two plays, Laius and Oedipus, have few surviving fragments, but the third play, Seven Against Thebes, has survived intact and tells the fratricidal struggle for the throne of Thebes, waged by the two sons of Oedipus after his voluntary exile; Polyphrasmon took third place with his Lykourgeia (lost work), a trilogy based  on the story of Lykourgos, a mythical king of Thrace who banned Dionysos and his followers, the Maenads, from his kingdom, and as punishment, he was driven mad by Dionysos

ca. 465-460 BC - Aeschylus stages a Danaid trilogy; the first play, The Suppliants, survives in full, but the second and third, The Egyptians and The Danaids, are lost

458 BC - Aeschylus wins first place at the Dionysia with his trilogy known as the Oresteia (the only complete trilogy that has survived); comprising of Agamemnon, The Libation Bearers, and The Eumenides, the trilogy tells the bloody story of the House of Atreus, the royal family of Mycenae, following the events of the Trojan War

458-456 BC - Aeschylus travels to Sicily for a second time

456 BC - Aeschylus dies outside the Sicilian city of Gela

Primary Sources:

Text/Aeschylus' The Persians

Text/Aeschylus' Prometheus Bound
Text/Aeschylus' Seven Against Thebes
Text/Aeschylus' The Suppliants
Text/Aeschylus' Agamemnon
Text/Aeschylus' The Libation Bearers
Text/Aeschylus' The Eumenides
Text/Aeschylus' Fragments

049 - Theater and the Dionysia

In this episode, we discuss the origins of drama in the Attic countryside, its relation to the cult of Dionysos, and its introduction to Athens in the late 6th century BC; its evolution from a chorus of satyrs singing dithyrambs to the addition of actors (aka Thespians from the first one, Thespis); the Dionysia festivals celebrating the cultivation of vines, both "Rural" throughout Attica during the month of Poseideon (late December/early January) and "City" in Athens during the month of Elaphebolion (late March/early April), as well as the Lenaia in the month of Gamelion (late January/early February); the physical space and early evolution of the theater in the sanctuary of Dionysios Eleuthereos on the southern slope of the Athenian acropolis; the various roles of the actors and the chorus and their costumes; the components of tragic and comedic plays; and drama's civic importance in 5th century BC Athens

048 - Food, Wine, and the Symposium

In this episode, we discuss how, when, and where different subgroups of ancient Greeks consumed food each day; what particular foods were part of each's diet; some famous early cookbook authors; viticulture and the economic, religious, and medicinal role of wine; the festival of Anthesteria in the month of Anthesterion (late February/early March), which celebrated the beginning of spring and marked the ceremonious opening of the wine jars from the previous autumn's harvest; and the symposium (drinking-party), an aristocratic social event which included philosophical/light-hearted discussions, musical performances, song-singing, storytelling, flirting, and competitions (such as kottabos, aka ancient wine pong)

Primary Sources:

Text/Xenophon's Symposium

Text/Plato's Symposium

Text/Athenaeus' Deipnosophistae ("Scholars at the Dinner Table")

047 - Herakles: From Zero to Hero

In this episode, we discuss the iconography of Herakles, his early myths, his infamous twelve labors, his later life, his heroic persona, how he was worshipped as a pan-Hellenic divine hero, some of his cults, including those in initiatory and pederastic contexts, as a guardian of the city, and as a military and wrestling champion; and his role as a founder of many Greek cities and as apostle of Hellenism in the western Mediterranean

046 - Monsters and Heroes

In this episode, we discuss the importance of heroes in Greek mythology, the creation of various beasts and monsters, and the lives and accomplishments of various mythic heroes who often times fought against these monsters; including Cadmus of Thebes and the Ismenian Dragon, Perseus of Argos and the Gorgon Medusa;  Bellerophon of Corinth, Pegasus, and the Chimaera; the cursed family of Pelops and the Oath of Tyndareus; the Lapiths, the Centaurs, and the Centauromachy; Meleager, Atalanta, and the Caledonian Boar Hunt; and the troublemaking of Pirithous and Theseus

045 - Music and Victory Odes

In this episode, we discuss the various types of ancient Greek musical instruments during the Classical Period and how and for what purpose they were used; and the lives and works of the three great 5th century BC lyric poets who pioneered the genre of the epinikion (victory ode)—Simonides of Ceos (556-468 BC), Bacchylides of Ceos (ca. 525-ca. 450 BC), and Pindar of Thebes (522-443 BC), as well as their connections with the lesser known poets Corrina of Tanagra, Lasos of Hermione, and Timocreon of Rhodes

526 BC - Simonides was drawn to Athens and the court of the tyrant Hipparchus
514 BC - Upon the assassination of Hipparchus, Simonides traveled north to Thessaly, where he received patronage from the Scopadae and Aleuadae, the two most powerful aristocratic clans (while there he developed his "memory palace")
498 BC - Pindar received first commission by a ruling family in Thessaly to compose his first victory ode (labeled Pythian Ode 10)
490s BC - Bacchylides (the nephew of Simonides) received his first commissions from Athens for the great Delian festival (known as Ode 17) and from Macedonia for a song to be sung at a symposium for the young prince, Alexander I
490 BC - Simonides composed an epitaph honoring the Athenian war-dead at Marathon
490 BC - At the Pythian Games, Pindar met Thrasybulus, nephew of Theron of Akragas and formed a lasting friendship, paving the way for his subsequent visit to Sicily
480s BC - Pindar and Bacchylides compete to write victory odes for the Aeginetans
480 BC - Simonides composed an epitaph honoring the Spartan war-dead at Thermopylae
470s BC - Simonides, Bacchylides, and Pindar traveled west to Sicily where they received patronage at the courts of the tyrants, Hieron of Syracuse and Theron of Akragas
476 BC - The rivalry of Bacchylides and Pindar reaches high point when Pindar composed a poem for Hiero’s first victory in the chariot race at the Olympic Games (known as Olympian Ode 1), and Bacchylides composed an ode too for Hieron (his Ode 5) free of charge in the hope of attracting future commissions

470 BC - Bacchylides received the commission to celebrate Hieron's triumph at the Pythian Games (which would be his Ode 4), and taking a page out of his rival’s playbook, Pindar too composed an ode free of charge for Hieron’s victory (his Pythian Ode 1)

468 BC - Simonides died while at the court of Theron of Akragas

468 BC - Bacchylides was commissioned to celebrate Hieron’s second and most prestigious victory in the chariot race at the Olympic Games (his Ode 3)
465-440 BC - Arkesilaos IV served as a client king of Cyrene under Persian authority, was the eighth and last king of the Battiad dynasty 
464 BC - Diagoras of Rhodes wins boxing contest at Olympics (Pindar's Olympian Ode 7)

462 BC - Pindar composed two odes in honor of Arkesilaos IV's chariot race victory at the Pythian Games (his Pythian Odes 4 and 5)

447 BC - Athens was defeated by Thebes at the Battle of Coronea (possible influence for Pythian Ode 8 where he describes the downfall of the giants Porphyrion and Typhon)

440 BC - Pindar died while attending the Nemean festival in Argos

Primary Sources:
Text/Simonides' Epigrams
Text/Bacchylides' Dithyrambs
Text/Bacchylides' Epinicians
Text/Pindar's Olympian Odes
Text/Pindar's Pythian Odes
Text/Pindar's Nemean Odes
Text/Pindar's Isthmian Odes
Text/Pindar's Fragments