Antiquity of Argos, struck . : forepart of a wolf, alluding to
Apollo Lykeios, the patron-god of the city; : large A (for Argos) within an incuse square.|238x238px
Herodotus first recorded the myth of the traditional story of Argos being the origin of the
ancient Macedonian royal house of the
Argead dynasty (Greek: Ἀργεάδαι, Argeádai) of
Philip II and
Alexander the Great. As a strategic location on the fertile plain of Argolis, Argos was a major stronghold during the Mycenaean era. In
classical times, Argos was a powerful rival of
Sparta for dominance over the Peloponnese, but was eventually shunned by other Greek city-states after remaining neutral during the
Greco-Persian Wars. There is evidence of continuous settlement in the area starting with a village about 7,000 years ago in the late
Neolithic, located on the foot of Aspida hill. During the time of its greatest power, the city boasted a pottery and bronze sculpturing school, pottery workshops, tanneries and clothes producers. Moreover, at least 25 celebrations took place in the city, in addition to a regular local products exhibition. A sanctuary dedicated to Hera was also found at the same spot where the monastery of Panagia Katekrymeni is located today. Pheidon also extended Argive influence throughout Greece, taking control of the Olympic Games away from the citizens of Elis and appointing himself organizer during his reign. Pheidon is also thought to have introduced reforms for standard weight and measures in Argos, a theory further reinforced with the unearthing of six "spits" of iron in an Argive Heraion, possibly remainders of a dedication from Pheidon.
Classical Argos In 494 BC, Argos suffered a crushing defeat at the hands of its regional rival,
Sparta, at the
Battle of Sepeia. Following this defeat,
Herodotus tells us the city suffered a form of
stasis. The political chaos is thought to have resulted in a democratic transition in the city. Argos did not participate in the Hellenic Alliance against the
Persian Invasion of 480 BC. This resulted in a period of diplomatic isolation, although there is evidence of an Argive alliance with
Tegea prior to 462 BC. In 462 BC, Argos joined a tripartite alliance with
Athens and
Thessaly. This alliance was somewhat dysfunctional, however, and the Argives are only thought to have provided marginal contributions to the alliance at the Battle of
Oenoe and
Tanagra. In reality, Argos was militarily and politically weakened, plagued by internal strife and civic violence throughout the 4th century BC. In the 350s BC, Argos joined
Messene and
Megalopolis in resisting renewed Spartan aggression, particularly during
Archidamos III’s campaigns against the anti-Spartan alliance. The Argives participated in defending Megalopolis but quickly withdrew after a defeat at
Orneai and the arrival of Theban reinforcements, reflecting a broader pattern of military reluctance and limited effectiveness. After the
Peace of Philocrates in 346 BC, Argos increasingly engaged with
Philip II of Macedon. While
Demosthenes accused Argive leaders of collaborating with Macedon, this relationship appears to have been driven more by strategic concerns than ideological alignment. Macedonian sympathizers, including Myrtis, Teledamos, and Mnaseas, held power in the city by 330 BC. However, Argos maintained a cautious neutrality during key conflicts, such as the
Battle of Chaironeia in 338 BC, where it sent no troops to support either side. Despite Argos’s neutral stance, Philip II rewarded the polis in 337 BC with Spartan territory as part of a broader reordering of Peloponnesian borders intended to weaken Sparta and reward its rivals. Argos received either the contested region of
Thyreatis, the eastern seaboard of
Mount Parnon, or both, though the exact territorial allocation remains debated. This expansion made Argos one of the largest territorial states in the Peloponnese, controlling an area reaching up to 1,400 km². The decision to grant Argos territory was likely influenced by its symbolic connection to the Argeads and its longstanding enmity with Sparta. However, Philip’s limited trust in Argos, due to its earlier alliance with Athens in 342 BC and its absence at Chaironeia, may have tempered the extent of his generosity. Later Macedonian kings, such as
Antigonus III Doson, would reaffirm Argive control over disputed areas like
Zarax.
Democracy in Classical Argos Argos was a democracy for most of the classical period, with only a brief hiatus between 418 and 416. Argive democracy included an Assembly (called the
aliaia), a Council (the
bola), and another body called 'The Eighty,' whose precise responsibilities are obscure. Magistrates served six-month terms of office, with few exceptions, and were audited at the end of their terms. There is some evidence that
ostracism was practiced.
Hellenistic Argos Following the death of
Alexander the Great in 323 BC, Argos joined the anti-Macedonian coalition during the
Lamian War alongside
Athens,
Aitolia,
Messenia, and others. This shift from its previous ambivalence under Philip II reflected the rise of anti-Macedonian sentiment and leadership within the city. However, Argos’s commitment was limited; like other Peloponnesian poleis, it showed little resolve in sustained military engagement, and after early enthusiasm, returned to a pattern of defensive caution. In 318 BC, when
Polyperchon, the regent of Macedon, issued a
diagramma ordering the restoration of regimes as they had been under Philip II and Alexander. He addressed a specific letter to Argos and the other cities, urging the exile or execution of pro-
Antipatrid leaders and the confiscation of their property. The fact that Argos was the only polis explicitly named underscores its symbolic significance as the legendary homeland of the Argead dynasty. The Argive assembly initially aligned itself with Polyperchon and his son Alexandrer; however, in the summer of 316 BC, Cassander installed
Apollonides as the
strategos of Argos and garrisoned the city. While Apollonides campaigned in Arcadia the following year, the Argives invited Polyperchon’s son Alexander to retake the city. Apollonides's campaign was successful (he captured
Stymphalus in a night attack), but was cut short. Upon hearing of the Argive's treachery, Apollonides returned to Argos enacted a brutal purge: approximately 500 supporters of Polyperchon were burned alive in the
prytaneion. The conspirators not burned alive were either exiled or put to death. This event was only the second major purge in Argive history after the infamous Scytalism (, ) of 370BC and may have eliminated as much as 5% of the hoplite citizen class. This “decapitation” of the political leadership likely contributed to Argos’s declining engagement in inter-polis affairs and its later detachment from emerging federal formations such as the
Achaean League. Cassander likely certainly installed a pro-Macedonian oligarchy afterward, which remained in control until 303 BC when Argos joined several northern and central Peloponnesian poleis which defected to Demetrius. The liberation of Argos was mythologized by the Argives themselves in inscriptions that attributed the city’s freedom to divine intervention, notably from Apollo, while omitting Demetrius entirely. The political status of Argos after the Antigonid defeat at the
Battle of Ipsus in 301 BC is unclear. While Plutarch refers to Demetrius recovering various Peloponnesian cities that had turned against him, he does not identify them by name, so Argos’s inclusion remains speculative. Other poleis in the Argolic Akte like as Troizen were likely brought back under Demetrius’s influence in 295 BC. Troizen’s later contribution of ships and troops to his Asian expedition in 286 BC suggests that at least some level of Antigonid control or cooperation persisted. After Demetrius’s death, the broader control of the Argolic cities becomes difficult to trace. It is uncertain whether Gonatas inherited authority over these areas. Troizen did continue to host a Macedonian garrison into the early 270s, which was expelled during a campaign by the Spartan regent
Cleonymus. However, no comparable military activity is recorded for Argos during this time. By 272 BC, during the
Epirote king
Pyrrhus’s invasion of the Peloponnese, Argos appears to have been autonomous but politically fractured. While Pyrrhus was campaigning in the Peloponnese, the Argives invited him to intervene in a civic dispute. Since Antigonus Gonatas was approaching too, Pyrrhus hastened to enter the city with his army by stealth, only to find the place crowded with hostile troops. During the confused
Battle of Argos in the narrow city streets, Pyrrhus was trapped. While he was fighting an Argive soldier, the soldier's old mother, who was watching from a rooftop, threw a tile which knocked him from his horse and broke part of his spine, paralyzing him. Whether he was alive or not after the blow is unknown, but his death was assured when a Macedonian soldier named Zopyrus, though frightened by the look on the face of the unconscious king, hesitantly and ineptly beheaded his motionless body. This story is later recounted by Plutarch in his Life of Pyrrhus.
Roman and Byzantine period on Larissa Hill Under Roman rule, Argos was part of the province of
Achaea. While prosperous during the early principate, Argos along with much of Greece and the Balkans experienced disasters during the Crisis of the 3rd Century when external threats and internal revolts left the Empire in turmoil. During Gallienus's reign, marauding bands of Goths and
Heruli sailed down from the Black Sea in AD267 and devastated the Greek coastline and interior. Athens, Sparta, Corinth, Thebes and Argos were all sacked. Gallienus finally cut off their retreat north and destroyed them with great slaughter at Naissus in Moesia. With the death of the last emperor over a unified Empire,
Theodosius I, the
Visigoths under their leader
Alaric I descended into Greece in 396–397 A.D., sacking and pillaging as they went. Neither the eastern or western Roman warlords,
Rufinus (consul) or
Stilicho, made an effective stand against them due to the political situation between them. Athens and Corinth were both sacked. While the exact level of destruction for Argos is disputed due to the conflicting nature of the ancient sources, the level of damage to the city and people was considerable. Stilicho finally landed in western Greece and forced the Visigoths north of Epirus. Sites said to have been destroyed in Argos include the Hypostyle hall, parts of the agora, the odeion, and the Aphrodision. In the late 7th century, it became part of the
Theme of Hellas, and later of the
Theme of the Peloponnese.
Crusader and Ottoman rule In the aftermath of the
Fourth Crusade, the Crusaders captured the castle built on Larisa Hill, the site of the ancient acropolis, and the area became part of the
lordship of Argos and Nauplia. In 1388, it was sold to the
Republic of Venice, but was taken by the
Despot of the Morea Theodore I Palaiologos before the Venetians could take control of the city; he sold it anyway to them in 1394. The Crusaders established a Latin bishopric. Venetian rule lasted until 1463, when the Ottomans captured the city. In 1397, the Ottomans plundered Argos, carrying off part of the population, to sell as slaves. The Venetians repopulated the town and region with Albanian settlers, Some historians consider the French military term "argoulet" to derive from the Greek "argetes", or inhabitant of Argos, as a large number of French stratioti came from the plain of Argos. During Ottoman rule, Argos was divided in four
mahalas, or quarters; the Greek (
Rûm) mahala, Liepur mahala, Bekir Efenti mahala and Karamoutza or Besikler mahala, respectively corresponding to what is now the northeastern, the northwestern, the southwestern and southeastern parts of the city. The Greek mahala was also called the "quarter of the unfaithful of Archos town" in Turkish documents, whereas Liepur mahala (the quarter of the rabbits) was composed mostly of
Albanian emigrants and well-reputed families. Karamoutza mahala was home to the most prominent Turks and boasted a mosque (modern-day church of Agios Konstadinos), a Turkish cemetery, Ali Nakin Bei's
serail,
Turkish baths and a Turkish school. It is also at this period when the open market of the city is first organised on the site north to Kapodistrias's barracks, at the same spot where it is held in modern times. A mosque would have existed there, too, according to the city planning most Ottoman cities followed. Argos grew exponentially during this time, with its sprawl being unregulated and without planning. As French explorer
Pouqueville noted, "its houses are not aligned, without order, scattered all over the place, divided by home gardens and uncultivated areas". Liepur mahala appears to have been the most organised, having the best layout, while Bekir mahala and Karamoutza mahala were the most labyrinthine. However, all quarters shared the same type of streets; firstly, they all had main streets which were wide, busy and public roads meant to allow for communication between neighbourhoods (typical examples are, to a great extent, modern-day Korinthou, Nafpliou and Tripoleos streets). Secondary streets were also common in all four quarters since they lead to the interior of each mahala, having a semi-public character, whereas the third type of streets referred to dead-end private alleys used specifically by families to access their homes. Remnants of this city layout can be witnessed even today, as Argos still preserves several elements of this Ottoman type style, particularly with its long and complicated streets, its narrow alleys and its densely constructed houses. , 1688
Independence and modern history With the exception of a period of
Venetian domination in 1687–1715, Argos remained in Ottoman hands until the beginning of the
Greek War of Independence in 1821, when wealthy Ottoman families moved to nearby
Nafplio due to its stronger walling. At that time, as part of the general uprising, many local governing bodies were formed in different parts of the country, and the "Consulate of Argos" was proclaimed on 28 March 1821, under the
Peloponnesian Senate. It had a single head of state, Stamatellos Antonopoulos, styled "
Consul", between 28 March and 26 May 1821. Later, Argos accepted the authority of the unified Provisional Government of the
First National Assembly at Epidaurus, and eventually became part of the
Kingdom of Greece. With the coming of governor
Ioannis Kapodistrias, the city underwent efforts of modernisation. Being an agricultural village, the need for urban planning was vital. For this reason, in 1828, Kapodistrias himself appointed mechanic Stamatis Voulgaris as the creator of a city plan which would offer Argos big streets, squares and public spaces. However, both Voulgaris and, later, French architect de Borroczun's plans were not well received by the locals, with the result that the former had to be revised by Zavos. Ultimately, none of the plans were fully implemented. Still, the structural characteristics of de Borroczun's plan can be found in the city today, despite obvious proof of pre-revolutionary layout, such as the unorganised
urban sprawl testified in the area from Inachou street to the point where the railway tracks can be found today. In 1829, Argos housed the
Fourth National Assembly, an important event in modern Greek history, which made major changes like establishing the
Senate of Greece and adopting the
phoenix as the country's first currency. After talks concerning the intentions of the Greek government to move the Greek capital from
Nafplio to
Athens, discussions regarding the possibility of Argos also being a candidate as the potential new capital became more frequent, with supporters of the idea claiming that, unlike Athens, Argos was naturally protected by its position and benefited from a nearby port (Nafplio). Moreover, it was maintained that construction of public buildings would be difficult in Athens, given that most of the land was owned by the Greek church, meaning that a great deal of
expropriation would have to take place. On the contrary, Argos did not face a similar problem, having large available areas for this purpose. In the end, the proposition of the Greek capital being moved to Argos was rejected by the father of
king Otto,
Ludwig, who insisted in making Athens the capital, something which eventually happened in 1834. During the
German occupation, Argos airfield was frequently attacked by Allied forces. One of the raids was so large that it resulted in the bombing of the city on 14 October 1943, with the casualties of about 100 dead Argives and several casualties, and 75 of the Germans. The bombing started from the airfield heading southeast, hitting the monastery of Katakrykmeni and several areas of the city, up to the railway station. ==Mythology==