© 1998 Bernard SUZANNE   Last updated January 3, 1999 
Plato and his dialogues : Home - Biography - Works and links to them - History of interpretation - New hypotheses - Map of dialogues : table version or non tabular version. Tools : Index of persons and locations - Detailed and synoptic chronologies - Maps of Ancient Greek World. Site information : About the author.

Synoptic chronology of Greek Thinkers and Writers

This synopsis presents a visual chronology of some of the Greek writers and thinkers that preceeded, were contemporaries of, and followed Socrates and Plato, allowing to quickly see in what order they lived and who was contemporary of whom. It also includes for context some of the most prominent political leaders of the time. The dates are associated with the Olympiad numbers that were used as reference by the Greek themselves. The reader must be warned that many of the dates of birth and death here provided are only tentative, and may differ in different sources, sometimes (such as with Parmenides, for instance) by several years. The purpose of this synopsis is not to pretend to utmost accuracy, or to suggest new datings, but to provide a feel for who might have been contemporary of whom. Accordingly, the dates used were those available from widely available history books or encyclopediae, and I didn't try to ascertain these before using them.

To get a more "concrete" feel for this chronology, a modified version of this page down to Plato's last years puts it in parallel with modern times assuming 1999 to be the year of Dion's assassination, that is 354 B. C. (7 years before Plato's death). In it, you will see that this puts Socrates' trial at the height of McCarthyism (1954), Marathon the same year as Gettysburg (1863), that it makes Socrates a contemporary of FDR, Parmenides a contemporary of Nietzsche, and much more...

Following is a list, in alphabetical order, of the persons that are shown on the synopsis. By clicking on a name, you can move to the part of the picture where he can be found (the year of birth of the person searched should move to the top of the window). The writers and thinkers shown are : Æschylus, Anaxagoras, Anaximenes, Anaximander, Antisthenes the Cynic, Archytas of Tarentum, Aristippus of Cyrene, Aristophanes, Aristotle, Democritus, Empedocles, Epicurus, Euclid of Megara, Eudoxus of Cnidus, Euripides, Gorgias, Heraclitus, Herodotus, Hippias of Elis, Hippocrates of Cos, Isocrates, Leucippus, Lysias, Parmenides, Pindar, Plato, Prodicus of Ceos, Protagoras, Pyrrho (the founder of the sceptic school), Pythagoras, Simonides, Socrates, Sophocles, Speusippus, Thales, Thucydides, Xenocrates, Xenophanes, Xenophon, Zeno of Elea, Zeno of Cithium (the founder of the Stoic school).

The political leaders listed are : Alcibiades, Alexander the Great, King of Macedon Darius the Great (the dates are those of his reign on Persia), Demosthenes, Dionysius I, the Elder, Tyrant of Syracuse, Pericles, Solon, Themistocles,

52 572-69   S
O
L
O
N 		T
H
A
L
E
S 		A
N
A
X
I
M
A
N
D
E
R 		570? 570?                                                                                           572-69 52
53 568-5 P
Y
T
H
A
G
O
R
A
S 		X
E
N
O
H
H
A
N
E
S 		568-5 53
54 564-1 564-1 54
55 560-57 558? 560-57 55
56 556-3   556? 556-3 56
57 552-49 550? S
I
M
O
N
I
D
E
S 		550? 552-49 57
58 548-5   546? A
N
A
X
I
M
E
N
E
S 		548-5 58
59 544-1   544-1 59
60 540-37 540? 540-37 60
61 536-3 H
E
R
A
C
L
I
T
U
S 		536-3 61
62 532-29 532-29 62
63 528-5 525 528-5 63
64 524-1 A
E
S
C
H
Y
L
U
S 		524? 522 524-1 64
65 520-17 T
H
E
M
I
S
T
O
C
L
E
S 		D
A
R
I
U
S 		518? 520-17 65
66 516-3 P
I
N
D
A
R 		515? 516-3 66
67 512-09 P
A
R
M
E
N
I
D
E
S 		512-09 67
68 508-5 508-5 68
69 504-1 504-1 69
70 500-497 500? 497 500-497 70
71 496-3 A
N
A
X
A
G
O
R
A
S 		S
O
P
H
O
C
L
E
S 		495? 496-3 71
72 492-89 490? P
E
R
I
C
L
E
S 		490? 490? 489? 492-89 72
73 488-5   486 P
R
O
T
A
G
O
R
A
S 		E
M
P
E
D
O
C
L
E
S 		Z
E
N
O
 
O
F
 
E
L
E
A 		485? 488-5 73
74 484-1   H
E
R
O
D
O
T
U
S 		484 483? 484-1 74
75 480-77 480? 480? E
U
R
I
P
I
D
E
S 		G
O
R
G
I
A
S 		  ?   480-77 75
76 476-3 475?       476-3 76
77 472-69     470 472-69 77
78 468-5 468   S
O
C
R
A
T
E
S 		468-5 78
79 464-1   L
E
U
C
I
P
P
U
S 		464-1 79
80 460-57 459? 460 460? 460? 460?   ?   460-57 80
81 456-3 456   H
I
P
P
O
C
R
A
T
E
S 		D
E
M
O
C
R
I
T
U
S 		T
H
U
C
Y
D
I
D
E
S 		P
R
O
D
I
C
U
S 		  456-3 81
82 452-49   450?   450 452-49 82
83 448-5     A
L
C
I
B
I
A
D
E
S 		445? 448-5 83
84 444-1 H
I
P
P
I
A
S 		A
R
I
S
T
O
P
H
A
N
E
S 		444-1 84
85 440-37 438? 440? 440? 440?   ?   440-37 85
86 436-3     L
Y
S
I
A
S 		A
R
C
H
Y
T
A
S 		A
N
T
I
S
T
H
E
N
E
S 		  435? 436 436-3 86
87 432-29 429 430?     A
R
I
S
T
I
P
P
U
S 		I
S
O
C
R
A
T
E
S 		431 432-29 87
88 428-5 428?       425?   D
I
O
N
Y
S
I
U
S
 
I 		427 426? 428-5 88
89 424-1   ?   E
U
C
L
I
D
 
O
F
 
M
E
G
A
R
A 		P
L
A
T
O 		X
E
N
O
P
H
O
N 		424-1 89
90 420-17 420?     420-17 90
91 416-3     416-3 91
92 412-09   412-09 92
93 408-5 405 406   ?   408-5 93
94 404-1       404 404-1 94
95 400-397 399 400?   400? 400? 400-397 95
96 396-3         X
E
N
O
C
R
A
T
E
S 		E
U
D
O
X
U
S 		393? 396-3 96
97 392-89     S
P
E
U
S
I
P
P
U
S 		392-89 97
98 388-5     388 385 388-5 98
99 384-1 ? ?   A
R
I
S
T
O
T
L
E 		384 384-1 99
100 380-77 377     380? D
E
M
O
S
T
H
N
E
S 		380-77 100
101 376-3 374?     376-3 101
102 372-69   369? 370? 372-69 102
103 368-5     367 365? 368-5 103
104 364-1   P
Y
R
R
H
O 		364-1 104
105 360-57 359? 360? 360-57 105
106 356-3     354 355? 356 356-3 106
107 352-49 350?     A
L
E
X
A
N
D
E
R 		352-49 107
108 348-5   347 348-5 108
109 344-1   341 344-1 109
110 340-37 338 339 E
P
I
C
U
R
U
S 		340-37 110
111 336-3     334? 336-3 111
112 332-29 Z
E
N
O
 
O
F
 
C
I
T
I
U
M 		332-29 112
113 328-5 328-5 113
114 324-1 322 322 323 324-1 114
115 320-17       320-17 115
116 316-3 314 316-3 116
117 312-09   312-09 117
118 308-5 308-5 118
119 304-1 304-1 119

Plato and his dialogues : Home - Biography - Works and links to them - History of interpretation - New hypotheses - Map of dialogues : table version or non tabular version. Tools : Index of persons and locations - Detailed and synoptic chronologies - Maps of Ancient Greek World. Site information : About the author.

First published January 4, 1998 - Last updated January 3, 1999
© 1998 Bernard SUZANNE (click on name to send your comments via e-mail)
Quotations from theses pages are authorized provided they mention the author's name and source of quotation (including date of last update). Copies of these pages must not alter the text and must leave this copyright mention visible in full.