Argos
One of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world and a major power in the Peloponnese, closely associated with the goddess Hera.
The Story of Argos
Argos was among the most ancient of Greek cities, its foundations reaching back into the Bronze Age. The city claimed descent from its eponymous founder Argos, a son of Zeus, and its kings traced their lineage through Perseus and the great hero Heracles. Hera held Argos as her most beloved city, and the Heraion — her grand sanctuary on the slopes between Argos and Mycenae — was one of the greatest temples in the Greek world. During the Heroic Age, Argos was the seat of King Diomedes, who led eighty ships to Troy and was one of the war's finest warriors, wounding both Ares and Aphrodite in single combat. The city rivalled Sparta for supremacy in the Peloponnese, and the two clashed repeatedly. Argos maintained a stubborn independence, refusing to join the Greek alliance at Thermopylae and Salamis, a decision that earned it lasting suspicion from other city-states but preserved its autonomy.
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