• Chronicon Paschale, a chronicle of world events up to about 630 A.D.
• Chronographeion Syntomon, a short chronicle, consisting of lists of rulers
• Johannes Malalas, a universal chronicle up to 565 A.D., with an emphasis on Syrian history
• Astronomical Canon, an accurate list of kings and their dates, from 747 B.C. to 160 A.D.
• Marmor Parium, a long inscription listing events down to 264/3 B.C.
  
  
• (244) Apollodorus of Athens, a chronicle of events down to 119 B.C.
• (252) "Roman Chronicle", from 594 to 385, and from 88 to 80 B.C.
• (255) "Oxyrhyncus Chronicle", from 355 to 316 B.C.

Astronomical Canon

Ancient astronomers needed to keep an accurate list of reign lengths, so that they could calculate the date of observations which had been made a long time previously. The lists were regularly updated, and the example shown here is derived from the writings of the astronomer Ptolemaeus, in the second century A.D., as reconstructed by C.Wachsmuth ("Einleitung in das Studium der Alten Geschichte", p.305). The dates are reckoned according to the Egyptian year of 365 days; so that, for instance, the list shows that the accession of Xerxes took place in the year beginning 23 December 486 B.C.

The names of the Babylonian kings are shown in their Greek form. According to Bickerman (p.109), their original Babylonian names were:
Nabonassar;   Nabunadinzri;   Ukinzir & Pulu;   Ululas (Shalmaneser IV);   Mardukbaliddin;   Arkeanos (Sargon II);   ~;   Belibni;   Ashurnadinshum;   Nergalushezib;   Mushezib Marduk;   ~;   Esarhaddon;   Shamashshumkin;   Kandalanu;   Nabopolossar;   Nebuchadrezzar;   Amel-Marduk;   Neriglissar;   Nabonidus.

For an earlier example of a Babylonian king-list, which lists the Seleucid kings instead of the Ptolemies, see the Uruk King List, translated at livius.org.

239: Marmor Parium

This famous inscription, dating from 264/3 B.C., is preserved in two parts. "A" has been in England since 1627, and is now in the Ashmolean Museum at Oxford; "B" was found on the island of Paros in 1897. The original Greek text, along with an English translation, can be found on the Ashmolean web site. For viewing on the web, it has been split up into sections, as follows:

Unfortunately the end of the inscription, which would have covered from 298 to 264 B.C., has been lost.

244: Apollodorus of Athens

Apollodorus wrote a chronicle in verse, covering from the earliest times down to at leaset 119 B.C. It was widely used by later writers, but only fragments now remain.

Apollodorus regularly dates years by naming the Athenian archon. The equivalent year B.C., as suggested by Jacoby, is shown in orange.

[19] [STEPHANUS Byz.] Dorus, a city of Phoenicia ..... Artemidorus knows the city as Dora ..... but Apollodorus calls it Dorus in book 4 of his Chronica:
"To Dorus, a city by the sea"

[25] [STEPHANUS Byz.] Fabia, a city of the Celtic Gauls, founded by Fabius, the general of the Romans. Apollodorus in book 4 of his Chronica.

[44] [PHILODEMUS] Apollodorus places the capture of the city in the year when Antipater was archon [262/1]; this was the year before Arrheneides. Antigonus then put a garrison on the Museium; he took control of the magistracies, and entrusted the whole (?) government to one man.

[45] [PHILODEMUS] But the Stoa clearly owed most of its growth to Zenon, and virtually all of the Stoics grant him the first place in their school. ... and Apollodorus the chronicler agree with this.

[47] [PHILODEMUS] After controlling the school for 18 years, [Lacydes] handed over the leadership when [Antiphilus was archon - 224/3]; he lived for another 18 years, and died when Callistratus [was archon - 206/5]. Others says that it was when Pantiades [was archon - 216/5], which leaves an interval of 10 years for his illness. Paseas and Thrasys were his associates, thirdly Aristippus and, the most outstanding of them all, Telecles and Euander.

. . . Agamestor was still famous . . . and in addition the two Eubuli, of whom Moschion . . . for . . . years, died of disease when Eupolemus [was archon - ?185/4]. After this, Eubulus of Erythrae, the son of Antenor, [died] when Alexander was archon; a month later in the same year, Eubulus of Ephesus, the son of Callicrates, [died]. After the capture of Perseus, Agamestor of Arcadia, the son of Polyxenus, ended his life when Xenocles [was archon - 168/7], and Telecles [died] when Nicosthenes [was archon - 164/3]. Last of all Apollonius, the pupil of Telecles, [died] when Epaenetus was archon. After Theaetetus . . . of the younger Eubulus . . . by disease . . .

[53] [PHILODEMUS] Boethus of Marathon, the son of Hermagoras, lived at the same time as Carneades. In general, Boethus was capable and had an enterprising philosophic [mind], but he was rather weak when speaking. He was a pupil of Ariston, and of Eubulus of Ephesus for a short time. He was already superior to the associates of Autolycus and Amyntas, and was leader of the school . . . to Dionysius . . . the quick wit and eloquence of the man. Ten years after the death of Carneades, when Eumachus was archon [120/19], he died in the month of Thargelion . . .

[54] [PHILODEMUS] When Carneades was already . . . through old age, [Carneades the son of Polemarchus] took over the hall and the school, which he led while he lived for another six years . . .

[55] [PHILODEMUS] After the death of Carneades the son of Polemarchus, when Epicles was archon [131/0], Crates of Tarsus succeeded him as leader of the school. When he had occupied the post for only two years, Cleitomachus, who had his own school in the Palladium, moved to the Academy [with many] of his associates.

[56] [PHILODEMUS - a summary in prose of Apollodorus' verse account] [Carneades the son of Epicomus] died aged . . . After him, Crates of Tarsus died after being in control for only two years, and Cleitomachus, who had previously had his own school in the Palladium, entered the Academy with many of his associates. Cleitomachus was originally called Hasdrubal, and came to Athens when he was 24 years old. Four years later he joined Carneades' school, and after staying with him for 19 years he set up his own school in the Palladium, when Agnotheus was archon [140/39]. He maintained his school for (?) ten years, and then took over Carneades' school from Crates of Tarsus, when Lyciscus [was archon - 129/8]. After leading the school for 19 years, he died when Polycleitus [was archon]. Some say that he [died when he was] seventy [and ...] years old.

[57] [PHILODEMUS - in verse] Once he sailed on an embassy to Rome, and met with . . .

[58] [PHILODEMUS] You know that Melanthius once won the prize for tragedy, and spent some time at the school with Aristarchus. He much rather at Athens . . . [while] otherwise remaining in the great crowd of the school, but of Carneades . . .

[59] [PHILODEMUS] . . . most distinguished men. He first sailed to Attica when Aristophantus [was archon - ?141/0], at the age of 22 years. After listening to Carneades for about seven years, he went off to Asia, where he flourished and was considered the most prolific speaker of his generation. Then he returned to Athens . . . He knew tricks, with which he swayed the emotions of his audience in many ways, and he was sufficiently experienced in affairs. He possessed a good memory, and had read much. So he easily obtained the citizenship, and opened a school in the Ptolemaeum . . . (?) the hall of the anointed men . . .

[60] [PHILODEMUS] Antipater and Metrodorus, who did not open schools in the city . . .

[78] [STEPHANUS Byz.] Oreus, a city of Euboea ..... Apollodorus calls [the inhabitants] Oreites, with four syllables, pronouncing the e and i separately, not as a diphthong, as follows:
"They captured the city of the Oreites by night"

252: "Roman Chronicle"
Preserved in an inscription (IG_14.1297). The dates show that it was written in about 16 A.D.

[A] 1 [From when Sulla] set out for the war [against Mithridates], and Soter, nicknamed Physcon, returned to Egypt and ruled for the second time: 103 years [88/7 B.C.].
2 From when Marius captured Ostia and forced Octavius to come to terms, but did not keep his pledge and killed Octavius; and in Attica Sulla captured Athens: 102 years [87/6 B.C.].
3 From when Fimbria defeated Mithridates' army near Cyzicus and captured Ilium, but was restrained by Sulla and committed suicide; and Mithridates came to terms with Sulla; and Philopator returned to Bithynia and ruled there for the second time; and Ariobarzanes was restored to [the throne of] Cappadocia: 100 years [85/4 B.C.].
4 From when Sulla defeated Norbanus near Capua, and after shutting up the consul Marius in Praeneste, killed him as he tried to escape: 98 years [83/2 B.C.].
5 From when Sulla became dictator: 97 years [82/1 B.C.].
6 From when Soter, nicknamed Physcon, died: 96 years [81/0 B.C.].

[B] 1 From when ...
2 From when [Solon was archon of the Athenians] and [established] laws for them; and Anacharsis the Scythian came to [Athens]: ... years.
3 From when Croesus became king of the Lydians: ... years.
4 From when the [? seven] wise men were identified: ... years.
5 From when Peisistratus became tyrant at Athens; and Aesopus was thrown to his death by the Delphians: 579 years [564/3 B.C.].
6 From when Croesus [submitted to] Cyrus: ... years.
7 From when Cambyses [conquered] Egypt; and Pythagoras was seized: (?) 540 years [525/4 B.C.].
8 From when Harmodius and Aristogeiton killed the tyrant Hipparchus; and Dareius crossed over against the Scythians, after bridging the Cimmerian Bosporus: 528 years [513/2 B.C.].
9 From when Xerxes crossed the Hellespont, after bridging it near Abydus; and Themistocles defeated the barbarians in a naval battle: 49. years.
10 From when Socrates the philosopher, Heracleitus of Ephesus, Anaxagoras, Parmenides and Zenon [were in their prime]: ... years.
11 From when the Peloponnesian war began; and Thucydides [was in his prime]: ... years.
12 From when the Gauls defeated the Romans and captured Rome: 401 years [386/5 B.C.].

255: "Oxyrhyncus Chronicle"
Preserved in an Egyptian papyrus (POxy_12). The papyrus was written after 250 A.D.

[1] [In the 106th Olympiad ... in the second year] Dion was murdered by the tyrant Dionysius at Syracuse. In the third year the inhabitants of Tibur were defeated by the Romans, and surrendered.

[2] In the 107th Olympiad [352 B.C.] Smicrinas [of Tarentum] won the stadion race, and the archons at Athens were [Aristodemus], Thessalus, [Apollodorus] and Callimachus. In the third year plebeian censors were elected at Rome for the first time.

[3] In the 108th Olympiad [348 B.C.] Polycles of Cyrene won the stadion race, and the archons at Athens were Theophilus, Themistocles, Archias and Eubulus. In the first year the philosopher Platon died and Speusippus succeeded him as head of the school. In the second year Philippus ...

[4] [In the 109th Olympiad] [344 B.C.] Aristolycus [of Athens won the stadion race], and the archons at Athens were [Lyciscus], Pythodotus, Sosigenes and Nicomachus. In the second year Dionysius II, tyrant of Sicily, fell from power and sailed off to Corinth, where he survived as a schoolteacher. In the fourth year the eunuch Bagoas murdered Ochus, the king of the Persians, and set up Arses who was the youngest of Ochus' sons as king, while he himself controlled the whole government.

[5] In the 110th Olympiad [340 B.C.] Anticles of Athens won the stadion race, and the archons at Athens were Theophrastus, Lysimachides, Chaerondas and Phrynichus. In the first year the Samnites fought against the Romans. In the second year the Latins united in an attack on the Romans. In the third year Philippus, the king of the Macedonians, defeated the Athenians and Boeotians in the famous battle at Chaeroneia, with the help of his son Alexander, who distinguished himself by his bravery in the battle. Isocrates the teacher of rhetoric died, [at the age of about] ninety years ... the eunuch [Bagoas] killed Arses the king of the Persians along with his brothers, and set up Dareius the son of Arsames, who belonged to the royal family, as king in Arses' place. At the same time the Romans fought against the Latins. In the fourth year the assembly of the Greeks met and appointed Philippus to be supreme commander in the war against the Persians.

[6] In the 111th Olympiad [336 B.C.] Cleomantis of Cleitor won the stadion race, and the archons at Athens were Pythodelus, Euaenetus, Ctesicles and Nicocrates. In the first year Philippus the king of the Macedonians was murdered by Pausanias, one of his bodyguards, and his son Alexander succeeded him as king. After assuming power, Alexander first defeated the Illyrians, Paeonians and other barbarian tribes who had revolted, and then captured and destroyed Thebes. In Rome, the priestesses of Vesta, who remain virgins for all their life, were accused of having been defiled ... In the second year Alexander the king of the Macedonians crossed over to Asia and defeated the generals of Dareius the king of the Persians in a battle by the river Granicus. In the third year Alexander met Dareius in battle at Issus in Cilicia, and again defeated him. He killed many thousands of the Persians and their allies, and captured many prisoners and a great quantity of booty. At the same time, Alexander the Molossian crossed over to Italy in aid of the Greeks who lived there. In the fourth year the Romans gave [the Campanians] Roman citizenship [without the right to] vote.

[7] In the 112th Olympiad [332 B.C.] Gryllus of Chalcis won the stadion race, and the archons at Athens were Nicetes, Aristophanes, Aristophon and Cephisophon. In the first year Alexander the son of Philippus captured Tyre and took possession of Egypt, where the natives willingly received him because of their hatred of the Persians. Then he ordered [? the foundation of the city of Alexandria] ... He made an expedition to the temple of Ammon, and on his way he founded the city of Paraetonium. In the third year Alexander won another victory over Dareius, in a battle at Arbela. After that Dareius was treacherously killed by his own friends, and the empire of the Persians came to an end; it had lasted 233 years from Cyrus, who established it.

[8] In the 113th Olympiad [328 B.C.] Criton of Macedonia won the stadion race, and the archons at Athens were Euthycritus, Hegemon, Chremes [and Anticles]. Throughout the four years of this Olympiad there occurred the rest of the exploits of Alexander, as he conquered the nations of Asia.

[9] In the 114th Olympiad [324 B.C.] Micinas of Rhodes won the stadion race, and the archons at Athens were Hegesias, Cephisophon, Philocles and Archippus. In the first year Alexander died, in the 13th year of his reign and the 33rd year of his life. In the second year Ptolemaeus the son of Lagus was sent to govern Egypt. In the ...

[10] In the 115th Olympiad [320 B.C.] Damasias of Amphipolis won the stadion race, and the archons at Athens were Neaechmus, Apollodorus, Archippus and Demogenes. In the first year Antipater, who had taken over as king in Macedonia, met the Greeks in battle at Lamia and defeated them. The Romans were defeated in battle by the Samnites. In the second year Antipater crossed over to Asia against Perdiccas, and made the second partition [of the empire] amongst the successors of Alexander, in which Ptolemaeus kept [his portion]. In the third year the Romans defeated the Samnites in battle, and recovered their men who had been captured in the first battle.

[11] In the 116th Olympiad [316 B.C.] Demosthenes of Laconia won the stadion race, and the archons at Athens were Democleides, Praxibulus, Nicodorus and Theodorus. In the first year [Antipater] died and [Polyperchon] took over the government ...

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