HISTORY
OF THE MYTHOLOGICAL WORLD
This
chronology lists several of the events in mythology and legend with known
events in history along with several events of topical interest.
- The Hyborian Age
(according to Robert Howard, this age occurs between the Ice Age and the
beginning of written history.)
- c. 4004 BC (?) - Adam
and Eve in the Garden of Eden
- c. 3100 Estimated
construction of Stonehenge in Wales. Its components are excavated from the
Preseli Hills, 240 miles distant from its present location.
- 2690 King Khufu
(Cheops) begins construction of the Great Pyramid
- c. 2500 Construction
of the pyramids begins in Egypt.
- Cronus imprisons his
children in Tartarus (Later legends erroneously claims he swallows them
and that they survived inside him until released.)
- Zeus is born on Mount
Ida in Crete. His birth is kept a secret from Cronus and minor goddesses
raise Zeus in secret.
- Metis is the first wife
of Zeus.
- Zeus learns his destiny
to conquer Olympus. He seduces and takes Themis, Mnemosyne, Dione and
Eurynome as wives.
- Zeus frees his siblings
from Tartarus.
- Zeus seduces Demeter
and Hera.
- C. 2475 King Gilgamesh
reigns as Ruler of Ur in the Sumeria Empire
- c. 2404 Biblical
Noah/Utnapishtim and his family survive the flood in an ark. Zeus conquers
Olympus and takes Hera as his queen; Cronus flees into exile. Zeus and his
brothers cast lots for the world as Poseidon inherits the oceans and Hades
takes over Tartarus with his kingdom centered and named for himself.
- Hera drives Zeuss
other wives from Olympus. Leto flees to the island of Delos, Metis for
Libya and Dione for Cythera.
- Apollo and Artemis born
from Leto with Eileithyia as midwife.
- Ares (Aphneius) is born
to Zeus and Hera on Olympus.
- Aphrodite born on
Cythera (later legends claim she sprang from the ocean).
- Ares and Hephaestus are
young gods as their half-sister, Athena, daughter of Zeus and Metis
arrives at Olympus with the secret to the headaches, which Zeus is suffering
(Later legends erroneously claim she sprung from his head).
- Hephaestus remains
humble, seeking to tinker as a blacksmith god. Zeus accuses Hera of
infidelity under the belief that Hephaestus is not his son. In the
scuffle, they blindly knock the young smith god from Olympus. He lands in
the sea near Lemnos and nursed from his injuries to full health by the
Nereids.
- c. 2395 BC Gilgamesh
reigns as King of Ur
- Inanna/Aphrodite tries
to tempt Gilgamesh, but he spurns her advantages.
- As a young god, Hermes
steals the cattle of Apollo and sacrifices one to the gods counting
himself among them. Apollo backs Hermes acceptance into the pantheon.
- 2297 BC (?) A flood
devastates China during the reign of Emperor Yao
- c. 2190 BC Shi Huang
Ti, first ruler of unified China, begins construction of the Great Wall of
China using prisoners of war as slave labor.
- c. 2000 BC The
Ancient Greeks begin worshipping the Olympian Pantheon as gods. Some of
the Olympian Immortals begin choosing their favorite cities as centers of
their worship.
- Inachos arbitrates
Argos to Hera instead of Poseidon. His riverbed is dried up in
retaliation.
- Phoroneus founds
Phoronea.
- Pelasgus, son of
Inachos, becomes leader of the Pelasgians.
- c. 1900 - The first
Battle of Magh Tureidh in Ireland between the Tuatha de Danaan and the
Fomore
- c. 1700 The Milesians
conquer Eire from the Tuatha de Danaan
- c. 1600 - Zeus seduces
Io, daughter of Inachos, but transforms her into a cow to conceal the
infidelity. Her sister, Mycene, marries Arestor, founder of Mycenae.
- Hera has Argus guard
Io, but he is slain by Hermes. Io flees to her father, Inachos, the
river-god, who barely recognizes her. She flees to Egypt and gives birth
to Epaphus.
- Young Epaphus is friend
of Phaethon, son of Helios. Phaethon travels to his father for proof he is
his son. He scorches the Earth trying to maneuver Helioss sun chariot and
is knocked out of the sky by Zeus.
- c. 1585 Epaphus/Apepi
reigns as King of Egypt.
- c. 1575 - Apis succeeds
Phoroneus, king of Argos.
- Hephaestus is welcomed
back to Olympus by Hera. He creates thunderbolts for Zeus and jewelry for
Hera.
- Prometheus steals fire
to give to mortals, but is chained to the Caucasus Mountains as
punishment.
- Hephaestus creates
Pandora and Hera brings her to life to bring misfortune to mortal man for
accepting fire.
- Pandora opens a jar she
was warned to never open and a hive of demons are released spawning evil
in mortal man from it.
- Prometheus warns
Deucalion to build an ark.
- 1470 BC
Thera/Atlantis explodes. The resulting flood washes away the earth. Athens
is flooded during the reign of King Cecrops believing it is punishment for
accepting Athena as their matron goddess over Poseidon. Celtic Noah and
his family survive in an ark as does Deucalion whose father had a
premonition of the disaster. Pelasgus, King of Arcadia and heir to Argos,
survives the flood.
- Greek armies invade
Phoenicia. Aphrodite joins the Olympian pantheon after an existence as
Ishtar of the Phoenician gods. Zeus seduces the Phoenician princess Europa
and takes her to Crete.
- Sons of Japeth, the son
of Noah, conquer Eire and Britain. Rivals of the native Celtic gods, they
become ancestors to the kings of Eire and Britain.
- c. 1465 Danaus and
his daughters are received by King Galanor of Argos. They claim Argos as
ancestors of Io.
- 1462 BC Eight years
after the flood, Cadmus founds Thebes by conquering the indigenous Hyantes
and Aonian tribes and slaying a dragon sacred to Ares.
- c. 1459 Hades abducts
Persephone in the reign of King Celeus of Eleusis.
- 1454 BC Eight years
after killing the dragon, Cadmus becomes king of Thebes.
- c. 1440 Zeus seduces
Semele, daughter of Cadmus. Hera places doubts in her of whether Zeus is
her lover and she dies by accident when he calls upon lightning to prove
his identity. Zeus removes his son Dionysus from her to spare his life and
gives him to the Maenads, lesser goddesses to nurse to health.
- 1420 BC Aethlius
founds Elis fifty years after the flood.
- 1419 BC After a long
reign, Cadmus supplanted by Pentheus.
- c. 1395 The city of
Jericho in Ancient Palestine falls under forces controlled by Israelite
leader Joshua. All its inhabitants are massacred and the city is cursed.
- 1379 Pentheus is
deposed by Dionysus. Polydorus, his brother-in-law and son of Cadmus,
succeeds him.
- 1363 BC During the
Ming Dynasty, the Great Wall of China is restored after it is nearly
destroyed by Mongolian occupation.
- As an adult, Dionysus
joins the Olympian Pantheon.
- Hephaestus discovers
Aphrodite has been unfaithful with Ares and reveals the affair to the
gods. He lays his bad marriage on the fault of Hera and builds a throne
that imprisons her. Dionysus gets him drunk to release her.
- 1364 BC On Polydoruss
death, Nycteus becomes regent for Labdacus, son of Polydorus.
- 1338 BC Labdacus
rules briefly before his death. Lycus, brother of Nycteus, is regent for
his son Laius.
- 1318 BC After twenty
years, Lycus overthrown by Amphion, grandson of Nycteus. Laius is sent to
the court of King Pelops of Pisa.
- 1304 BC Laius hurries
home to claim the throne after deaths of Amphion and Zethus.
- Zeus seduces Danae in
the reign of King Acrisius of Argos. An oracle reveals her son will depose
him and Acrisius casts her into the sea.
- Oedipus born to Laius
and Jocasta, but a prophecy claims he will depose his father. Oedipus is
exposed on a mountain and raised by farmers.
- c. 1290 Perseus
leaves Argos to his cousin Megapenthes after the death of King Acrisius.
He rebuilds the walls of Mycenae.
- Laius killed by Oedipus
at Delphi. Jocasta names her brother Creon as regent.
- Perseus succeeded by
his son Electryon.
- 1276, October 31
Hercules born in Thebes during the earlier reign of King Creon, brother of
Jocasta. He loses his claim to throne of Mycenae to his cousin,
Eurystheus.
- 1261 BC Theseus born
in Troezen.
- 1256 BC Twenty years
old, Hercules marries Megaera, daughter of Creon.
- Oedipus slays the
Sphinx and becomes King of Thebes.
- c. 1255 Oedipus learns
that Jocasta is his mother and blinds himself. He abdicates and places
Eteocles and Polyneices on the throne.
- 1250 BC Philistine
armies from Caphtor (Crete) invade Gerar (Palestine). The Philistines are
rumored to be descendants of the Pelasgians.
- Eteocles banishes
Polyneices who raises an army in Argos to retake the throne in the reign
of King Adrastus. Both brothers slay each other in battle. Elderly Creon
becomes regent for Laodamas, son of Eteocles.
- c. 1242 - Creon is
murdered by Lycus, who is in turn is deposed by Hercules. Thersander, son
of Polyneices, takes the throne.
Peleus and Telamon born to Aeacus and Endeis in Phthia.
- c. 1229 Peleus and
Telamon join the Argonauts.
- 1223 BC Helen and
Pollux born in Sparta to Zeus and Leda. Leda also conceives Castor and
Clytemnestra to King Tyndareus restored to the Spartan throne by Hercules.
- c. 1220 During his
tenth labor, Hercules visits Ancient Briton ruled by Albion, son of
Poseidon.
- 1211 BC Helen (12)
abducted by Theseus (50).
- Hercules rescues
Theseus from the Underworld.
- 1209 BC Achilles born
in Phthia.
- Hercules killed through
the treachery of Nessus, but restored to life by Zeus as a god.
- 1205 BC Helen (18)
approached by suitors.
- 1200 BC Achilles (9)
hidden in the court of King Lycomedes of Scyros.
- 1196 BC - Achilles (13)
seduces Deidameia who gives him a son, Pyrrhus.
- 1194 BC - The Trojan
War begins. Achilles is 15 years old. King Thersander of Thebes dies at
the onset of the throne. His regent, Peneleus, dies alongside him.
- 1184 BC Odysseus
secrets Greek soldiers inside a Wooden Horse into Troy and successfully
takes the city. Neoptolemus (Pyrrhus) (13), son of Achilles, slays King
Priam.
- Tisamenus inherits the
throne at Thebes.
- Autesion ascends the
throne of Thebes.
- Trojan refugees from
Thrace conquer lands north of Gaul. Their ancestors will found the region
of Saxony upon which modern Germany is built and conquer Britain from the
Celts, developing later the British Empire.
- c. 1114 BC
Damasichthon, son of Peneleus, becomes King of Thebes.
- 1050 BC Samson,
defender of the Israelites, topples the temple of Samson down upon himself
and 1000 Philistines after being betrayed by his mistress.
- 1000 BC David slays
Goliath and becomes Ruler of Israel.
- Queen Louhi of Pohjola
(now part of modern Finland) holds the wizard Vainamoinen captive in
return for the creation of a mystical amulet
- Legendary King Brutus,
great-grandson of Aeneas, becomes founder and the first king of Britain.
- c. 750 Romulus and
Remus are the legendary founders of Rome.
- 660 BC Jimmu Tenno,
grandson of the goddess Amaterasu, begins his rule as Emperor of Japan.
- Reign of Queen Medb of
Ireland
- c. 605 BC - King
Nebuchadnezzar creates the Hanging Gardens of Babylon for his wife, Queen
Semiramis.
- c. 600 BC Athenian
poet first Solon receives the story of Atlantis from Egyptian priests.
- 468 BC Mycenae is
besieged and destroyed by inhabitants of Argos and is never restored.
- 430 BC A two-year
plague begins in Athens.
- c. 390 BC Belinus and
Brennus, legendary kings of Britain lay siege on the Roman army and sack
Rome
- c. 350 BC Plato first
relates the story of Atlantis.
- 334 BC Alexander the
Great makes a sacrifice to the gods near the ruins of Troy before his
siege of Persia.
- 68 BC Cicilian
pirates introduce worship of the Eastern God Mithras to Rome.
- 49 BC Julius Caesar
becomes Ruler of Rome. He leads three expeditions trying to seize Britain,
but is defeated by Lud, King of Britain.
- c. 35 BC During the
reign of Judean ruler Herod the Great, the fortifications at Jericho are
strengthened and several structures are rebuilt.
- c. 8 BC King
Conchobor begins his twelve-year rein of Ancient Eire. Warrior Cu Chulainn
is born during his rule.
- 6 BC Jesus Christ born
in Bethlehem, Judea controlled by the Roman Empire. He begins the
foundation for Christianity.
- 43 BC Emperor
Claudius of Rome begins conquest of Britain, bringing an end to the rule
of legendary King Llud
- 64, July 19 AD A fire
beginning in Circus Maximus claims much of Rome during the reign of King
Nero.
- 72 AD Construction of
the Roman Coliseum began under Emperor Vespasian on site of a villa, which
belonged to Nero.
- 79 AD An eruption at
Vesuvius buries Pompeii and Herculaneum.
- 80 AD Emperor Titus
dedicates the Coliseum to his father.
- 107 AD Tarjan,
Emperor of Rome, conquers Dacia (modern Romania) and makes it a Roman
province.
- c. 120 AD Hadrians
Wall constructed
- c. 390 AD King
Vortigern meets with Saxon leaders Hengist and Horsa, descendants of Odin,
in allowing the Saxons into Britain. He slays King Constantine of Britain
and takes the throne for himself.
- c. 395 AD Merlin
commissions the moving of Stonehenge to its present location at Salisbury.
- c. 400 AD King
Gunther of Burgundy takes over land down river on the Rhine and meets
Siegfried, son of King Sigmund, of the Netherlands. In the South Pacific,
Polynesians led by Chief Hotu Matua land at Easter Island.
- Siegfried helps Gunther
win the hand of Brynhild.
- 404 AD Last
tournament held in Roman Coliseum
- 410 AD King Arthur
begins his reign as King of Britain.
- 433 AD Attila the Hun
and his armies lay siege to much of Western Europe
- 465 AD Arthur is
slain by his treacherous son, Mordred, at the Battle of Camlann. He
bequeaths Excalibur to be returned to the Lady of the Lake.
- 476 AD The collapse
of the Roman Empire
- 534 AD Burgundy
absorbed into the Frank Empire (now part of modern France).
- c. 600 AD Beowulf slays
Grendel
- 613 AD Queen
Brynhilda, Visigoth Warrior Queen, controls parts of Northern Gaul.
- 786 AD Sindbad
travels the Middle East during the reign of King Mihrjan of Persia.
- 800 AD Charlemagne
crowned ruler of the Holy Roman Empire
- 957 King Hrothgar,
future king of the Danes is born.
- 985 The Vikings build
a series of small settlements along Greenland and western North America
- 1000 AD By now, 887
statues dot Easter Island.
- Reign of Brian Boru of
Ireland
- 1100 AD Last pagan
rituals held at Stonehenge.
- 1157 AD King Eric of
Sweden invades Kalevala (Ancient Finland) and introduces Christianity to
the natives.
- 1160 AD Traditional
date of birth of Robin Hood
- 1206 AD Genghis Khan
rules the Mongols, leading a siege over much of Eastern Europe
- 1456 1462 Reign of
Vlad Tepes of Wallachia. A descendant of Genghis Khan, his brutality as a
ruler inspires the legend of Dracula
- 1492, October 12
Christopher Columbus begins his exploration of the New World.
- 1600 Deforestation
and lost top soil force the inhabitants of Easter Island to depart.
- 1614 August The trial
of Elizabeth Bathory, believed responsible for the deaths of over 800
young girls
- 1850 Marie LaVeau at
the height of her popularity in New Orleans
- 1888, Summer Five
prostitutes are slain in White Chapel, an area of London by a figure known
only as Jack The Ripper
- 1898 AD Heinrich
Schliemann begins excavation on the site of Ancient Troy.
- 1922, November 26
Howard Carter breaks in to the tomb of Tutankhamen. A curse supposedly
claims the majority of his archeological team.
- 1929 Archaeologist
Leonard Woolley digging pits near Ur comes upon evidence of a great flood
dating back to the Second Millennium BC.
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