6th-century BC births

King of Sparta from c. 489 BC to 480 BC

king of Rome from 535 to 509 BC

ruler of Macedonia from c. 498 to 454 BC

6th century BC king of Macedon

6th-century BC wrestler from the Magna Graecian city of Croton

early 5th-century BC queen of Sparta

Aristagoras of Miletus (), d. 497/496 BC, was the tyrant of the Ionian city of Miletus in the late 6th century BC and early 5th century BC. He acted as one of the instigators of the Ionian Revolt against the Persian Achaemenid Empire. He was the son-in-law of Histiaeus and was granted the tyranny of Miletus from him.

thumb|Bronze Statue of Demaratus in the Naples Museo Archeologico Demaratus (Greek: Δημάρατος, Demaratos; Doric: Δαμάρατος, Damaratos) was a king of Sparta from around 515 BC to 491 BC. He was the 15th ruler of the Eurypontid dynasty and the firstborn son of King Ariston. During his reign, Demaratus is best known for his opposition to his co-ruler, King Cleomenes I of the Agiad dynasty. This rivalry ultimately led to his dethronement around 491 BC, following Cleomenes's accusations of illegitimacy and political maneuvering.

Greek explorer and writer of the late 6th and early 5th centuries BCE

Exekias (, Exēkías) was an ancient Greek vase painter and potter who was active in Athens between roughly 545 BC and 530 BC. Exekias worked mainly in the black-figure technique, which involved the painting of scenes using a clay slip that fired to black, with details created through incision. Exekias is regarded by art historians as an artistic visionary whose masterful use of incision and psychologically sensitive compositions mark him as one of the greatest of all Attic vase painters. The Andokides painter and the Lysippides Painter are thought to have been students of Exekias.

late 6th/early 5th century BC Athenian playwright

Euphronios (; c. 535 – after 470 BC) was an ancient Greek vase painter and potter, active in Athens in the late 6th and early 5th centuries BC. As part of the so-called "Pioneer Group," (a modern name given to a group of vase painters who were instrumental in effecting the change from black-figure to red-figure pottery), Euphronios was one of the most important artists of the red-figure technique. His works place him at the transition from Late Archaic to Early Classical art, and he is one of the first known artists in history to have signed his work.

Roman general and consul (died 493 BC)

Roman aristocrat who helped overthrow the monarchy (died 503 BC)

Artystone (; ; Elamite , ) also known as Irtašduna in the Fortification tablets, was an Achaemenid princess, daughter of king Cyrus the Great, and sister of Cambyses II, Atossa and Smerdis. Along with Atossa and her niece Parmys, Artystone married king Darius I. It is argued that by marrying the female offspring of Cyrus, the founder of the empire, the new king aimed to prevent his rule from being contested, since Darius himself was not of royal blood.

Roman consul, magister equitum and legislator (died 485 BC)

Amestris (, Amēstris, perhaps the same as Άμαστρις, Amāstris, from Old Persian Amāstrī-, "strong woman") was an Achaemenid queen, wife of king Xerxes I and mother of king Artaxerxes I.She was one of the influential women of the Achaemenid era, extremely powerful and vindictive.

early 5th-century BC Roman senator and general

late 6th/early 5th-century BC Roman senator and general

Chinese historian (556–451 BC), responsible for an important commentary on Confucius's Spring & Autumn Annals

Roman military general and consul (died 498/496 BC)

Dorieus (died c.510 BC; ) was a Spartan prince of the Agiad dynasty who is mentioned several times in Herodotus. The second son of Anaxandridas II, he was the younger half-brother of Cleomenes I and the elder full brother of both Leonidas I and Cleombrotus. He tried to found a colony in Cinyps (Libya) but failed. He tried again to establish a colony in western Sicily, but was killed by the Carthaginians.

Roman consul in 501 and 493 BC

thumb|317x317px|Delphi|The Temple of Apollo/Delphi Themistoclea (; Themistokleia; also Aristoclea (; Ἀριστοκλεία Aristokleia), Theoclea (; Θεοκλεία Theokleia); fl. 6th century BCE) was a priestess at Delphi who was said to be a teacher of Pythagoras.

thumb|Megabates was son of Arsames, and brother of Hystaspes. Megabates (Old Persian: ; Ancient Greek: ; dates unknown) was a Persian military leader in the late 6th and early 5th centuries BC. According to Herodotus he was a cousin of Darius the Great and his brother Artaphernes, satrap of Lydia.

Roman aristocrat and consul (502 BC)

ancient Greek philosopher

thumb|Palaestra|Palaistra scene on a plate, about 520/10 BCE. [[Louvre.]] Epiktetos was an Attic vase painter in the early red-figure style. Besides Oltos, he was the most important painter of the Pioneer Group. He was active between 520 BCE and 490 BCE. His name translates as "newly acquired", which is most probably a reference to his slave status.

Cyrenaean King from c.530 BC to c.515 BC

Athenian vase painter

king of Cyrenaica from 550 to 530 BC

archaic Greek architect and sculptor

Endoeus or Endoios () was an ancient Greek sculptor who worked at Athens in the middle of the 6th century BC. Endoeus made an image of Athena dedicated by Callias (the contemporary of Pisistratus) at Athens about 564 BC. An inscription bearing his name has been found at Athens, written in Ionic dialect. The tradition which made him a pupil of Daedalus is apparently misleading, since Daedalus had no connection with Ionic art.

early 5th-century BC Athenian vase painter

Udjaḥorresnet (or Wedjaḥorresnet, and many other variants) was an ancient Egyptian high official who lived between the end of the 26th Dynasty and the beginning of the 27th Dynasty. He is mainly known for his efforts in promoting the Egyptian customs to the early Achaemenid kings of the 27th Dynasty.

Onesilus or Onesilos (, "useful one"; died 497 BC) was the brother of King Gorgus of the Greek city-state of Salamis on the island of Cyprus. He is known only through the work of Herodotus (Histories, V.104–115).

Prince of Achaemenid Dynasty

Parmys (Old Persian: (H)uparviyā, Elamite: Uparmiya) was a Persian princess, the only daughter of Bardiya (Smerdis), son of Cyrus the Great.

Ruler of Chinese State of Cao from 523 to 515 BCE

son of Croesus and father of Pythius

wife of Abradatas

Chinese ruler of Cáo from 527 to 524 BC

ancient Greek boxer and Olympic winner

Early 5th century Kingdom of Chu general and minister

Aridolis () was a tyrant of Alabanda in Caria, who accompanied the Achaemenid king Xerxes I in his expedition against Greece, and was taken by the Greeks off Artemisium in 480 BCE, and sent to the isthmus of Corinth in chains. His successor may have been Amyntas II (son of Bubares).

ancient Attic-Greek vase-painter of red-figure style

Artybius () was a general of ancient Persia during the reign of Darius the Great (that is, around the 5th or 6th centuries BCE). After the Ionian Revolt had broken out, he sailed with a fleet to Cyprus to conquer that island.

general of the State of Chu (died 506 BC)

Pushkarasarin (Sanskrit: ) or Pukkusati (Pali: ) was a king of the Iron Age Indo-Aryan kingdom of Gandhāra during the time of Gautama Buddha (c. 6th or 5th century BCE), according to Buddhist texts which were written a few centuries later. There are no historical facts known for certain about Puṣkarasārin, and all theories about his reign are speculative. It is debated whether he ruled before or after the Achaemenid conquest of the Indus Valley, and is unknown what kind of relationship he historically had with the Persian Achaemenid rulers.