The Greek city of Argos lies on the Argive plain, which is part of the Peloponnese, the southern peninsula of Greece. Of all the cities that made up the Argive plain, or the Argolid, Argos was the largest geographically and by population.
The reasons why it thrived more than any of the others were a reliable water supply, excellent geographical location for trade and its spectacular acropolis, the Larisa, which acted as a natural defense mechanism for the city.[1] The modern day city of Argos has evolved from the ancient city over time so it has been extremely hard for excavations to take place since they can not disturb modern buildings and such.[2] What is known of the city is taken mostly from the little archeological information that has been found as well as some primary sources, such as Herodotus and Pausanias of Damascus.
What we do know about Argos is that it was a vicious rival of Sparta from around 400 B.C.E. and after the Persian Wars, Argos became close allies with Athens and this is when Argos adopted a democracy. [3] According to R.A. Tomlinson, Sparta would have dominated all of the Peloponnese if it were not for Argos to maintain the balance of power. [4] The history of Argos is a somewhat depressing one, not because of what we know, but because of what we do not know. Argive history is a prime example of what is lost when no one takes the initiative to document what is happening around them. As a result, all that we are able to gather comes from scarce excerpts from primary sources and little archaeological findings.