440s BC
440s BC: events by year
Contents: 449 BC 448 BC 447 BC 446 BC 445 BC 444 BC 443 BC 442 BC 441 BC 440 BC
By place
Greece
The Greek city-states make peace with the Persian Empire through the Peace of Callias, named after the chief Greek ambassador to the Persian Court, an Athenian who is a brother-in-law of Cimon. Athens agrees to end its support for the Egyptians rebels still holding out in parts of the Nile Delta, while the Persians agree not to send ships of war into the Aegean Sea. Athens now effectively controls all the Greek city states in Ionia.
Pericles begins a great building plan including the re-fortification of Piraeus and its long walls extending to Athens.
Pericles proposes a "Congress Decree" allowing the use of 9,000 talents to finance the massive rebuilding program of Athenian temples. This leads to a meeting ("Congress") of all Greek states in order to consider the question of rebuilding the temples destroyed by the Persians. The Congress fails because of Sparta's opposition.
