Pheidon

Pheidon of Argos (Φείδων, Pheídōn; Pheidon; /ˈfiːdɒn/) was the king of a city-state in Greece, remembered for his contributions to the development of weights and measures and for his aggressive military and political actions. His reign is often dated to the 7th century BCE, though details are subject to scholarly debate due to the lack of contemporary written sources. Pheidon is considered one of the last hereditary kings of Argos, and his rule marks a significant, albeit controversial, period in the city-state's history. He was a member of the royal house, one of the Heracleidae who traditionally were said to have returned to the Peloponnese and established Dorian rule over much of it, including Argos.

Pheidon aggressively expanded Argive control over the northeastern Peloponnese, coming into conflict with neighboring city-states such as Sparta and Corinth. His military campaigns contributed to the shifting balance of power in the region; at one point, Pheidon is said to have dominated the Peloponnesian League, an alliance originally led by Sparta, showcasing his influence and military prowess. Pheidon is credited with establishing one of the earliest systems of weights and measures in Greece, contributing to the economic unification of the region, which facilitated trade and commerce, both locally and with other city-states. The nature of Pheidon's rule is a subject of historical debate; some sources describe him as a tyrant, while others view him as a traditional king exercising his hereditary right to rule. The chronology of Pheidon's life and reign is difficult to establish, with estimates varying widely among scholars; this uncertainty is compounded by the legendary aspects of his story and the retrospective accounts by later historians such as Herodotus and Pausanias.

Despite the controversies surrounding his rule, Pheidon's actions undeniably had a lasting impact on Argos and the broader Peloponnesian region; his military exploits and economic reforms contributed to Argos' prominence in the 7th century BCE. Herodotus implied that Pheidon flourished about 600 BCE, but at this time Corinth and Sicyon, not Argos, were ascendant. Although some later writers assigned Pheidon to the 8th century BCE, most modern scholars place him in the early 7th century. He was said to have been the 10th successor to Temenos, the founder of Argos, and ruler of the whole Argolid peninsula in the northeast Peloponnese. Pheidon united this region (the lot of Temenus), marched across the Peloponnese, and seized Olympia (perhaps in 672 or 668 BCE). Though he was a king who ruled in an era where the aristocracy was slowly exerting more control, he ruled energetically, like a monarch from earlier eras. The Argive dominion did not last long in the face of a combined threat of a Spartan alliance with Elis (NW Peloponnese).

The claim by the 4th-century Greek historian Ephorus that Pheidon introduced coinage to Greece, specifically silver money, is viewed with skepticism by modern scholars. The consensus among historians and archaeologists today is that the beginning of coinage in mainland Greece, particularly in the form of stamped silver coins, dates to the late 7th century BCE, which is later than the traditionally assigned period of Pheidon's rule. Coinage is generally linked to the Lydians in Asia Minor, from whom it spread to the Greek world.