page_title: Argos
section_title: Antiquity
hierarchical_section_title: Argos / History / Antiquity
caption_attribution_description: View from the Heraion of Argos into the Inachos plain, Argolis, Greece
context_page_description: Argos is a city in Argolis, the Peloponnese, Greece and is one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world. It is the largest city in Argolis and a major center for the area.
  Since the 2011 local government reform it has been part of the municipality of Argos-Mykines, of which it is a municipal unit. The municipal unit has an area of 138.138 km². It is 11 kilometres from Nafplion, which was its historic harbour. A settlement of great antiquity, Argos has been continuously inhabited as at least a substantial village for the past 7,000 years. The city is a member of the Most Ancient European Towns Network.
  A resident of the city of Argos is known as an Argive. However, this term is also used to refer to those ancient Greeks generally who assaulted the city of Troy during the Trojan War; the term is more widely applied by the Homeric bards.
  Numerous ancient monuments can be found in the city today. Agriculture is the mainstay of the local economy.
context_section_description: Argos is traditionally considered to be the origins of the ancient Macedonian royal Greek house of the Argead dynasty (Greek: Ἀργεάδαι, Argeádai). The most celebrated members were Philip II of Macedon 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 7000 years ago in the late Neolithic, located on the foot of Aspida hill. Since that time, Argos has been continually inhabited at the same geographical location. Its creation is attributed to Phoroneus, with its first name having been Phoronicon Asty, or the city of Phoroneus. The historical presence of the Pelasgian Greeks in the area can be witnessed in the linguistic remainders that survive up to today, such as the very name of the city and "Larisa", the name of the city's castle located on the hill of the name.
  The city is located at a rather propitious area, among Nemea, Corinth and Arcadia. It also benefitted from its proximity to lake Lerna, which, at the time, was at a distance of one kilometre from the south end of Argos.
  Argos was a major stronghold of Mycenaean times, and along with the neighbouring acropolis of Mycenae and Tiryns became a very early settlement because of its commanding positions in the midst of the fertile plain of Argolis.
caption: The Heraion of Argos
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