Everything about Argos totally explained
Argos (
Greek:
Άργος,
Árgos, ) is a city in Greece in the
Peloponnese near
Nafplio, which was its historic harbor, named for
Nauplius.
Name
The region of Argos is called the
Argolid. The inhabitants of Argos were called Αργεῖοι,
Argīvī in
Latin, hence they're called
Argives in English.
The name is pre-Greek (
Pelasgian), as is the name of its
acropolis,
Larissa.
Aitiology derives it from a mythological founder,
Argos son of
Zeus and
Niobe (see also
Danaus).
History
Ancient Argos
A
Neolithic settlement was located near the central sanctuary of Argolis, removed 45 stadia from Argos, closer to
Mycenae. The sanctuary was dedicated to "Argivian
Hera". The main festival of that temple were 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. There have been speculations that Hermes' epitheton
Argeiphontes, which was understood as "Argus-slayer" very early, is in fact related to the adjective
argós "shimmering" or "quick", from a root
arg- (
PIE, hence also
argyros, silver), with a meaning "shining brightly" or similar, and only secondarily connected with the toponym or mythological Argus.
Argos was a major stronghold of
Mycenaean times, and along with the neighboring acropoleis of
Mycenae and
Tiryns became very early settlements because of their commanding positions in the midst of the fertile plain of Argolis.
In
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.
Because of its refusal to fight in the
Greco-Persian Wars, Argos was shunned by most other city-states. Argos remained neutral or the ineffective ally of
Athens during the
5th century BC struggles between Sparta and Athens.
Mythological kings of Argos include :
Inachus,
Phoroneus,
Argos,
Agenor,
Triopas,
Iasus,
Crotopus,
Sthenelas,
Pelasgus (aka
Gelanor),
Danaus,
Lynceus,
Abas,
Acrisius,
Proteus,
Megapénthês,
Perseus,
Argeus, and
Anaxagoras.
After this there were three kings ruling Argos at any time, one descended from each of
Bias,
Melampus, and
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, who fought in the Trojan War.
Bias was succeeded by his son
Talaus, and then by his son
Adrastus who, with Amphiaraus, lead the disastrous
Seven Against Thebes.
Anaxagoras was succeeded by his son
Alector, and then
Iphis. Iphis left his kingdom to his nephew
Sthenelus, the son of his brother
Capaneus. This house lasted longer than those of
Bias and
Melampus, and eventually the kingdom was reunited under its last member,
Cyanippus.
Medieval Argos
In the
12th century, a castle was built on Larissa Hill - the site of the ancient Acropolis - called
Kastro Larissa. Argos fell to the Crusaders then the
Venetians, and was taken by the
Ottomans in 1463.
Morosini captured it for Venice in 1686 but it was retaken by the Ottomans in 1716.
At the beginning of the
Greek War of Independence, when many petty local republics that 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 (
Kalamata - Tripoli - Corinth), and a junior soccer team. The
Argos Archaeological Museum houses ancient artifacts recovered not only from the principal archaeological sites of the city, including the theater and
agora but also from
Lerna.
(External Link
)
Greek mythology on film
In the film
Clash of the Titans,
Zeus orders the city of Argos destroyed after
Acrisius arranges for his own daughter
Danae 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 (singular instead of plural in the film), which causes a tidal wave to devastate the city and kill Acrisius. Danae and Perseus survive and end up on
Seriphos.
Notable people
Further Information
Get more info on 'Argos'.
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