287 BC


Year 287 BC was a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar. At the time it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Marcellus and Rutilus. The denomination 287 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

Roman Republic

  • A new law, Lex Hortensia, gives much greater power to the Concilium Plebis compared to the Senate. This law is passed following a threat from plebeian soldiers to secede. In the face of this threat, the Senate yields to plebeian concerns over their lack of political power and over their level of debt to the aristocracy. The law is named after Quintus Hortensius, a plebeian, who is made dictator to settle the controversy.
  • With the Lex Hortensia in place, in theory the political distinctions in Rome between the patricians and the plebeians disappear. However, in practice, the coalition of leading plebeian families keep control which means that the patricians are able to largely nullify the power of the assemblies. So Roman government continues to be oligarchic in character.

Greece


Births

Deaths