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Argus orArgos Panoptes (Ancient Greek:Ἄργος Πανόπτης, "All-seeing Argos") is a many-eyedgiant inGreek mythology. Known for his perpetual vigilance, he served the goddess Hera as a watchman. His most famous task was guarding Io, a priestess of Hera, whom Zeus had transformed into a heifer. Argus's constant watch, with some of his eyes always open, made him a formidable guardian. His eventual slaying by Hermes, on Zeus's orders, is a prominent episode in the myths surrounding him, and his eyes were then incorporated into the peacock's tail by Hera in his honor.
Argus Panoptes (Ἄργος Πανόπτης) was the guardian of theheifer-nymphIo and the son ofArestor. According toAsclepiades, Argus Panoptes was a son of Inachus, and according toCercops he was a son ofArgus andIsmene, daughter of Asopus.Acusilaus says that he was earth-born (autochthon), born from Gaia.[1] ProbablyMycene[2] (in another version the son ofGaia[3]) was a primordialgiant whoseepithetPanoptes, "all-seeing", led to his being described with multiple, often one hundred eyes. The epithetPanoptes was applied to thegod of theSun,Helios, and was taken up as an epithet byZeus,Zeus Panoptes. "In a way,"Walter Burkert observes, "the power and order ofArgos the city are embodied in Argos theneatherd, lord of the herd and lord of the land, whose name itself is thename of the land."[4]
The epithetPanoptes, reflecting his mythic role, set byHera as a very effective watchman of Io, was described in a fragment of a lost poemAigimios, attributed to Hesiod:[5]
And set a watcher upon her, great and strong Argus, who with four eyes looks every way. And the goddess stirred in him unwearying strength: sleep never fell upon his eyes; but he kept sure watch always.
In the 5th century and later, Argus' wakeful alertness was explained for an increasingly literal culture as his having so many eyes that only a few of the eyes would sleep at a time: there were always eyes still awake. In the 2nd century ADPausanias noted at Argos, in the temple of Zeus Larissaios, an archaic image of Zeus with a third eye in the center of his forehead, allegedlyPriam'sZeus Herkeios purloined from Troy.[6]
Argus wasHera's servant. His great service to theOlympian pantheon was to slay thechthonicserpent-legged monsterEchidna as she slept in her cave.[7] Hera's defining task for Argus was to guard the white heiferIo from Zeus, who was attracted to her, keeping her chained to the sacred olive tree at theArgive Heraion.[8] She required someone who had at least a hundred eyes spread out, always watching in all directions, someone who would stay awake despite being asleep. Argos was meant to be the perfect guardian.[9] She charged him to "Tether this cow safely to an olive-tree atNemea". Hera knew that the heifer was in reality Io, one of the many nymphs Zeus was coupling with to establish a new order. To free Io, Zeus had Argus slain byHermes. The messenger of the Olympian gods, disguised as a shepherd, first put all of Argus' eyes asleep with spoken charms, then slew him. Some versions say that Hermes used his wand to close Argus' eyes permanently, while other versions say that Hermes simply hurled a stone at Argus. Either way, Argus' death was the first stain of bloodshed among the new generation of gods.[10] After beheading Argus, Hermes acquired the epithet Argeiphontes or “Argus-slayer”.[3]
The sacrifice of Argus liberated Io and allowed her to wander the earth, although tormented by agadfly sent by Hera, until she reached theIonian Sea, named after her, from where she swam to Egypt and gave birth to a love child of Zeus, according to some versions of the myth.
According toOvid, Argus had a hundred eyes.[11] Hera had Argus' hundred eyes preserved forever in apeacock's tail so as to immortalise her faithful watchman.[12] In another version, Hera transformed the whole of Argus into a peacock.[13][14]
The myth makes the closest connection of Argus, the neatherd, with thebull. According to the mythographerApollodorus, Argus, "being exceedingly strong ... killed the bull that ravaged Arcadia and clad himself in its hide".[15]
Argus Panoptes is referenced in the scientific names of at least eight animals, each of which bears a pattern of eye spots: reptilesCnemaspis argus,Eremias argus,Sibon argus,Sphaerodactylus argus, and the Argus monitorVaranus panoptes;[16][17] the pheasantArgusianus argus; the fishCephalopholis argus and the cowryArestorides argus.
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