Arganthonios

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For the mountain in Bithynia, see Mount Arganthonius. For huntress in Greek mythology, see Arganthone.
Arganthonios
King of Tartessos
Reign625 BC – 545 BC
PredecessorHabis
Bornc. 670 BC
Tartessos, Hispania
Diedc. 550 BC (aged 120?)
Tartessos, Hispania

Arganthonios (Greek: Ἀργανθώνιος) was a king of ancient Tartessos (in Andalusia, southern Spain). Given the legendary status of Geryon, Gargoris and Habis, Arganthonios is the earliest documented monarch of the Iberian Peninsula.[1]

Life[]

According to the Greek historian Herodotus, King Arganthonios ruled Tartessos for 80 years (from about 625 BC to 545 BC) and lived to be 120 years old.[2] This idea of great age and length of reign may result from a succession of kings using the same name or title. Herodotus says that Arganthonios warmly welcomed the first Greeks to reach Iberia, a ship carrying Phocaeans, and urged them fruitlessly to settle in Iberia. Hearing that the Medes were becoming a dominant force in the neighbourhood of the Phocaeans, he gave the latter money to build a defensive wall about their town.[3] Herodotus comments that "he must have given with a bountiful hand, for the town is many furlongs in circuit".[2]

Name[]

Given the paucity of sources on the Tartessian language, the origin of the name "Arganthonios" is uncertain. Historians have noted the similarities with Celtic names.[1] In fact, the word "Arganthonios" appears to be based on the Indo-European word for 'silver' (secondarily 'money'), reconstructed[4] as Proto-Celtic *arganto- and proto-Italic as *argentom.[5][note 1] Tartessos was rich in silver, like all of Iberia. Similar names (e.g. Argantoni) appear in inscriptions of the Roman period in or near former Tartessian territory. A name or title Argantoda(nos) is found on silver coinage in Northern Gaul and may have had a meaning akin to "treasurer".[6] Some have identified Arganthonios with the "Tharsis Mask" at the Archeological Museum of Seville.

See also[]

Notes[]

  1. ^ Attested reflexes in Celtic include: Celtiberian arkanta (also compare arkanto-beđom 'silver mine (?)'), Gaulish arganto- (in compounds), Old Irish argat, Old Welsh argant; in Latin as argentum, Faliscan arcentom with cognates Sanskrit rajatám, and others, from Proto-Indo-European *h₂r̥ǵn̥tóm 'silver', which is derived from a nominal root *h₂erǵ- 'white, brilliant; swift'; also compare Ancient Greek ἄργυρον (arguron) 'silver'.

References[]

  1. ^ Jump up to: a b Pérez-Embid, Florentino (1962). Enciclopedia de la cultura española (in Spanish). Editora Nacional. pp. 351, 770.
  2. ^ Jump up to: a b Herodotus. The Histories. 1.163.
  3. ^ Aubet, Maria Eugenia (2007). White Crawford, Sidnie; Ben-Tor, Ammon; Dessel, J. P.; Dever, William G.; Mazar, Amihai; Aviram, Joseph (eds.). "Up to the Gates of Ekron": Essays on the Archaeology and History of the Eastern Mediterranean in honor of Seymour Gitin. Jerusalem: W.F. Albright Institute of Archaeological Research and the Israel Exploration Society. p. 449. ISBN 9789652210661.
  4. ^ Zair, Nicholas (2012). The Reflexes of the Proto-Indo-European Laryngeals in Celtic. Leiden: Brill. p. 35. ISBN 978-90-04-22539-8.
  5. ^ De Vaan, Michiel (2008) in Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages (Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series)
  6. ^ Fichtl, Stephan (2004). Les peuples gaulois, IIIe-Ier siecles av. J.-C (in French). 28. Errance. p. 179. ISBN 2-87772-290-2.
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