514 BC was a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar. In the Roman Empire, it was known as the year of the consulship of Poplicola and Publicola (or, less frequently, year 240 Ab urbe condita). The denomination 514 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.
Events
- Athens: Hipparchus, brother of the Athenian tyrant Hippias (son of Peisistratus), is assassinated by Harmodius and Aristogeiton during the Panathenaic Festival. This event, often romanticized as an act of liberation, actually led to a period of harsher tyranny under Hippias. The assassination, however, set the stage for the eventual overthrow of the Peisistratid tyranny a few years later.
- Persian Empire: While much of Darius I's significant campaigns against the Scythians are often dated to 513 BC, activities related to the consolidation of Persian power and preliminary military movements in preparation for these campaigns might have occurred around this time.