Argos (Greek: Άργος, Árgos) is a city in Greece in the Peloponnesus near Nafplio, which was its historic harbor, named for Nauplius. The region of Argos was called the Argolid. It was a major stronghold of Mycenaean times, but the pre-Greek name of its acropolis, Larissa, reveals that it was a Pelasgian settlement. Its founding myth can be read at the entry for Danaus. 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. Eclipsed by nearby Sparta after the 6th century BC, Argos remained neutral or the ineffective ally of Athens during the 5th century BC struggles between Sparta and Athens.

The population in 500 BC was 30,000.

Medieval Argos

In the 12th century, a fortress and a castle in Larissa was built. Argos fell to the Franks and the Venetians until 1463. The Turks ruled Argos after until 1686 when Argos fell again to the Venetians under Morosini until 1716. It was ruled by the Turks until the Greek War of Independence in 1821.

Modern Argos

The town 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 that 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.

Argos has a school, a lyceum, a high school, a church, banks, a police station, a post office, a castle a train station (Kalamata - Tripoli - Corinth) a water tower, a junior soccer team, and a square (plateia).

Subdivisions

• Akova
• Kokla
• Larissa
• Timenio

Communities and subdivisions

The two large communities of Argos and Kryovrysi covers about three-thirds of the entire municipality.

• Argos
• Dalamanara
• Inachos
  • Tristrato
• Ira
• Kefalari
  • Magoula
• Kryoneri
  • Elliniko
  • Krya Vryssi
  • Tourniki
  • Zogka
• Kourtaki
• Lalouka
• Pyrgela

Ancient sites

• Kechries or Cenchreae
• Larissa
• Timenio

Twinnings

• Episkopi, Cyprus

Historical population

External links

• sikyon.com: History, images, and beautifum ancient places (http://www.sikyon.com/Argos/argos_eg.html), In Greek (http://www.sikyon.com/Argos/argos_gr.html)
• Das Schwarze Netz: Griechische Mythologie - Schauplätze: Argos (http://www.sungaya.de/schwarz/griechen/geographie/argos.htm)
• [1] (http://www.hausarbeiten.de/rd/faecher/hausarbeit/gri/17875.html)

The municipality surrounds Nea Kios

See also

• Communities of Argolis

Other Uses

Argos also refers to:

• Odysseus' dog from Homer's Odyssey. Argos recognized him after nineteen years of absence.
• In Greek mythology:
  • Argus (Argos) is the son of Zeus and Niobe. Zeus' first child by a mortal.
  • A 100-eyed giant who guarded Io.
  • The son of Jason and Medea. For the ship on which Jason and the Argonauts sailed, see the Argo.

• Argos, is a village on Kalymnos in the northern part of the Dodecanese

• Argos, is a village on the island of Kassos in the southern part of the Dodecanese

• Argos Amphilochicum was an ancient settlement in Aetolia. The present name of the settlement is Amfilochiko Argos.

• Argos Ippatum was an ancient settlement in Epirus

• Argos Orestiko is a town in the southwest-central part of Kastoria

• Argos, a major general-goods retailer with over 500 stores in the United Kingdom. Argos is famous for selling goods using a catalogue format, where customers place orders at a till in store for items selected from a catalogue. They are then fetched by an employee from a stock room in the store to a counter for the customer to collect. It also sells goods via the internet. External link: Argos website (http://www.argos.co.uk/).

• Argos, the short name for the Toronto Argonauts of the CFL.

• Argos is a satellite based system for environmental data collection. Argos System

See also Argus.