264 BC

Millennium:	1st millennium BC
Centuries:	4th century BC – 3rd century BC – 2nd century BC
Decades:	290s BC  280s BC  270s BC  – 260s BC –  250s BC  240s BC  230s BC
Years:	267 BC 266 BC 265 BC – 264 BC – 263 BC 262 BC 261 BC

264 BC in other calendars

Gregorian calendar	264 BC CCLXIII BC
Ab urbe condita	490
Ancient Egypt era	XXXIII dynasty, 60
- Pharaoh	Ptolemy II Philadelphus, 20
Ancient Greek era	129th Olympiad (victor)¹
Assyrian calendar	4487
Bengali calendar	−856
Berber calendar	687
Buddhist calendar	281
Burmese calendar	−901
Byzantine calendar	5245–5246
Chinese calendar	丙申年 (Fire Monkey) 2433 or 2373     — to — 丁酉年 (Fire Rooster) 2434 or 2374
Coptic calendar	−547 – −546
Discordian calendar	903
Ethiopian calendar	−271 – −270
Hebrew calendar	3497–3498
Hindu calendars
- Vikram Samvat	−207 – −206
- Shaka Samvat	N/A
- Kali Yuga	2838–2839
Holocene calendar	9737
Iranian calendar	885 BP – 884 BP
Islamic calendar	912 BH – 911 BH
Julian calendar	N/A
Korean calendar	2070
Minguo calendar	2175 before ROC 民前2175年
Seleucid era	48/49 AG
Thai solar calendar	279–280

The Roman republic in 264 BC (all colours except light green, white and blue).

Year 264 BC was a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar. At the time it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Caudex and Flaccus (or, less frequently, year 490 Ab urbe condita). The denomination 264 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

By place

Greece

• Abantidas, the son of Paseas, becomes tyrant of the Greek city-state of Sicyon after murdering Cleinias. He either banishes or puts to death Cleinias' friends and relations. Cleinias' young son, Aratus, narrowly escapes death.

Roman Republic

• The tyrant of Syracuse, Hiero II, once more attacks the Mamertines. They ally themselves with a nearby Carthaginian fleet and hold off the Syracusans. However, when the Carthaginians do not leave, the Mamertines appeal to Rome for an alliance, hoping for more reliable protection. Although initially reluctant to assist lest it encourage other mercenary groups to mutiny, Rome is unwilling to see Carthaginian power spread further over Sicily and encroach on Italy. Rome therefore enters into an alliance with the Mamertines. By this action, the First Punic War begins and will embroil Rome in a conflict with Carthage that will continue for 23 years.
• The Roman consul Appius Claudius Caudex and his two legions are deployed to Sicily, the first time a Roman army has gone into action outside the Italian peninsula.
• Appius Claudius Caudex leads his forces to Messina, and as the Mamertines have convinced the Carthaginians to withdraw, he meets with only minimal resistance. The Mamertines hand the city over to Appius Claudius, but the Carthaginians return to set up a blockade. The Syracusans, meanwhile, are also stationed outside the city.
• Appius Claudius leads his troops outside the city of Messina to defeat the Syracusans in battle forcing Hiero to retreat back to Syracuse. The next day Claudius defeats the Carthaginians.
• The temple to Vertumnus is built on the Aventine Hill in Rome.
• Three pairs of gladiators face off in the first recorded gladiatorial combat, held at the funeral games in honour of aristocrat Junius Brutus Pera in the Forum Boarium.

China

• The Chinese Confucian philosopher Xunzi visits the State of Qin. He writes of his and others' admiration for the government officials of Qin, whom he says are serious and sincere, free from the tendency to form cliques. The Qin officials are disciplined by a meritocracy of rather harsh methods imposed by the Legalist philosophy.

Deaths

• Zeno of Citium, Hellenistic Stoic philosopher from Citium, Cyprus (b. 333 BC)