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EncyclopediaArgosArgos (är'gos, –gus) [key], city of ancient Greece, in NE Peloponnesus, 3 mi (4.8 km) inland from the Gulf of Argos, near the modern Nauplia. It was occupied from the early Bronze Age and is mentioned in Homer's Iliad as the kingdom of Diomed. Argos was the center of Argolis and in the 7th cent. B.C., under King Pheidon, dominated much of the Peloponnesus. For centuries it was one of the most powerful Greek cities, struggling with Sparta and rivaling Athens and Corinth. Much of Argos' power disappeared after Cleomenes I of Sparta took (c.494 B.C.) the city. Pyrrhus was killed in an attack on Argos in 272. The city joined the Achaean League in 229, and in 146 it was taken by Rome, under whose rule trade flourished. The Heraeum temple, 6 mi (9.7 km) N of Argos, was the principal center for the worship of the goddess Hera. Argos produced important sculptors, including Polycletus, in the 5th cent. There is a small modern town called Argos on the site of the ancient city. The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th ed. Copyright © 2007, Columbia University Press. All rights reserved.
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