"King of the World"
Born: 20 or 21 July 356 BC in Pella, Macedon, Ancient Greece
Died: 10 or 11 June 323 BC (aged 32) in Babylon, Mesopotamia
Known for: Created one of the largest empires in history, stretching from Greece to northwestern India; widely considered to be one of history's greatest and most successful military commanders.
"The father of Athenian Democracy"
Born: around 570 BC
Died: around 508 BC
Known for: statesman and lawgiver who reformed the Athenian constitution and establishing democracy in Athens
King of the Four Corners of the World
Born: about 600 BC in Anshan, Persis (present-day Fars Province, Iran)
Died: 4 December 530 BC (aged 70) in Syr Darya, Central Asia
Known for: Achaemenid king who united the Persian Empire. A declaration made upon the Persian conquest of Babylon known as the Cyrus Cylinder is sometimes considered the first human rights charter.
King of Kings
Born: 550 BCE
Died: Oct. 486 BCE (aged about 64)
Known for: The third Persian King of Kings of the Achaemenid Empire; preceded by Bardiya and Cyrus the Great, and succeeded by Xerxes I. Ruled the empire at its peak.
Queen of Sparta
Born: 518 or 508 BC
Died: after 480 BC
Known for: Wife of King Leonidas I. One of the few female historical figures actually named by Herodotus, and was known for her political judgment and wisdom.
Born: 382 BC in Pella, Macedon (modern-day Greece)
Died: October 21, 336 BC (aged 46) in Aigai, Macedon (modern-day Vergina, Greece)
Known for: Father of Alexander the Great and Philip III. King and military commander who set the stage for Alexander's victory over Darius III and the conquest of Persia.
Image: Photo by Richard Motel via Wikimedia Commons
"Son of the Lion"
Born: about 540 BC in Sparta, Greece
Died: Sept. 19, 480 BC (aged around 60)
Known for: Spartan king who led the Greek forces at the Battle of Thermopylae (480 BC) in the Second Persian War. He died at the battle and entered myth as the leader of the 300 Spartans.
Image: Photo by de:Benutzer:Ticinese via Wikimedia Commons
"The first citizen of Athens"
Born: about 495 BC in Athens, Greece
Died: 429 BC (aged c. 65 – 66) in Athens, Greece
Known for: Greek statesman and general during the Greco-Persian Wars and the Peloponnesian War. Pericles promoted the arts and literature and was the partner of Aspasia of Miletus.
"Ptolemy the Savior"
Born: about 367 BC in Pella, Macedon, Greece
Died: January 282 BC (aged 84–85) in Alexandria, Ptolemaic Kingdom
Known for: A Greek general, historian and companion of Alexander the Great who became king of Egypt but also the founder of the Ptolemaic Dynasty, turning Egypt into a Hellenistic kingdom and Alexandria into a center of Greek culture.
One of the "Seven Wise Men of Greece"
Born: about 630 BC in Athens
Died: about 560 BC (aged approximately 70) in Cyprus
Known for: Athenian statesman, lawmaker and poet often credited with having laid the foundations for Athenian democracy.
King of Persia
Born: about 518 BC
Died: August 465 BC (aged approximately 53)
Known for: Made an unsuccessful effort to conquer Greece in 480-479, suffering a major naval defeat at the Battle of Salamis.
* Profiles marked with an asterisk were not Greek.
Profile images are from the public domain unless otherwise noted.