Who Was Alive

Famous people born in the 5th century BC

10 people we track were born in the 5th century BC. The best known are on the timeline.

  1. Sophocles
  2. Empedocles
  3. Pericles
  4. Protagoras
  5. Zeno of Elea
  6. Herodotus
  7. Socrates
  8. Hippocrates
  9. Aristophanes
  10. Diogenes of Sinope
Drag across the timeline to see who was alive in any year and the age each person reached that year. Faded ends mark uncertain dates.
  1. Socrates c. 470 – 399 BC
  2. Sophocles c. 496 – c. 406 BC
  3. Herodotus c. 484 – c. 425 BC
  4. Hippocrates c. 460 – c. 370 BC
  5. Aristophanes c. 445 – 385 BC
  6. Diogenes of Sinope c. 400 – c. 323 BC
  7. Pericles 494–429 BC
  8. Protagoras c. 490 – c. 420 BC
  9. Empedocles c. 494 – c. 434 BC
  10. Zeno of Elea c. 490 – c. 425 BC