Arganthonios () was a king of ancient

Tartessos Tartessos () is, as defined by archaeological discoveries, a historical civilization settled in the southern Iberian Peninsula characterized by its mixture of local Prehistoric Iberia, Paleohispanic and Phoenician traits. It had a writing syste ...

(in

Andalusia Andalusia ( , ; , ) is the southernmost autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community in Peninsular Spain, located in the south of the Iberian Peninsula, in southwestern Europe. It is the most populous and the second-largest autonomou ...

, southern

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

) who according to

Herodotus Herodotus (; BC) was a Greek historian and geographer from the Greek city of Halicarnassus (now Bodrum, Turkey), under Persian control in the 5th century BC, and a later citizen of Thurii in modern Calabria, Italy. He wrote the '' Histori ...

, was visited by Kolaios of Samos. Given the legendary status of

Geryon In Greek mythology, Geryon ( ; , genitive ), also Geryone (, or ), son of Chrysaor and Callirrhoe, the grandson of Medusa and the nephew of Pegasus, was a fearsome giant who dwelt on the island Erytheia of the mythic Hesperides in the far ...

Gargoris Gargoris was a mythical king of the Cynetes, considered part of the people of Tartessos, and, according to legend, the inventor of beekeeping. He exiled his own son, Habis, who was adopted by a female deer and saved from the sea, and who later in ...

and

Habis Habis (from the cynetes, Cynete language meaning fawn) is a legendary king of the Spanish region of Tartessos. The only source of the legend of Habis and his father Gargoris is the work ''Epitome'' by Justin (historian), Justin, who copied it fro ...

, Arganthonios is the earliest documented monarch of the

Iberian Peninsula The Iberian Peninsula ( ), also known as Iberia, is a peninsula in south-western Europe. Mostly separated from the rest of the European landmass by the Pyrenees, it includes the territories of peninsular Spain and Continental Portugal, comprisin ...

Life

According to the Greek historian

, King Arganthonios ruled Tartessos for 80 years (from about 625 BC to 545 BC) and lived to be 120 years old, although some believe he lived to 150. 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 Phocaea or Phokaia (Ancient Greek language, Ancient Greek: Φώκαια, ''Phókaia''; modern-day Foça in Turkey) was an ancient Ionian Ancient Greece, Greek city on the western coast of Anatolia. Colonies in antiquity, Greek colonists from Phoc ...

, and urged them fruitlessly to settle in Iberia. Hearing that the

Medes The Medes were an Iron Age Iranian peoples, Iranian people who spoke the Median language and who inhabited an area known as Media (region), Media between western Iran, western and northern Iran. Around the 11th century BC, they occupied the m ...

were becoming a dominant force in the neighbourhood of the Phocaeans, he gave the latter money to build a defensive wall about their town. Herodotus comments that "he must have given with a bountiful hand, for the town is many furlongs in circuit".

Name

Given the paucity of sources on the

Tartessian language Tartessian is an extinct Paleo-Hispanic languages, Paleo-Hispanic language found in the Southwest Paleohispanic script, Southwestern inscriptions of the Iberian Peninsula, mainly located in the south of Portugal (Algarve and southern Alentejo), ...

, the origin of the name "Arganthonios" is uncertain. Historians have noted the similarities with Celtic names. In fact, the word "Arganthonios" appears to be based on the Indo-European word for 'silver' (secondarily 'money'), reconstructed as

Proto-Celtic Proto-Celtic, or Common Celtic, is the hypothetical ancestral proto-language of all known Celtic languages, and a descendant of Proto-Indo-European. It is not attested in writing but has been partly Linguistic reconstruction, reconstructed throu ...

''*arganto-'' and proto-Italic as *''argentom''.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 Proto-Indo-European (PIE) is the reconstructed common ancestor of the Indo-European language family. No direct record of Proto-Indo-European exists; its proposed features have been derived by linguistic reconstruction from documented Indo-Euro ...

''*h₂r̥ǵn̥tóm'' 'silver', which is derived from a nominal root ''*h₂erǵ-'' 'white, brilliant; swift'; also compare Ancient Greek ἄργυρον (''arguron'') 'silver'. Tartessos was rich in silver, like all of

Iberia The Iberian Peninsula ( ), also known as Iberia, is a peninsula in south-western Europe. Mostly separated from the rest of the European landmass by the Pyrenees, it includes the territories of peninsular Spain and Continental Portugal, compri ...

. 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". Some have identified Arganthonios with the "Tharsis Mask" at the

Archeological Museum of Seville The Archeological Museum of Seville (Spanish: ''Museo Arqueológico de Sevilla'') is a museum in Seville, southern Spain, housed in the ''Pabellón del Renacimiento'', one of the pavilions designed by the architect Aníbal González. These pavili ...

Notes

References

{{Authority control People from Andalusia Tartessos Kings in Europe 6th-century BC monarchs 7th-century BC monarchs Longevity claims

Life

Name

See also

Notes

References