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Greek city of Argos in Argolis
Bronze 16mm (3.77 grams) Struck circa 260-195 B.C.
Reference: HGC 5, 699; BCD Peloponnesos 1126; SNG Copenhagen 83 | Pedigree:
Ex-BCD Collection
Head of Hera right, wearing polos.
Pillar fountain; flanked by Boiotian helmet and archaic letter heta.
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Argos is a city in
Greece
in the
Peloponnese
11 kilometres from
Nafplion
, which was its historic harbour (named
supposedly after the legendary hero
Nauplius
).
Name
The region of Argos is known as the
Argolis
, Argolid, or Argeia. The
inhabitants of Argos were known as Ἀργεῖοι
(< *Ἀργεῖϝοι) or Argīvī in
Latin
, rendered Argives in English.
The name might be of pre-Greek (“Pelasgian“)
derivation; the name of its
acropolis
,
Larissa
, certainly is.
Aitiology
derives it from a mythological
founder, Argos
son of
Zeus and Niobe
(see also
Danaus
). If the name is Indo-European, it may
be related to the adjective αργóς (argós) ‘shimmering’ or ‘quick’) from
PIE
*h₂erǵ-, hence also ἄργυρος (árguros) ‘silver’ with a meaning
“shining brightly” or similar.
History
Ancient
Argos
The Heraion of Argos.
A Neolithic
settlement was located near the
central sanctuary of Argois, removed 45 stadia (8 km; 5 miles) from Argos,
closer to Mycenae
. The temple was dedicated to “Argivian
Hera“. The main festival of that temple was the
Hekatombaia
, one of the major festivals of
Argos itself.
Walter Burkert
(Homo
necans, p. 185) connected the festival to the myth of the slaying
of Argus Panoptes
by
Hermes
(“shimmering” or “quick”), and only
secondarily associated with mythological Argus (or the toponym).
Argos was a major stronghold of
Mycenaean
times, and along with the
neighbouring acropolis of
Mycenae
and
Tiryns
became a very early settlement because
of its commanding positions in the midst of the fertile plain of Argolis.
During Homeric
times it belonged to a follower of
Agamemnon
and gave its name to the surrounding
district; the Argolid which the Romans knew as Argeia. The
importance of Argos was eclipsed by nearby
Sparta
after the 6th century BC.[dubious
–
discuss
]
Because of its refusal to fight or send supplies in the
Graeco-Persian Wars
, Argos was shunned by most
other city-states.[
neededcitation] Argos remained neutral or the ineffective ally of
Athens
during the 5th century BC struggles
between Sparta and Athens.
The
Mythological kings
of Argos are (in order):
Inachus
,
Phoroneus
,
Argus
,
Triopas
,
Agenor
,
Iasus
,
Crotopus
,
Pelasgus
(aka
Gelanor
),
Danaus
,
Lynceus
,
Abas
,
Proetus
,
Acrisius
,
Perseus
,
Megapénthês
,
Argeus
, and
Anaxagoras
. An alternative version (supplied by
Tatiānus[2])
of the original 17 consecutive kings of Argōs includes
Apis
, Argios, Kriasos, and
Phorbas
between Argus and Triopas, explaining
the apparent unrelation of Triopas to Argus.
After the original 17 kings of Argos, there were three kings ruling Argos at
the same time (see
Anaxagoras
), one descended from
Bias
, one from
Melampus
, and one from
Anaxagoras
. Melampus was succeeded by his son
Mantius
, then
Oicles
, and
Amphiaraus
, and his house of Melampus lasted
down to the brothers
Alcmaeon
and
Amphilochus
.
Anaxagoras
was succeeded by his son
Alector
, and then
Iphis
. Iphis left his kingdom to his nephew
Sthenelus
, the son of his brother
Capaneus
.
Bias
was succeeded by his son
Talaus
, and then by his son
Adrastus
who, with Amphiaraus, commanded the
disastrous
Seven Against Thebes
.
Adrastus
bequethed the kingdom to his son,
Aegialeus
, who was subsequently killed in the
war of the Epigoni
.
Diomedes
, grandson of Adrastus through his
son-in-law Tydeus and daughter
Deipyle
, replaced Aegialeus and was King of
Argos during the Trojan war. This house lasted longer than those of
Anaxagoras
and
Melampus
, and eventually the kingdom was
reunited under its last member, Cyanippus, son of Aegialeus, soon after the
exile of Diomedes.
Argos played a role in the Peloponnesian war and beyond.
Medieval
Argos
The castle on Larissa Hill.
During the 12th century, a castle was built on Larissa Hill – the site of the
ancient Acropolis – called Kastro Larissa. Argos was captured by the
Crusaders, then the
Venetians
, and was taken by the
Ottomans
in 1463.
Francesco Morosini
captured
it for Venice in 1686 but it was
retaken
by the Ottomans in 1715.
At the beginning of the
Greek War of Independence
, when many petty
local republics were formed in different parts of the country, the “Consulate of
Argos” was proclaimed on 26 May 1821, under the Senate of the
Peloponnese
. It had a single head of state,
styled Consul
, 28 March 1821 – 26 May 1821:
Stamatellos Antonopoulos.
Later, Argos accepted the authority of the unified Provisional Government at
the
First National Assembly at Epidaurus
, and
eventually became part of the
Kingdom of Greece
.
Modern
Argos
The city of Argos is the seat of the province of the same name, one of the
three subdivisions of the
Argolis
prefecture. According to the 2001 Greek
census, the city has a population of 27,550. It is the largest city in the
prefecture, one of the few prefectures in Greece where the largest city in
population is larger than the prefectural capital.
Considerable remains of the city survive and are a popular tourist
attraction. Agriculture, however, is the primary economic activity in the area,
with citrus fruits the predominant crop. Olives are also popular here.
Argos has a railway station on the Kalamata – Tripoli – Corinth line of the
Hellenic Railways Organisation
, and a junior
soccer team. The
Archaeological Museum of Argos
houses ancient
artifacts recovered not only from the principal archaeological sites of the
city, including the theater and
agora
but also from
Lerna
.
[1]
Greek
mythology on film
In the film
Clash of the Titans
,
Zeus
Acrisius arranges for his own daughter
Danaë
and her son
Perseus
, who is also the natural son of Zeus,
to be cast into the sea in a wooden chest to drown.
Poseidon
releases a
sea monster
known as the
Kraken
, which causes a tidal wave to devastate
the city and kill Acrisius. Danaë and Perseus survive and end up on
Seriphos
.
Notable
people
- Acrisius
, mythological king
- Acusilaus
(6th century BC), logographer and
mythographer
- Ageladas
(6th-5th century BC), sculptor
- Pheidon
(7th century BC), king of Argos
- Polykleitos
(5th-4th century BC), sculptor
-
Polykleitos the Younger
(4th century BC),
sculptor
- Telesilla
(6th century BC), Greek poet
-
Eleni Bakopanos
(1954-), Canadian
politiciann
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