317 BC
Encyclopedia
Year 317 BC was a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar
. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Brutus and Barbula (or, less frequently, year 437 Ab urbe condita
). The denomination 317 BC for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini
calendar era
became the prevalent method in Europe for naming years.
Roman calendar
The Roman calendar changed its form several times in the time between the founding of Rome and the fall of the Roman Empire. This article generally discusses the early Roman or pre-Julian calendars...
. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Brutus and Barbula (or, less frequently, year 437 Ab urbe condita
Ab urbe condita
Ab urbe condita is Latin for "from the founding of the City ", traditionally set in 753 BC. AUC is a year-numbering system used by some ancient Roman historians to identify particular Roman years...
). The denomination 317 BC for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini
Anno Domini
and Before Christ are designations used to label or number years used with the Julian and Gregorian calendars....
calendar era
Calendar era
A calendar era is the year numbering system used by a calendar. For example, the Gregorian calendar numbers its years in the Western Christian era . The instant, date, or year from which time is marked is called the epoch of the era...
became the prevalent method in Europe for naming years.
Macedonian Empire
- SeleucusSeleucus I NicatorSeleucus I was a Macedonian officer of Alexander the Great and one of the Diadochi. In the Wars of the Diadochi that took place after Alexander's death, Seleucus established the Seleucid dynasty and the Seleucid Empire...
joins AntigonusAntigonus I MonophthalmusAntigonus I Monophthalmus , son of Philip from Elimeia, was a Macedonian nobleman, general, and satrap under Alexander the Great. During his early life he served under Philip II, and he was a major figure in the Wars of the Diadochi after Alexander's death, declaring himself king in 306 BC and...
against EumenesEumenesEumenes of Cardia was a Thracian general and scholar. He participated in the wars of the Diadochi as a supporter of the Macedonian Argead royal house.-Career:...
and recaptures BabylonBabylonBabylon was an Akkadian city-state of ancient Mesopotamia, the remains of which are found in present-day Al Hillah, Babil Province, Iraq, about 85 kilometers south of Baghdad...
. - Battle of ParaitaceneBattle of ParaitaceneThe Battle of Paraitacene was a battle in the wars of the successors of Alexander the Great between Antigonus I Monophthalmus and Eumenes. It was fought in 317 BC.-Background:...
: The first battle of Western armies each with an elephant corpsWar elephantA war elephant was an elephant trained and guided by humans for combat. Their main use was to charge the enemy, trampling them and breaking their ranks. A division of war elephants is known as elephantry....
who fights for control over Alexander's empire. - ArmeniaArmeniaArmenia , officially the Republic of Armenia , is a landlocked mountainous country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia...
's Persian satrapSatrapSatrap was the name given to the governors of the provinces of the ancient Median and Achaemenid Empires and in several of their successors, such as the Sassanid Empire and the Hellenistic empires....
, Ardvates, frees his country from MacedonMacedonMacedonia or Macedon was an ancient kingdom, centered in the northeastern part of the Greek peninsula, bordered by Epirus to the west, Paeonia to the north, the region of Thrace to the east and Thessaly to the south....
ian control. - After capturing AthensAthensAthens , is the capital and largest city of Greece. Athens dominates the Attica region and is one of the world's oldest cities, as its recorded history spans around 3,400 years. Classical Athens was a powerful city-state...
from Macedonia's regent PolyperchonPolyperchonPolyperchon , son of Simmias from Tymphaia in Epirus, was a Macedonian general who served under Philip II and Alexander the Great, accompanying Alexander throughout his long journeys. After the return to Babylon, Polyperchon was sent back to Macedon with Craterus, but had only reached Cilicia by...
, CassanderCassanderCassander , King of Macedonia , was a son of Antipater, and founder of the Antipatrid dynasty...
entrusts the government of Athens to the Athenian orator, statesman, and philosopher, Demetrius Phalereus. - Polyperchon flees to EpirusEpirusThe name Epirus, from the Greek "Ήπειρος" meaning continent may refer to:-Geographical:* Epirus - a historical and geographical region of the southwestern Balkans, straddling modern Greece and Albania...
, where he joins Alexander the Great's mother OlympiasOlympiasOlympias was a Greek princess of Epirus, daughter of king Neoptolemus I of Epirus, the fourth wife of the king of Macedonia, Philip II, and mother of Alexander the Great...
, Alexander's widow RoxanaRoxanaRoxana sometimes Roxane, was a Bactrian noble and a wife of Alexander the Great. She was born earlier than the year 343 BC, though the precise date remains uncertain....
, and Alexander's infant son Alexander IVAlexander IV of MacedonAlexander IV Aegus was the son of Alexander the Great and Princess Roxana of Bactria.-Birth:...
. He forms an alliance with Olympias, who is acting as regent for Alexander IV, and King Aeacides of Epirus. - While Cassander is occupied in the Peloponnesus, Olympias leads an army into MacedonMacedonMacedonia or Macedon was an ancient kingdom, centered in the northeastern part of the Greek peninsula, bordered by Epirus to the west, Paeonia to the north, the region of Thrace to the east and Thessaly to the south....
ia. She is initially successful, defeating the army of King Philip III Arrhidaeus and captures King Philip and his wife, Eurydice, as well as Cassander's brother, Nicanor, and has them murdered. - PtolemyPtolemy I SoterPtolemy I Soter I , also known as Ptolemy Lagides, c. 367 BC – c. 283 BC, was a Macedonian general under Alexander the Great, who became ruler of Egypt and founder of both the Ptolemaic Kingdom and the Ptolemaic Dynasty...
marries BereniceBerenice I of EgyptBerenice I was a Greek Macedonian noblewoman and through her marriage to Ptolemy I Soter, became the first Queen of the Ptolemaic dynasty of Egypt.-Family:...
, lady-in-waiting to EurydiceEurydice of EgyptEurydice was daughter of Antipater and wife of Ptolemy, the son of Lagus. The period of her marriage is not mentioned by any ancient writer, but it is probable that it took place shortly after the partition of Triparadisus, and the appointment of Antipater to the regency, 321 BC. She was the...
, wife of Ptolemy.
Sicily
- AcestoridesAcestoridesAcestorides is the name of several people from Classical history:*Acestorides of Corinth was a native of Corinth who was made supreme commander of Syracuse by the citizens of the Sicilian polis of Syracuse in 320 BC and was able to banish the tyrant Agathocles from the city...
, a native of CorinthCorinthCorinth is a city and former municipality in Corinthia, Peloponnese, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Corinth, of which it is the seat and a municipal unit...
, is made supreme commander by the citizens of Syracuse. - After twice being banished for attempting to overthrow the oligarchical party, AgathoclesAgathoclesAgathocles , , was tyrant of Syracuse and king of Sicily .-Biography:...
returns with an army and banishes or murders about 10,000 citizens (including the oligarchs), and sets himself up as tyrant of Syracuse. Acestorides is banished from the city.
Literature
- MenanderMenanderMenander , Greek dramatist, the best-known representative of Athenian New Comedy, was the son of well-to-do parents; his father Diopeithes is identified by some with the Athenian general and governor of the Thracian Chersonese known from the speech of Demosthenes De Chersoneso...
wins the first prize at the LenaiaLenaiaThe Lenaia was an annual festival with a dramatic competition. It was one of the lesser festivals of Athens and Ionia in ancient Greece. The Lenaia took place in Athens in the month of Gamelion, roughly corresponding to January. The festival was in honour of Dionysos Lenaios...
n festival with his play DyskolosDyskolosDyskolos is an Ancient Greek comedy by Menander, the only one of his plays, or of the whole New Comedy, that has survived in all but complete form. It was first presented at the Lenaian festival in 317-16 BC, where it won Menander first prize...
(The Grouch).