Your Day in the Ancient Greek World
November 8
November 8 in ancient Greece is represented in our source-audited archive by 2 verified records spanning 225 BC to AD 324. Together, the entries below connect this calendar date with different moments in the ancient Greek world through historical and documentary evidence.
Across the centuries
On This Day
-
225 BC
Life on This Day
Twenty-Four Animals Are Hired with Eleven Donkey-Drivers
On November 8, 225 BC, a Greek contract recorded the hire of twenty-four animals together with eleven donkey-drivers. The document also names the oikonomos Asclepiades and preserves part of the machinery behind transport in Ptolemaic Egypt.
Sources
Primary evidence
- Papyrus 566; P.Petr. II 25i = P.Petr. III 62a = P.Lond. III 566 descr. = TM 2901
Modern scholarship
- British Library Archives and Manuscripts catalogue
Public links
-
AD 324
Event That Shaped History
Constantine Ceremonially Founds His New City at Byzantion
On November 8, AD 324, Constantine marked the ceremonial foundation and ground-breaking of his new imperial city at Byzantion. The act began the transformation of the old Greek city into the capital later dedicated as Constantinople.
Sources
Primary evidence
- Late Roman foundation chronology for Constantinople
Modern scholarship
- David S. Potter, The Triumph of Empire
Public links