Argos

City in ancient Greece, at the head of the Gulf of Argos, which was once a cult centre of the goddess Hera; her celebrated sanctuary lay outside the city. In the Homeric age the name ‘Argives’ was sometimes used instead of ‘Greeks’. Although one of the most important cities in the Peloponnese, Argos was dominated by Corinth and Sparta. During the classical period the city repeatedly, but unsuccessfully, contested supremacy in southern Greece with Sparta.

In 461 BC Argos made an alliance with Athens; in 229 BC it was governed by tyrants supported by Macedonia; in 146 BC it was subjugated by Rome; and in AD 1210 it was captured by the Franks. During the 18th century it was the scene of many conflicts between the Venetians and Turks.