Argus Panoptes in Greek Mythology, Study notes of Greek Literature

Download Argus Panoptes in Greek Mythology and more Study notes Greek Literature in PDF only on Docsity! ARGUS PANOPTES IN GREEK MYTHOLOGY By Colin Quartermain Argus was a giant from Greek mythology, normally referred to as Argus Panoptes to distinguish him from the numerous other individuals named Argus that appear in mythological tales. Stories tell of the gigantic Argus being a hero, a servant of the gods, and also a villain, and ultimately Argus Panoptes would die at the hand of the Olympian god Hermes. THE LINEAGE OF ARGUS PANOPTES There is no clear agreement about the origin of Argus Panoptes in the ancient sources, although the most common theory was that Argus was the son of the goddess Gaia, with no father. Many other different parents of Argus Panoptes were put forward in those sources, including Argus, the founder of Argos, and the Naiad Ismene; Agenor, a grandson of King Argus; Arestor and the Naiad Mycene; and the Potamoi Inachus by either Melia or Argia (both Oceanids). Nominally, Argus Panoptes was said to reside in the Argolis upon the Peloponnese, the region named after King Argus, hence why Argus Panoptes might have been thought to be a descendant of the king. THE 100 EYES OF ARGUS PANOPTES Argus Panoptes was gigantic in stature, and had immense strength, but what set him apart was the fact that he was adorned with a hundred seeing eyes. Hence the suffix Panoptes, meaning “all-seeing”. The eyes were either spread across his body, or simply found upon his gigantic head. As a result of having so many eyes, Argus Panoptes was said to be always awake for only two eyes went to sleep at one time, ensuring that 98 eyes were always functioning. ARGUS PANOPTES THE HERO In his role as hero, Argus Panoptes was said to have killed a monstrous bull that was ravaging Arcadia, and Argus would subsequently make use of the hide of the bull as his cloak. Argus Panoptes also assisted the Arcadians by killing a Satyr who was stealing their cattle. On the Argolis, Argus Panoptes was said to have avenged the death of King Apis by killing the king’s murderers, Thelxion, possibly a King of Sparta, and Telchis. ARGUS PANOPTES EMPLOYED BY THE GODS Argus Panoptes was also used by the gods, and in some tales, Hera sent the giant to kill the monstrous Echidna, for she was a danger to traveler who passed by her cave in Cumae. Many other stories dispute this story though, for they say that Zeus had allowed Echidna to live forever in Cumae after the death of her partner, Typhon. 26 MAJOR DIVINITIES Before Semele was consumed she gave birth to Dionysus, the God of Wine, who |: descended to the realm of shades in search of his ill-fated mother, whom he conducted to Olympus, where, under the name of Thyone, she was admitted into the assembly of the immortal gods, 10 wn! lhe GU NT lo, daughter of Inachus, king of Argos, was a priestess of Hera. She was very bea ful and Zeus, who was much attached to her, transformed her into a white cow, in order defeat the jealous intrigues of Hera, who, however, was not to be deceived. Aware of the stratagem, she contrived to obtain the animal from Zeus, and placed her under the watch ful care of a Giant named Argus Panoptes, who fastened her to an olive tree in the grove of Her ‘a. He had a hundred eyes, of which, when asleep, he never closed rosie: The Birth of Bacchus, Giulio Rom more than two ata time; being thus always on the watch, Hera found him extremely useful in keeping guard over Io, Fs remelyc ee ne ae ‘and workshop, ¢. 1530s, However, Hermes, the messenger of the gods, by the command of Semele gives binh to Zeus, succeeded in putting all his eyes to sleep with the sound of his magic Bacchus while beholdin lyre, and then, taking advantage of his helpless condition, slew him. The Zeus inall his glory, which immediately causes her Story goes that, in commemoration of the services that Argus Panoptes ™™ had rendered her, Hera placed his eyes on the tail of a peacock, as a last ing memorial of her gratitude. Ever fertile in resources, Hera now sent a gadfly to worry and torment the unfortunate To incessantly, and she wandered all over th world in hopes of escaping from her tormentor. At length she reached Egypt, where she found rest and freedom from the persecutions of her enemy. On the banks of the Nile she resumed her original form and gave birth to a son called Epaphus, who afterwards became king of Egypt, and built the famous city of Memphis. PHILEMON wx) BAUC The Greeks supposed that the divine ruler of the universe occasionally assumed a human form, and descended from his celestial abode, in order to visit mankind and observe their proceedings, his aim being generally either to punish the guilty, or to reward the deserving On one occasion Zeus, accompanied by Hermes, made a journey through Phrygia seeking hospitality and shelter wherever they went. But nowhere did they receive a kindly welcome till they came to the humble cottage of an old man, Philemon, and his wife, called Baucis, who entertained them with the greatest kindness, setting before them what 98 2 Mythology did not believe a word of it. She said the heifer was very pretty and would Zeus please make her a present of it. Sorry as he was, he saw at once that to refuse would give the whole thing away. What excuse could he make? An insignificant little cow . . . He tured Jo reluctantly over to his wife and Hera knew very well how to keep her away from him. She gave her into the charge of Argus, an excellent ar- rangement for Hera’s purpose, since Argus had a hundred eyes. Before such a watchman, who could sleep with some of the eyes and keep on guard with the rest, Zeus seemed help- less. He watched Io’s misery, tured into a beast, driven from her home; he dared not come to her help. At last, how- ever, he went to his son Hermes, the messenger of the gods, and told him he must find a way to kill Argus. There was no god cleverer than Hermes. As soon as he had sprung to earth from heaven he laid aside everything that marked him as a god and approached Argus like a country fellow, playing very sweetly upon a pipe of reeds. Argus was pleased at the sound and called to the musician to come nearer. “You might as well sit by me on this rock,” he said, “you see it’s shady — just right for shepherds.” Nothing could have been better for Hermes’ plan, and yet nothing happened. He played and then he talked on and on, as drowsily and monotonously as he could; some of the hundred eyes would go to sleep, but some were always awake. At last, however, one story was successful — about the god Pan, how he loved a nymph named Syrinx who fled from him and just as he was about to seize her was turned into a tuft of reeds by her sister nymphs. Pan said, “Still you shall be mine,” and he made from what she had become A shepherd’s pipe Of reeds with beeswax joined. The Earliest Heroes 99 The little story does not seem especially tiresome, as such stories go, but Argus found it so. All of his eyes went to sleep. Hermes killed him at once, of course, but Hera took the eyes and set them in the tail of the peacock, her favorite bird. It seemed then that Io was free, but no; Hera at once turned on her again. She sent a gad-fly to plague her, which stung her to madness. Io told Prometheus, He drives me all along the long sea strand. I may not stop for food or drink. He will not let me sleep. Prometheus tried to comfort her, but he could point her only to the distant future. What lay immediately before her was still more wandering and in fearsome lands. To be sure, the part of the sea she first ran along in her frenzy would be called Ionian after her, and the Bosphorus, which means the Ford of the Cow, would preserve the memory of when she went through it, but her real consolation must be that at long last she would reach the Nile, where Zeus would restore her to her human form. She would bear him a son named Epa- phus, and live forever after happy and honored. And Know this, that from your race will spring One glorious with the bow, bold-hearted, And he shall set me free. Io’s descendant would be Hercules, greatest of heroes, than whom hardly the gods were greater, and to whom Prome- theus would owe his freedom. I soon discovered that in Greek mythology, Argus was a monster whose body was covered with eyes-exactly how many eyes he had depends on the source; some say four, some say a hundred-but only two of his eyes ever closed at anY one time. Argus played a supporting role in a tale about Zeus, the randy lord of the gJds, and Io, the i"ughler of a local river god' She was just-one of the many women-mortal and divine-desired by the seemingly insa- tiable Zeus. To conceal his dalliance with Io from his jealous wife, Hera, Zeus transformed the young maiden into a snow-white heifer. But Hera was no dummy when it caLe to Zeus and his philandering ways with nubile young women. Like some olympian Alice Kramd en of.The Hon' q*oonurrri-*ry, foiling Ralph's best-laid plans, Hera saw through Zeust attempted ,ur". To get [ack at her seemingly sex-addicted, cheating hus- band, Hera claimeJ Zeus's pet heifer for herself. Hera had Io placed in chains and then set the evei-watchful Argus to guard over her youthful rival. Zeusdidn'tgiveupsoeasily.HestruckbackbysendingthegodHer- mes to lull Argus to sieep and free Io. In one version of the story (many Greek my'ths hru. urri"tions), Hermes tried to put fugus to- sleep by playing on his magical pipe, but that didn't work' So he bored Argus to i".p iitt, a long, iedious story-then cut offhis head. To honor Argus, the grieving Her"a placed his many eyes on the tail of her favorite bird, th. !"acoJk-andthat's why the peacock's tail looks the way it does' Her", ho*.uer, wasn't finished. Poor Io, still in the form of a heifer, was freed. But Hera iust tormented Io with a gadfly that drove her, itching madly, on a wild gallop across Europe and Asia until she finally dove into the sea (the Ionian sea, which is named for her). Io swam to Eg1pt, where Zeus returned her to human form and she bore what the tabloids call a ,.love child." But that's another story. with the Greeks, there's almost always another story. When Zeus finally freed her, Hera returned to her palace, rubbing her wrists. Her favorite animal, the peacock, welcomed her, its feathers fanned out to her. “What beautiful feathers!” she exclaimed. “But...there’s something missing, Some light accents would make his blue look so much deeper...don't you agree?” she asked, believing Zeus to be by her side. But Zeus wasn’t there. He was on the ground, busy once more with his love for lo, the nymph. When he realized that his wife, still jealous, was looking for him, he quickly transformed lo into a cow. But Hera wasn't tricked. She sent her servant Argus to make sure Io could not escape. Argus had one hundred eyes, and even when he slept, he always kept a few eyes open. Zeus was worried. He asked Hermes, the cleverest of his children, to help him find a way out of trouble. The young god, disguised as a shepherd, approached Argus and, with his flute, managed to lull him to sleep. Then, he cut off his head Hera had seen everything from high on Olympus. In honor of Argus's good service, she collected his hundred eyes and used them to adorn the feathers of her favorite peacock That is why, when a peacock spreads its feathers, Argus’s hundred eyes are said to open. wl HT 3.3029 05725 3825 rary ee Everything You Need to Know About the Greatest Stories in Human History but Never Learned NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLING AUTHOR Ces Kenneth C. Davis THE CLASSIC BESTSELLER MYTHOLOGY Timeless Tales of Gods and Heroes Edith Hamilton