Pelasgos (Argos)
Pelasgos ( Greek Πελασγός ) was in Greek mythology the son of Plaichthon and king of Argos at the time Danaos arrived in Argos.
When Poseidon punished the country with water shortage because of the preference for Heras , Danaos landed in Argos , pursued by Aigyptus and his 50 sons . The king of Argos welcomed him and his 50 daughters, the Danaids , to Argos. The Danaids taught the Argives the art of irrigation.
Danaos laid claim to the throne of Argos, because as a descendant of Io , he was an Inachide as well as the king. The people who were supposed to make the choice came to no conclusion and postponed the decision. The next morning a wolf invaded a herd of cattle. The lead animal opposed the wolf and was eventually killed. This was seen as a sign and Danaos was chosen as the new ruler, because the victorious wolf did not belong to the herd, just like Danaos, who came from a foreign country and was not previously part of the Argives.
Usually Gelanor is narrated as the Argive king who lost his dignity to Danaos. Only in Aeschylus he is called Pelasgos, probably to identify him as a representative of the old Pelasgian population of Argos.
literature
- Paul Weizsäcker : Pelasgos 6 . In: Wilhelm Heinrich Roscher (Hrsg.): Detailed lexicon of Greek and Roman mythology . Volume 3.2, Leipzig 1909, column 1820 ( digitized version ).
Individual evidence
- ^ Libraries of Apollodorus 2, 1, 4.
- ↑ Pausanias 2:16 , 1; Libraries of Apollodorus 2, 1, 4.
- ↑ Aeschylus, Die Schutzflehenden 250, 1010.
| predecessor | Office | successor |
|---|---|---|
| Sthenelas |
King of Argos 15th century BC BC (mythical chronology) |
Danaos |