Page:Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography Volume I Part 1.djvu/220

 204 ARGOS. si. 65; comp. Pans. viii. 16. § 5); and about the same time we may place the destruction of Tiiyns, Hysiae, Midea, and the other towns in the Argeia. (Pans. viii. 27. § 1.) The introduction of so many new citizens gave new Ufe and vigour to Aigos, and soon re-established its prosperity and wealth (Diod. zii. 75); but at the same time it occasioned a complete change in the constitution. Up to this time Aigoe had been essen- tially a Doric stat& It contained three classes of persons : — 1. The inhabitants of the city, consisting for the most part of Dorians, originally divided into three tribes, to which a fourth was afterwards added, named H}'Tnathia, contuning families not of Doric origin. (Mailer, Doriant, ilL 5. §§ 1, 2.) 2. A class of Perioeci, consisting of the ancient Achaean inhabitants. MiUler (Ibid. iii. 4. § 2) supposes that these Perioeci were called Omeatae fhim the town of Omeae; but there are good reasons for questioning this statement. [Obxeae.] .3. A dass of bond- slaves, named Gymnesii, corresponding to the Helots of Sparta, and of whom mention has been made above. There was a king at the head of the state. All the kings were descendants of the Heracleid Temenus down to Meltas, who was the last king of this race (Pans. ii. 19. § 2; Plut Alex, Virt. 8); and after him another dynasty reigned down to the time of the Persian wars. Herodotus (vii. 149) mentions a king of Argos at this period; but the royal dignity was abolished soon afterwards, probably when the iuliabitants of the nmghbouring towns were received as citiaens. (Hermann, GriecK StaatadU. § 23. n. 6.) The royal power, however, was always very Umited (Paus. il 9. § 2); for the Council (/SovM) possessed extensive authority. At the time of the Peloponnesian war we find Argos in the enjoyment of a democratic constitution ; but of the details of this constitution we possess hardly any accounts. (Thuc. T. 29, 41, 44.) In the treaty of alliance between Argos and Athens, which Thucydides (v. 47) has |N-eserved, we find mention at Argos of the "Boule," the "Eighty," and the "Artynae" (^fiprvvaC), It has been conjectured that the " Eighty " was a more aristocratical council, and that the Artynae may have acted as presidents to this council (Arnold, ad Thuc. I. c.) ; but nothing is really known of these two bodies except their names. The ostracism was one of the democratical insti- tutions of Argos. (Aristot PoL v. 2. § 5 ; Schol. ad Aristoph. Eq. 851.) Another democratical in- stitution was a military coiut, which the soldiers, on returning from an expedition, held on the river Charadrus before entering the city, in order to in- quire into the conduct of their generals. (Thuc. V. 60.) The Argives remained neutral during the first ten years of this war, in consequence of a truce for 30 years which they had previously formed with the Spartans. (Thuc. v. 14.) During this time they had increased in numbers and wealth ; while Sparta had been greatly exhausted by her contest with Athens. Moreover, shortly before the expiration of the truce, the Spartans had given great offence to her Peloponnesian allies by concluding the peace with Athens, usually called the peace of Nicias. (b. c. 421.) The time seemed favourable to Argos for the recovery of her former supremacy in the Peloponnesus; and she accordingly formed a league against Sparta, which was joined by tiie Mantineians, Corinthians, and Elcians, b. c. 421. (Thuc. v. 31.) In the following year (b. c. 420) the Athenians also ARGOS. were persuaded by Alcibiades to form a treaty mtb Argos (Thuc. v. 43 — 47); but the disastrdbs battle of Mantineia (b. c. 418), in which the Argives and their confederates wo-e defeated by the Spartans, not only broke up this alliance, but placed Argos m. close connection with Sparta. There had always been an oligarchical party at Argos in &vonr of a Lace- daemonian alliance. About the time of the peace of Nicias, the Aigive government had formed a separate regiment of a thousand select hoplites, consisting of young men of wealth and station, to reodre con- stant ndlitary training at the public expense. (Diod. xii. 75; Thuc. v. 67.) At the battle of Mantinei^ this regiment had been victorious over the troops opposed to them, while the democratical soldiers had been put to the rout by the enemy. Snpported by this regiment, the oligarchical party obtained the upper hand at Argos, and concluded a treaty of peace with Sparta; and in the following year (b. c. 417), assistal by some Spartan troops, they over- threw tiie democratical form of government by force. (Thuc V. 71 — 81.) But they did not retain their power long. At the end of four months the people rose against their oppressors, and after a sharp con- test expelled them firom the city. The Aigives now renewed their alliance with the Athenians, and com- menced erecting long walls, in order to connect tbrir city with the sea; but before they had time to finish them, the Lacedaemonians invaded their territor}', and destroyed the walls. (Thuc v. 82, 83.) During the remainder of the Peloponnesian war the Argires continued faithful to the Athenian alliance, and sent troops to the Athenian armies. (Comp. Thuc. ri. 29, vii. 57, viii. 25.) At a later time the Argives were alwa3nB ready to join the enemies of Sparta. Thus they united with Athens, Thebes, Corinth, and the other states to oppose Sparta in the war whii h was set on foot by the Persian king in b. c. 395; and even when Athens assisted Spurta against the Thebans, the Argives would not make cause with their old aDies, but fought on the side of the Thebans against their ancient enemy, b. c. 362. (Xen. Hell viL 5. § 5.) It was about this time that party hatred perpetrated the greatest excesses at Argoa. The oligarchical party having been detected in an attempt to over- throw the democracy, the people became so exaspe- rated that they put to death most of the men of wealth and influence in the state. On this occasion 1200 men, or, according to another statement, 1500, were slain; and even the demagogues shared the same fate. This state of things was called by the name of iKvraKuryubs^ or cltA-lavo, (I^od. xv. 58; Plut Praec. Reip. Ger. p. 814, b.; Miiller, /Jui iii. 9. § 1.) Little requires to be said respecting the subsequent history of Aigos. The most memorable occurrence in its later history is the attempt <^ Pyrrhus to surprise the city, in which he met with his death. (Plut Pyrrh, 34; for details sec JJkt, ofBiogr. art. Pyrrhut.') Like many of the other cities in Peloponnesus, Argos was now governed by tyrants, who maintained their power by tiie support ojf the Macedonian kings; but when Aratus had succeeded in liberating Sicycm and Corinth, he per- suaded Aristomachus, the tyrant of Argos, volun- tarily to resign hb power; and the Argives then joined the Achaean league, b. c. 229. (PoL ii. 44; Plut. Arat 35.) Argos fell for a time into the hands of Cleomenes (Pol. ii. 52), and subseqnentiy into those of Nabis, tyrant of Sparta, and his cruel wife (Pol. x>-ii. 17; Liv. xsxii. 18); but i^ith ti:e