Argus (son of Zeus)
Etymology
The name “Argus” (Greek Ἄργος, translit. Árgos) seems to be derived from the word ἀργός (argós), which means “shining, brilliant” as well as “quick, agile.” This word in turn comes from the Indo-European *h₂rǵ-, meaning “white.”[1] There were several mythological figures with this name, many of them (unsurprisingly) associated with the city of Argos in the Peloponnese.
Family
Argus was a son of Zeus, the chief deity of the Greek pantheon, and Niobe, the mortal daughter of Phoroneus. He had one brother, Pelasgus, who was the first ruler of the region later known as the Argolid.[2]
Argus married either Evadne, the daughter of Strymon,[3] or the Oceanid Peitho.[4] In some traditions, the nymph Ismene, daughter of the river god Asopus, was also named as Argus’ consort (though she seems to have been his lover rather than his wife).[5]
Argus had several children by his various consorts. With Evadne, he was said to have fathered Ecbasus, Piren (also known as Piras, Piransus, or Piranthus), Epidaurus, and Criasus.[6] Another source, however, made Argus the father of Criasus and Phorbas by Peitho.[7]
With Ismene, Argus was sometimes called the father of Iasus[8] or of a many-eyed monster, also named Argus.[9] One source added Tiryns (the eponym of the Peloponnesian city of the same name) to the list of Argus’ children.[10]
Mythology
Argus was the son of Zeus, the ruler of the cosmos, and Niobe, the mortal daughter of Phoroneus (himself an early Argive culture-hero). Niobe was the first of many mortal women whom Zeus took as a lover, and Argus was his first mortal son. The last of Zeus’ lovers was actually a descendant of Argus—Alcmene, mother of Heracles.[11]
Argus had a brother named Pelasgus, who gave his name to the early Greek peoples known as “Pelasgians.” Pelasgus also ruled over the Argives who lived in the northeastern Peloponnese.
When Pelasgus died, he was succeeded by Argus, who named the city of Argos (as well as the entire region of the Argolid) after himself. He thus became the eponymous hero of Argos and the Argolid.[12] Argus was also said to have introduced the practice of importing grain from Libya to Greece.[13]
Worship
Argus was worshipped as a hero in the Argolid. He had a tomb in Argos, located in a dense sacred grove.[14] This grove was burned down by the notorious Spartan king Cleomenes I when he invaded Argos in 494 BCE.[15]