Editing Arges (Cyclops)

{{Short description|Greek mythological figure}}
{{about||places in Iran|Arges, Iran (disambiguation)|various geographic locations in Romania|Argeş (disambiguation)}}

'''Arges''' ({{langx|el|Ἄργης}}) was one of the three Hesiodic [[Cyclopes]] in [[Greek mythology]].  He was elsewhere called '''Acmonides'''<ref>[[Ovid]], ''[[Fasti (poem)|Fasti]]'' iv. 288</ref> or '''Pyracmon'''.<ref>[[Virgil]], ''[[Aeneid]]'' viii. 425</ref> His name means "bright"<ref>''Argos'' (ἀργός) means "white, quick<!--[sic]-->" in Greek; see [[R. S. P. Beekes]], ''Comparative Indo-European Linguistics: An Introduction'', 2nd edition, revised and corrected by [[Michiel de Vaan]], John Benjamins Publishing Company (2011), p. 181.</ref> and represents the brightness from lightning.

== Birth and forging of the lightning bolt ==
Arges is a child of [[Gaia (mythology)|Gaia]] and [[Uranus (mythology)|Uranus]], and his siblings include his fellow cyclopes, Brontes and Steropes, along with the [[Titans (mythology)|Titans]] and the [[Hecatoncheires]].<ref>{{Citation|last=Seaford|first=Richard|title=Cyclopes|date=2015-12-22|url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/acrefore/9780199381135.013.1972|encyclopedia=Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Classics|publisher=Oxford University Press|doi=10.1093/acrefore/9780199381135.013.1972 |isbn=978-0-19-938113-5|access-date=2020-10-15|url-access=subscription}}</ref> After his birth, Uranus is said to have locked Arges and his cyclopes brothers in [[Tartarus]] out of fear, along with the Hundred Handed Ones.<ref>{{Cite book|author=Hesiod|title=Theogony|pages=154–158}}</ref> During the war between the Titans and the Gods, Arges, Brontes, and Steropes were freed to fashion lightning bolts for [[Zeus]] during his attempt to overthrow the gods.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Henderson|first=Jeffrey|title=THEOGONY|url=https://www.loebclassics.com/view/hesiod-theogony/2018/pb_LCL057.43.xml|access-date=2020-10-15|website=Loeb Classical Library|language=en}}</ref> According to Apollodorus, Arges and his fellow cyclopes also fashioned the [[Cap of invisibility|Helmet of Invisibility]] for [[Hades]], and the [[trident]] for [[Poseidon]].<ref>Hard, [https://books.google.com/books?id=r1Y3xZWVlnIC&pg=PA69 p. 69].</ref> These weapons played a key role in the downfall of the Titans.

== Possible death ==
In [[Hesiod]]'s [[Catalogue of Women]], the three Cyclopes, including Arges, are said to have been killed by [[Apollo]] in retaliation for his son [[Asclepius]] being killed by a lightning bolt.<ref>Hard, [https://books.google.com/books?id=r1Y3xZWVlnIC&pg=PA66 p. 66].</ref><ref>{{Cite web|last=Henderson|first=Jeffrey|title=Alcestis|url=https://www.loebclassics.com/view/euripides-alcestis/1994/pb_LCL012.155.xml|access-date=2020-10-15|website=Loeb Classical Library|language=en}}</ref> However, this contradicts Hesiod's [[Theogony]], which implies the cyclopes are immortal. The mythographer [[Pherecydes of Athens]] fixes this discrepancy by stating that the cyclopes' sons were killed by Apollo, rather than the cyclopes themselves.<ref>{{Cite book|last1=Fowler|first1=Robert Louis|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=j0nRE4C2WBgC&pg=PA298|title=Early Greek Mythography: Texts|last2=Flaccus|first2=Quintus Horatius|date=2000|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0-19-814740-4|language=el}}</ref> Another source suggests that Zeus killed the cyclopes to prevent them from making lightning bolts for anyone other than himself.<ref>Fowler 2013, [https://books.google.com/books?id=scd8AQAAQBAJ&pg=PA54 p. 54].</ref>

==Notes==
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== References ==

* [[Robert Fowler (academic)|Fowler, Robert L.]], ''Early Greek Mythography. Volume 2: Commentary.'' Oxford University Press. Great Clarendon Street, Oxford, OX2 6DP, United Kingdom. 2013. {{ISBN|978-0-19-814741-1}}
* Hard, Robin, ''The Routledge Handbook of Greek Mythology: Based on H.J. Rose's "Handbook of Greek Mythology"'', Psychology Press, 2004, {{ISBN|9780415186360}}. [https://books.google.com/books?id=r1Y3xZWVlnIC Google Books].
* [[Hesiod]], ''[[Theogony]]'' from ''The Homeric Hymns and Homerica'' with an English Translation by Hugh G. Evelyn-White, Cambridge, MA.,Harvard University Press; London, William Heinemann Ltd. 1914. [http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0130%3Acard%3D1 Online version at the Perseus Digital Library.] [http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:1999.01.0129 Greek text available from the same website].
* [[Ovid|Publius Ovidius Naso]], ''[[Fasti (poem)|Fasti]]'' translated by James G. Frazer. [https://topostext.org/work/143 Online version at the Topos Text Project.]
* Publius Ovidius Naso, ''Fasti.'' Sir James George Frazer. London; Cambridge, MA. William Heinemann Ltd.; Harvard University Press. 1933. [http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:2008.01.0547 Latin text available at the Perseus Digital Library].
* [[Virgil|Publius Vergilius Maro]], ''[[Aeneid]].'' Theodore C. Williams. trans. Boston. Houghton Mifflin Co. 1910. [http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.02.0054%3Abook%3D1%3Acard%3D1 Online version at the Perseus Digital Library.]
* Publius Vergilius Maro, ''Bucolics, Aeneid, and Georgics''. J. B. Greenough. Boston. Ginn & Co. 1900. [http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:1999.02.0055 Latin text available at the Perseus Digital Library].

[[Category:Cyclopes]]
[[Category:Residents of the Greek underworld]]
[[Category:Children of Gaia]]