342 BC

Millennium:	1st millennium BC
Centuries:	5th century BC – 4th century BC – 3rd century BC
Decades:	370s BC  360s BC  350s BC  – 340s BC –  330s BC  320s BC  310s BC
Years:	345 BC 344 BC 343 BC – 342 BC – 341 BC 340 BC 339 BC

342 BC in other calendars

Gregorian calendar	342 BC CCCXLI BC
Ab urbe condita	412
Ancient Egypt era	XXXI dynasty, 2
- Pharaoh	Artaxerxes III of Persia, 2
Ancient Greek era	109th Olympiad, year 3
Assyrian calendar	4409
Bengali calendar	−934
Berber calendar	609
Buddhist calendar	203
Burmese calendar	−979
Byzantine calendar	5167–5168
Chinese calendar	戊寅年 (Earth Tiger) 2355 or 2295     — to — 己卯年 (Earth Rabbit) 2356 or 2296
Coptic calendar	−625 – −624
Discordian calendar	825
Ethiopian calendar	−349 – −348
Hebrew calendar	3419–3420
Hindu calendars
- Vikram Samvat	−285 – −284
- Shaka Samvat	N/A
- Kali Yuga	2760–2761
Holocene calendar	9659
Iranian calendar	963 BP – 962 BP
Islamic calendar	993 BH – 992 BH
Julian calendar	N/A
Korean calendar	1992
Minguo calendar	2253 before ROC 民前2253年
Thai solar calendar	201–202

Aristotle tutoring Alexander

Year 342 BC was a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar. At the time it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Ahala and Rutilus (or, less frequently, year 412 Ab urbe condita). The denomination 342 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

Macedonia

• The Greek philosopher, Aristotle, is invited by Philip II to his capital at Pella to tutor his son, Alexander. As the leading intellectual figure in Greece, Aristotle is commissioned to prepare Alexander for his future role as a military leader.
• Philip begins a series of campaigns in Thrace with the aim of annexing it to be a province of Macedonia. When the Macedonian army approaches Thracian Chersonese (the Gallipoli Peninsula), an Athenian general named Diopeithes ravages this district of Thrace, thus inciting Philip's rage for operating too near one of his towns in the Chersonese. Philip demands his recall. In response, the Athenian Assembly is convened. Demosthenes convinces the Athenians not to recall Diopeithes.

Sicily

• The Corinthian general Timoleon spreads his rule over Sicily, removing a number of other tyrants and preparing Sicily for another threatened Carthaginian invasion.

Roman Republic

• The Battle of Mount Gaurus is fought between the Romans and the Samnites. The battle is a success for the Romans, who, it is said, are led by Marcus Valerius Corvus. Fought at the foot of Mount Gaurus, near Cumae, it is the most notable engagement of the First Samnite War.

China

• In the course of the Warring States period, the army of the state of Qi defeats the army of the state of Wei in the Battle of Maling. This battle involves the military strategy of the general Sun Bin (descendent of Sun Tzu), and is the first battle in recorded history to give a reliable account of the handheld crossbow with trigger mechanism.

Births

• Menander, Greek playwright (d. 291 BC)