In Herodotus’ narrative, there are three categories of aretē. The first is aretē as general excellence (1.134; 3.88, 106; 4.198; 7.5, 237; 8.144). The inscription on DARIUS I’s statue, for example, states that he gained the crown “through the prowess (ἀρετή) of his horse” (3.88). Likewise, the quality of a region’s soil is indicated by its aretē; LIBYA’s is “too poor” (οὐδ’ ἀρετήν (4.198)), while MARDONIUS comments on the fertility of EUROPE’s soil (7.5.3).
The second type of aretē is that won or recognized through COMPETITION (3.82, 120; 8.26). In this regard, Herodotus’ use of aretē is similar to that of Homeric EPIC, where HEROES compete to win aretē on and off the battlefield. Negative competition over aretē includes the example of oligarchic strife given by Darius in the CONSTITUTIONAL DEBATE (3.82) and MITROBATES’ and OROETES’ comparison of their achievements (κρινομένων περὶ ἀρετῆς) which becomes the catalyst for the fall of POLYCRATES. A potential positive example appears when the Persians deride the Greek practice of competing for aretē in the Olympic Games instead of for MONEY (8.26; on athletic aretē, see Golden 2004, 15).
The final type of aretē is that displayed during combat (1.52, 176; 5.49; 7.102, 154, 181, 225; 8.1, 92; 9.21, 28, 40, 70, 71). This form is defined by DEMARATUS as he asserts that the Greeks have an aretē learned from wisdom and strong LAWS to keep poverty and absolute rule at bay (7.102). Most displays of martial aretē are by Greek individuals or forces; the Xanthians against HARPAGUS (1.176) and the Persians in the skirmishes leading up to PLATAEA (9.40) are the two exceptions. PYTHEAS SON OF ISCHENOUS is twice singled out for his aretē (7.181; 8.92); he and GELON (7.154) are the only historical individuals whose aretē is remarked upon. The majority of instances of martial aretē occur in Books 7–9, primarily in connection with the major battles of THERMOPYLAE, SALAMIS, and Plataea. Martial aretē can also take the form of a prize; in 9.71 Herodotus ranks the two sides and their contingents, awarding the “prize of valor” (ἀρετή) to the Lacedaemonians.
SEE ALSO: Athletes and Athletic Games; Courage; Honor; Warfare; Xanthus
REFERENCES
1 Adkins, A. W. H. 1960. Merit and Responsibility: A Study in Greek Values. Oxford: Clarendon Press.
2 Golden, Mark. 2004. Sport in the Ancient World from A to Z. London: Routledge.
FURTHER READING
1 Finkelberg, Margalit. 1998. “Τιμή and ἀρετή in Homer.” CQ 48.1: 14–28.
2 Jaeger, Werner Wilhelm. 1966. “Tyrtaeus on True Aretē.” In Five Essays, translated by Adele M. Fiske, 103–42. Montreal: Mario Casalini.
ARGADES, see ION
ARGAEUS (Ἀργαῖος, ὁ)
CHRISTOPHER BARON
University of Notre Dame
Argaeus appears in the list of Macedonian rulers given by Herodotus (8.139), descendants of PERDICCAS, the legendary founder of the kingship. The list presents the “pedigree” of ALEXANDER SON OF AMYNTAS; Herodotus tends to introduce such lists at key moments in the narrative (Bowie 2007, 219). Here, Alexander is about to address the Athenians as an envoy of the Persian general MARDONIUS in the winter of 481/0 BCE. The royal house of MACEDONIA traced its ancestry to the Greek city of ARGOS.
SEE ALSO: Amyntas son of Alcetas; Genealogies; Philip son of Argaeus
REFERENCE
1 Bowie, A. M., ed. 2007. Herodotus: Histories Book VIII. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
FURTHER READING
1 Sprawski, Sławomir. 2010. “The Early Temenid Kings to Alexander I.” In A Companion to Ancient Macedonia, edited by Joseph Roisman and Ian Worthington, 127–44. Malden, MA: Wiley‐Blackwell.
ARGANTHONIUS (Ἀργανθώνιος, ὁ)
CAROLINA LÓPEZ‐RUIZ
The Ohio State University
King of TARTESSUS in southwest IBERIA, mentioned because of his FRIENDSHIP with the Phocaeans in Asia Minor. Owing to the Persian threat, Arganthonius offers them land to settle in. Instead, they accept MONEY to build a wall back home (1.163.1–4). When the Phocaeans later fled their city (c. 546 BCE), Arganthonius had already died (1.165.1–2). The king’s WEALTH and longevity were proverbial already for the lyric poet ANACREON (F361 Campbell = Strabo 3.2.14/C151).
SEE ALSO: Phocaea; Walls
FURTHER READING
1 Asheri in ALC, 183–85.
2 Celestino, Sebastián, and Carolina López‐Ruiz. 2016. Tartessos and the Phoenicians in Iberia, 30–42. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
ARGE ( Ἄργη, ἡ) and OPIS ( Ὦπις, ἡ)
CHRISTOPHER BARON
University of Notre Dame
Mythical, Hyperborean maidens. Herodotus reports the Delian story that Arge and Opis “arrived with the gods themselves” (presumably APOLLO and ARTEMIS) at DELOS from the far north and were honored by the Delians, worshipped in cult with hymns written by OLEN of LYCIA and with burnt offerings placed on the altar upon their tomb, behind the sanctuary of Artemis (4.35). This tomb, excavated in the early twentieth century, was the ruins of a Bronze Age burial which received cult activity in the ARCHAIC AGE (see Bridgman 2005, 188 n. 11 for bibliography). The whole tale is part of Herodotus’ discussion of the HYPERBOREANS (4.33–36). The relationship of the RITUAL honoring Arge and Opis with that for HYPEROCHE AND LAODICE—also Hyperborean maidens, who arrived later, have a separate tomb, and are associated only with Artemis—is unclear.
In later authors, Arge is called Hecaerge (Callim. Hymn 4.292; [Pl.] Ax. 371a; Paus. 5.7.8). Opis also occurs as an epithet of Artemis (Callim. Hymn 3.204, Oupis); in one version of the MYTH of Orion, Artemis kills him after he attempts to RAPE the maiden Opis (Apollod. Bibl. 1.4.5).
SEE ALSO: Religion, Greek; Source Citations
REFERENCE
1 Bridgman, Timothy P. 2005. Hyperboreans: Myth and History in Celtic‐Hellenic Contacts. New York and London: Routledge.
FURTHER READING
1 Corcella in ALC, 604–7.
2 Sale, William. 1961. “The Hyperborean Maidens on Delos.” HThR 54: 75–89.
ARGEIA (Ἀργείη, ἡ)
