Editing Argos, Peloponnese (section)

===Classical Argos===
[[File:Ancient Argos - Theatre 2.jpg|thumb|View of the [[Argos Theater|ancient theatre]]]]
In 494 BC, Argos suffered a crushing defeat at the hands of its regional rival, Sparta, at the [[Battle of Sepeia]]. Following this defeat, [[Herodotus]] tells us the city suffered a form of ''stasis''. The political chaos is thought to have resulted in a democratic transition in the city.<ref name="E. Robinson, 2011">E. Robinson, ''Democracy Beyond Athens,'' Cambridge, 2011, 6–21.</ref> Argos did not participate in the Hellenic Alliance against the [[Second Persian invasion of Greece|Persian Invasion]] of 480 BC. This resulted in a period of diplomatic isolation, although there is evidence of an Argive alliance with [[Tegea]] prior to 462 BC.<ref name="jstor.org">2.	Kelly, Thomas. "Argive Foreign Policy in the Fifth Century B.C." Classical Philology 69, no. 2 (1974): 81–99. http://www.jstor.org/stable/268729.</ref>

In 462 BC, Argos joined a tripartite alliance with Athens and Thessaly. This alliance was somewhat dysfunctional, however, and the Argives are only thought to have provided marginal contributions to the alliance at the Battle of [[Oenoe (Attica)|Oenoe]] and [[Tanagra]].<ref name="jstor.org"/> For example, only 1,000 Argive hoplites are thought to have fought alongside the Athenians at the [[Battle of Tanagra (457 BC)|Battle of Tanagra]]. Following the allies' defeat at Tanagra in 457 BC, the alliance began to fall apart, resulting in its dissolution in 451 BC.<ref name="jstor.org"/>

Argos remained neutral or the ineffective ally of [[Athens]] during the [[Archidamian War]] between Sparta and Athens. Argos' neutrality resulted in a rise of its prestige among other Greek cities, and Argos used this political capital to organize and lead an alliance against Sparta and Athens in 421 BC.<ref name="jstor.org"/> This alliance included [[Mantinea]], [[Corinth]], [[Ancient Elis|Elis]], [[Thebes, Greece|Thebes]], Argos, and eventually Athens. This alliance fell apart, however, after the allied loss at the [[Battle of Mantinea (418 BC)|Battle of Mantinea]] in 418 BC.<ref name="jstor.org"/> This defeat, combined with the raiding of the Argolid by the Epidaurians, resulted in political instability and an eventual oligarchic coup in 417 BC.<ref name="jstor.org"/> Although democracy was restored within a year, Argos was left permanently weakened by this coup. This weakening led to a loss of power, which in turn led to the shift of commercial focus from the Ancient Agora to the eastern side of the city, delimited by Danaou and Agiou Konstadinou streets.

Argos played a minor role in the [[Corinthian War]]s against Sparta, and for a short period of time considered uniting with Corinth to form an expanded Argolid state. For a brief period of time, the two poleis combined, but Corinth quickly rebelled against Argive domination, and Argos returned to its traditional boundaries. After this, Argos remained an important but politically inconsistent polis in the Peloponnese. Although it was counted among the four major Greek cities by Isokrates in 346 BC, alongside Athens, Sparta, and Thebes, this was primarily due to its symbolic status as the legendary birthplace of the [[Argead dynasty]], the royal house of [[Macedonia (ancient kingdom)|Macedon]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Krállī |first=Iōánna |title=The Hellenistic Peloponnese: interstate relations a narrative and analytic history, from the fourth century to 146 BC |date=2017 |publisher=Classical Press of Wales |isbn=978-1-910589-60-1 |location=Swansea (GB)}}</ref> In reality, Argos was militarily and politically weakened, plagued by internal strife and civic violence throughout the 4th century BC.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Krállī |first=Iōánna |title=The Hellenistic Peloponnese: interstate relations a narrative and analytic history, from the fourth century to 146 BC |date=2017 |publisher=Classical Press of Wales |isbn=978-1-910589-60-1 |location=Swansea (GB) |pages=49–50}}</ref>

In the 350s BC, Argos joined Messene and Megalopolis in resisting renewed Spartan aggression, particularly during Archidamos III’s campaigns against the anti-Spartan alliance. The Argives participated in defending Megalopolis but quickly withdrew after a defeat at Orneai and the arrival of Theban reinforcements, reflecting a broader pattern of military reluctance and limited effectiveness.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Krállī |first=Iōánna |title=The Hellenistic Peloponnese: interstate relations a narrative and analytic history, from the fourth century to 146 BC |date=2017 |publisher=Classical Press of Wales |isbn=978-1-910589-60-1 |location=Swansea (GB) |pages=50}}</ref> 

After the [[Peace of Philocrates]] in 346 BC, Argos increasingly engaged with [[Philip II of Macedon]]. While [[Demosthenes]] accused Argive leaders of collaborating with Macedon, this relationship appears to have been driven more by strategic concerns than ideological alignment. Macedonian sympathizers, including Myrtis, Teledamos, and Mnaseas, held power in the city by 330 BC.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Krállī |first=Iōánna |title=The Hellenistic Peloponnese: interstate relations a narrative and analytic history, from the fourth century to 146 BC |date=2017 |publisher=Classical Press of Wales |isbn=978-1-910589-60-1 |location=Swansea (GB) |pages=51}}</ref> However, Argos maintained a cautious neutrality during key conflicts, such as the Battle of Chaironeia in 338 BC, where it sent no troops to support either side.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Krállī |first=Iōánna |title=The Hellenistic Peloponnese: interstate relations a narrative and analytic history, from the fourth century to 146 BC |date=2017 |publisher=Classical Press of Wales |isbn=978-1-910589-60-1 |location=Swansea (GB) |pages=55–56}}</ref> 

Despite Argos’s neutral stance, Philip II rewarded the polis in 337 BC with Spartan territory as part of a broader reordering of Peloponnesian borders intended to weaken Sparta and reward its rivals. Argos received either the contested region of Thyreatis, the eastern seaboard of Mount Parnon, or both, though the exact territorial allocation remains debated.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Krállī |first=Iōánna |title=The Hellenistic Peloponnese: interstate relations a narrative and analytic history, from the fourth century to 146 BC |date=2017 |publisher=Classical Press of Wales |isbn=978-1-910589-60-1 |location=Swansea (GB) |pages=62–63}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Shipley |first=Graham |date=2000 |title=The Extent of Spartan Territory in the Late Classical and Hellenistic Periods |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/30103441 |journal=The Annual of the British School at Athens |volume=95 |pages=376–377 |doi=10.1017/S0068245400004731 |jstor=30103441 |issn=0068-2454}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Piérart |first=M. |date=2001 |title=Argos, Philippe II et la Cynourie (Thyréatide): les frontières du partage des Héraclides |journal=Recherches récentes sur le monde hellénistique. Acte du colloque en l'honneur de Pierre Ducrey |pages=30, 34–35}}</ref> This expansion made Argos one of the largest territorial states in the Peloponnese, controlling an area reaching up to 1,400 km².<ref>{{Cite book |last=Krállī |first=Iōánna |title=The Hellenistic Peloponnese: interstate relations a narrative and analytic history, from the fourth century to 146 BC |date=2017 |publisher=Classical Press of Wales |isbn=978-1-910589-60-1 |location=Swansea (GB) |pages=64}}</ref> 

The decision to grant Argos territory was likely influenced by its symbolic connection to the Argeads and its longstanding enmity with Sparta. However, Philip’s limited trust in Argos, due to its earlier alliance with Athens in 342 BC and its absence at Chaironeia, may have tempered the extent of his generosity.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Krállī |first=Iōánna |title=The Hellenistic Peloponnese: interstate relations a narrative and analytic history, from the fourth century to 146 BC |date=2017 |publisher=Classical Press of Wales |isbn=978-1-910589-60-1 |location=Swansea (GB) |pages=63–64}}</ref> Later Macedonian kings, such as [[Antigonus III Doson]], would reaffirm Argive control over disputed areas like [[Zarax]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Krállī |first=Iōánna |title=The Hellenistic Peloponnese: interstate relations a narrative and analytic history, from the fourth century to 146 BC |date=2017 |publisher=Classical Press of Wales |isbn=978-1-910589-60-1 |location=Swansea (GB) |pages=63}}</ref>