Argilus or Argilos ( grc, Ἄργιλος) was a city of

ancient Macedonia Macedonia (; grc-gre, Μακεδονία), also called Macedon (), was an ancient kingdom on the periphery of Archaic and Classical Greece, and later the dominant state of Hellenistic Greece. The kingdom was founded and initially ruled by ...

in the district

Bisaltia Bisaltia ( el, Βισαλτία) or Bisaltica was an ancient country which was bordered by Sintice on the north, Crestonia on the west, Mygdonia on the south and was separated by Odomantis on the north-east and Edonis on the south-east by river ...

, between Amphipolis and Bromiscus. It was founded by a colony from Andros. It appears from Herodotus to have been a little to the right of the route of the army of Xerxes I took in its invasion of Greece in the Greco-Persian Wars, and must therefore have been situated a little inland. Its territory must have been extended as far as the right bank of the Strymon, since Cerdylium, the mountain immediately opposite Amphipolis, belonged to Argilus. It was a member of the

Delian League The Delian League, founded in 478 BC, was an association of Greek city-states, numbering between 150 and 330, under the leadership of Athens, whose purpose was to continue fighting the Persian Empire after the Greek victory in the Battle of Pl ...

. During the

Peloponnesian War The Peloponnesian War (431–404 BC) was an ancient Greek war fought between Athens and Sparta and their respective allies for the hegemony of the Greek world. The war remained undecided for a long time until the decisive intervention of th ...

, the Argilians readily joined the Spartan general Brasidas in his Chalcidian expedition in 424 BCE, on account of their jealousy of the important city of Amphipolis, which the

Athenians Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates a ...

had founded in their neighbourhood. The treaty establishing the Peace of Nicias, in 421 BCE, respected the neutrality of Argilus,

Stageirus Stagira (), Stagirus (), or Stageira ( el, Στάγειρα or ) was an ancient Greek city located near the eastern coast of the peninsula of Chalkidice, which is now part of the Greek province of Central Macedonia. It is chiefly known for bei ...

, Acanthus, Olynthus, Scolus, and Spartolus. Its site is located southwest of Nea Kerdylia, near modern Argilos.

References

Populated places in ancient Macedonia Former populated places in Greece Andrian colonies Ancient Greek archaeological sites in Greece Members of the Delian League {{ancientMacedonia-geo-stub