However, it was also surrounded by mountains and had access to the sea. In other words, Argos had a very strategic location. One of the notable events in the history of the Argos city-state is when Pheidon rose to power. In the 7th century B. Pheidon seized whatever power they had and became a notable dictatator. He was a true tyrant who eventually lost his life in a battle in Corinth.
However, he was still able to wreak a considerable amount of havoc before he lost his life. Like many city-states in Greece, one of their biggest rivals was the formidable city-state of Sparta. During the 6th and 7th centuries B. Once in four years, probably in the second year of every Olympiad, there was a magnificent procession from Argos to this temple, in which almost the whole population of the city took part.
The priestess rode in a chariot, drawn by two white oxen Herod. Respecting the site of this temple, which was one of the most magnificent in Greece, some remarks are made In the city itself there were also two temples of Hera, one of Hera Acraea on the ascent to the Acropolis Paus.
But the temple of Apollo Lyceius is described by Pausanias ii. Tradition ascribed its foundation to Danaus. It stood on one side of the Agora Thuc. There was also a temple of Apollo Pythaeus on the Acropolis,which, as we have already seen, was a common sanctuary for the Dorian states belonging to the ancient Argive confederacy Paus.
There were temples to several other gods in Argos; but we may pass them over, with the exception of the temples of Zeus Larissaeus and of Athena, both of which crowned the summit of the acropolis Paus.
The great number of temples, and of statues with which they were adorned, necessarily led to the cultivation of the fine arts. Argos became the seat of one of the most celebrated schools of statuary in Greece. It rose to the greatest renown in the 5th century, B. Music was also cultivatedwith success at Argos at an early period ; and in the reign of Darius the Argives were reckoned by Herodotus iii. Sacadas, who flourished about this period B. Sacadas obtained distinction as a poet as well as a musician; and the Argive Telesilla, who was contemporary with Cleomenes, was so celebrated as a poetess as to be classed among those who were called the Nine Lyric Muses Dict.
Sacadas and Telesilla. But after this time we find no trace of the pursuit of literature at Argos. Notwithstanding its democratical constitution, and the consequent attention that was paid to public affairs, it produced no orator whose fame descended to posterity Cic. The Argives had the character of being addicted to wine Aelian, V. The remains of Argos are few, but still sufficient to enable us to fix the position of some parts of the ancient city, of which Pausanias has left us a minute account.
The modern town of Argos is situated wholly in the plain, but it is evident from the existing remains of the ancient walls, that the mountain called Larissa was included within the ancient city. On the summit of this mountain there are the ruins of a Gothic castle, the walls of which are built upon those of the ancient acropolis.
The masonry of the ancient parts of the building is solely or chiefly in the more regular or polygonal style. There are, however, considerable vestiges of other lines of wall, of massive Cyclopian structure, on the sides and base of the hill connecting the citadel with the lower town Mure, vol. Euripides, in more than one passage, alludes to the Cyclopian walls of Argos Argos, hina teiche laina Kuklopi ourania nemontai, Troad.
It appears from the ancient substructions that the ancient acropolis, like the modern citadel, consisted of an outer wall or rampart, and of an inner keep or castle. The latter occupied a square of about feet. From either end of the outer fortification, the city walls may be traced on the descent of the hill. As no remains of the city walls can be traced in the plain, it is difficult to form an estimate of the dimensions of the ancient city; but Leake conjectures that it could not have been less than 5 miles in circumference.
We learn from Livy that Argos had two citadels nam duas [arces] habent Argi, Liv. This second citadel was probably situated at the extremity of the hill, which forms the north-eastern projection of the mountain of Larissa , and which rises to about one-third of the height of the latter.
The ridge connecting this hill with the Larissa is called Deiras Deiras by Pausanias ii. The second citadel was called Aspis Aspis, Plut. There are considerable remains of the theatre, which was excavated on the southern slope of the Larissa. In front of the western wing of the theatre there are some brick ruins of the Roman period. At the south-western end of the Larissa there are remains of an aqueduct, which may be traced two miles beyond the village of Belissi to the NW.
The Agora appears to have stood nearly in the centre of the city. In the middle of the Agora was the monument of Pyrrhus, a building of white marble; on which were sculptured the arms worn by this monarch in his wars, and some figures of elephants.
It was erected on the spot where the body of Pyrrhus was burnt; but his remains were deposited in the neighbouring temple of Demeter, where he died, and his shield was affixed above the entrance Paus. A street named Coele Koile, Pans. At the foot of the hill Deiras was a subterraneous building, which is said to have once contained the brazen chamber ho chalkous thalamos in which Danae was confined by her father Acrisius Paus.
The gymnasium, called Cylarabis Kularabis , from the son of Sthenelus, was situated outside the city, at a distance of less than paces according to Livy Paus. The gate which led to it was called Diamperes Diamperes. It was through this gate that Pyrrhus entered the city on the night of his death Plut.
The gate of Eileithyia, so called from a neighbouring temple of this goddess, leading to Mycenae and Cleonae Paus. The gate of Deiras hai pulai hai pros te Deiradi , leading to Mantineia. In the ridge, called Deiras, Leake observed an opening in the line of the ancient walls, which marks precisely the position of this gate Paus.
The gate leading to Tegea Paus. The gate leading to Temenium. The gate Diamperes, leading to Tiryns , Nauplia and Epidaurus. A gate leading to the Heraeum. This extract is from: Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography ed.
William Smith, LLD. A titular see of Peloponnesian Greece, from the fifth to the twelfth century, about twenty miles southwest of Corinth. It was considered the oldest city of Greece and was once the head of the Doric League, and in its time one of the largest and most populous of the Greek cities. Argos was famous in Greek antiquity for the worship of Hera, and her great temple, the Heraeum fully excavated in , was considered one of the most magnificent monuments of Greek architecture.
In the fifth century, B. In the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries it was the seat of a diocese, being then held successively by the French Dukes of Athens and the Byzantines; in it passed under Ottoman rule.
Thomas J. Argos was famous for its horses. One of the legends of Argos was that of the famed Medusa-slayer Perseus, who flew on the winged horse Pegasus in his defeat of a sea monster. Pheidon was the King of Argos in the 7th Century B. Argos was an early victor over military powerhouse Sparta in several battles. The kings list of ancient Argos contains nearly two dozen names. A large city-state by ancient Greek standards, Argos became known as a center of culture and industry.
The ostracism was one of the democratical institutions of Argos. Another democratical institution was a military court, which the soldiers, on returning from an expedition, held on the river Charadrus before entering the city, in order to inquire into the conduct of their generals. The Argives remained neutral during the first ten years of this war, in consequence of a truce for 30 years which they had previously formed with the Spartans. During this time they had increased in numbers and wealth; while Sparta had been greatly exhausted by her contest with Athens.
Moreover, shortly before the expiration of the truce, the Spartans had given great offence to her Peloponnesian allies by concluding the peace with Athens, usually called the peace of Nicias.
The time seemed favourable to Argos for the recovery of her former supremacy in the Peloponnesus; and she accordingly formed a league against Sparta, which was joined by the Mantineians, Corinthians, and Eleians, B. In the following year B. There had always been an oligarchical party at Argos in favour of a Lacedaemonian alliance.
About the time of the peace of Nicias, the Argive government had formed a separate regiment of a thousand select hoplites, consisting of young men of wealth and station, to receive constant military training at the public expense. At the battle of Mantineia this regiment had been victorious over the troops opposed to them, while the democratical soldiers had been put to the rout by the enemy. Supported by this regiment, the oligarchical party obtained the upper hand at Argos, and concluded a treaty of peace with Sparta; and in the following year B.
But they did not retain their power long. At the end of four months the people rose against their oppressors, and after a sharp contest expelled them from the city. The Argives now renewed their alliance with the Athenians, and commenced erecting long walls, in order to connect their city with the sea; but before they had time to finish them, the Lacedaemonians invaded their territory, and destroyed the walls.
During the remainder of the Peloponnesian war the Argives continued faithful to the Athenian alliance, and sent troops to the Athenian armies. At a later time the Argives were always ready to join the enemies of Sparta. Thus they united with Athens, Thebes, Corinth, and the other states to oppose Sparta in the war which was set on foot by the Persian king in B. The oligarchical party having been detected in an attempt to overthrow the democracy, the people became so exasperated that they put to death most of the men of wealth and influence in the state.
On this occasion men, or, according to another statement, , were slain; and even the demagogues shared the same fate. Little requires to be said respecting the subsequent history of Argos. The most memorable occurrence in its later history is the attempt of Pyrrhus to surprise the city, in which he met with his death. Like many of the other cities in Peloponnesus, Argos was now governed by tyrants, who maintained their power by the support of the Macedonian kings; but when Aratus had succeeded in liberating Sicyon and Corinth, he persuaded Aristomachus, the tyrant of Argos, voluntarily to resign his power; and the Argives then joined the Achaean league, B.
Argos fell for a time into the hands of Cleomenes Pol. Argos was one of the largest and most populous cities in Greece. We have already seen that in the war with Cleomenes it lost of its citizens; but at the time of the Peloponnesian war it had greatly increased in numbers.
Lysias, in B. But 16, citizens will give a total free population of 66, If to these we add the slaves and the Perioeci, the aggregate calculation cannot have been less than , persons for Argos and its territory. Few towns in Greece paid more attention to the worship of the gods than Argos. Hera was the deity whom they reverenced above all others. This goddess was an Achaean rather than a Dorian divinity, and appears in the Iliad as the guardian deity of the Argives; but her worship was adopted by the Dorian conquerors, and was celebrated with the greatest honours down to the latest times.
Even in B. The chief temple of this goddess, called the Heraeum, was situated between Argos and Mycenae, but much nearer to the latter than to the former city; and in the heroic age, when Mycenae was the chief city in the Argeia, the inhabitants of this city probably had the management of the temple.
Grote, vol. In the historical age the temple belonged to the Argives, who had the exclusive management of its affairs. The high priestess of the temple held her office for life; and the Argives counted their years by the date of her office.
Once in four years, probably in the second year of every Olympiad, there was a magnificent procession from Argos to this temple, in which almost the whole population of the city took part.
The priestess rode in a chariot, drawn by two white oxen. Respecting the site of this temple, which was one of the most magnificent in Greece, some remarks are made below. In the city itself there were also two temples of Hera, one of Hera Acraea on the ascent to the Acropolis Paus.
But the temple of Apollo Lyceius is described by Pausanias 2. Tradition ascribed its foundation to Danaus. It stood on one side of the Agora Thuc. There was also a temple of Apollo Pythaeus on the Acropolis,which, as we have already seen, was a common sanctuary for the Dorian states belonging to the ancient Argive confederacy Paus. There were temples to several other gods in Argos; but we may pass them over, with the exception of the temples of Zeus Larissaeus and of Athena, both of which crowned the summit of the acropolis Paus.
The great number of temples, and of statues with which they were adorned, necessarily led to the cultivation of the fine arts. Argos became the seat of one of the most celebrated schools of statuary in Greece. It rose to the greatest renown in the 5th century, B. See these names in the Dict. Music was also cultivatedwith success at Argos at an early period ; and in the reign of Darius the Argives were reckoned by Herodotus 3.
Sacadas, who flourished about this period B. Sacadas obtained distinction as a poet as well as a musician; and the Argive Telesilla, who was contemporary with Cleomenes, was so celebrated as a poetess as to be classed among those who were called the Nine Lyric Muses Dict. Sacadas and Telesilla. But after this time we find no trace of the pursuit of literature at Argos. Notwithstanding its democratical constitution, and the consequent attention that was paid to public affairs, it produced no orator whose fame descended to posterity Cic.
The Argives had the character of being addicted to wine Aelian, Ael. Larissa or Acropolis. Aspis or second Acropolis. Temple of Apollo Lyceius. Gate of Deiras. Gate of Eileithyia. Gate leading to the Heraeum. Gate Diamperes. Gate leading to Temenium. Gate leading to Tegea. Gymnasium of Cylarabis. The remains of Argos are few, but still sufficient to enable us to fix the position of some parts of the ancient city, of which Pausanias has left us a minute account.
The modern town of Argos is situated wholly in the plain, but it is evident from the existing remains of the ancient walls, that the mountain called Larissa was included within the ancient city.
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