The table gives some key dates relevant to the development of comedy in Greece and Rome. All dates are BC until marked AD. Memorize the historical dates given in green.
| 1200 | Trojan War (approximate traditional date) |
| 776 | Founding of the Olympic Games (traditional date) |
| 753 | Founding of the city of Rome (traditional date) |
| 566 | Re-organization of the Panathenaic festival |
| 536 | Tragic competition begins at the City Dionysia |
| 514 | Harmodius and Aristogeiton kill tyrant Hippias in Athens, leading to democracy |
| 509 | Rome becomes a republic (traditional date) |
| 486 | Comic competition introduced into City Dionysia; beginning of Old Comedy. Chionides was the first winner. |
| 490 | Battle of Marathon: Persia attacks Greece and is repulsed |
| 480 | Battles of Salamis and Thermopylae: Persia tries again, with no better results |
| 445 | Birth of Aristophanes |
| 431 | Beginning of Peloponnesian War, Athens vs. Sparta |
| 427 | Production of Banqueters, first play by Aristophanes (now lost); it won second prize |
| 425 | Aristophanes' Acharnians wins first prize at the Lenaia |
| 424 | Aristophanes' Knights wins first prize at the Lenaia |
| 423 | Aristophanes' Clouds at the City Dionysia |
| 422 | Aristophanes' Wasps at the Lenaia |
| 421 | Aristophanes' Peace at the City Dionysia |
| 414 | Aristophanes' Birds at the City Dionysia |
| 411 | Aristophanes' Lysistrata and Thesmophoriazusae |
| 405 | Aristophanes' Frogs wins first prize at the Lenaia |
| 404 | Fall of Athens, end of Peloponnesian War. Middle Comedy begins around here. |
| 403 | Restoration of Athenian democracy |
| 399 | Trial and execution of Socrates |
| 392 | Aristophanes' Ecclesiazusae |
| 388 | Aristophanes' Wealth |
| 385 | Death of Aristophanes (approximate date) |
| 342 | Birth of Menander |
| 323 | Death of Alexander the Great; start of Hellenistic period of Greek history |
| 321 | Menander's first play, Anger, now lost (probable date); conventional date for start of New Comedy |
| 316 | Menander's Dyskolos wins first prize at the Lenaia |
| 292 | Death of Menander |
| 200-184 | Plautus active (date of birth uncertain; could be anywhere from 255 to 225) |
| 200 | Plautus's Stichus at the Plebeian games |
| 192 | Plautus's Pseudolus at the Megalensiangames |
| 190 | Birth of Terence |
| 166 | Terence's Andria at the Megalensian games |
| 165 | Terence's Hecyra first produced, at the Megalensian games |
| 163 | Terence's Heautontimoroumenos at the Megalensian games |
| 161 | Terence's Eunuch at the Megalensian games, and Phormio at the Roman games |
| 160 | Terence's Adelphi and Hecyra (second production, second failure), at the funeral games for L. Aemilius Paullus; Hecyra was produced again later that year, probably at the Roman games, and finally succeeded |
| 159 | Death of Terence |
| 44 | Assassination of Julius Caesar |
| 31 | Battle of Actium, in which Octavian (later Augustus) defeats Marc Antony and Cleopatra and gains sole power at Rome |
| AD 393 | Emperor Theodosius ends the Olympic games |
| 475-476 | Romulus Augustulus last emperor in the West; start of Byzantine period of Greek history |
| 1300 | Approximate date for beginning of Italian humanism and the Renaissance |
| 1453 | Turks conquer Constantinople; final end of Roman empire |
| 1907 | Discovery and publication of Cairo codex of Menander, containing major portions of Epitrepontes, Perikeiromene, and Samia |
| 1958 | Discovery and publication of Bodmer codex of Menander, containing all of Dyskolos and major portions of Aspis and Samia |