Before the establishment of a

democracy Democracy (From grc, δημοκρατία, dēmokratía, ''dēmos'' 'people' and ''kratos'' 'rule') is a form of government in which people, the people have the authority to deliberate and decide legislation ("direct democracy"), or to choo ...

, the

Ancient Greek Ancient Greek includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Dark Ages (), the Archaic p ...

city-state A city-state is an independent sovereign city which serves as the center of political, economic, and cultural life over its contiguous territory. They have existed in many parts of the world since the dawn of history, including cities such as ...

of Argos was ruled by

kings Kings or King's may refer to: *Monarchs: The sovereign heads of states and/or nations, with the male being kings *One of several works known as the "Book of Kings": **The Books of Kings part of the Bible, divided into two parts **The ''Shahnameh'' ...

. Most of them are probably mythical or only semi-historical. This list is based on that largely given by Eusebius of Caesarea. An alternative version supplied by

Tatian Tatian of Adiabene, or Tatian the Syrian or Tatian the Assyrian, (; la, Tatianus; grc, Τατιανός; syc, ܛܛܝܢܘܣ; c. 120 – c. 180 AD) was an Assyrian Christian writer and theologian of the 2nd century. Tatian's most influential wo ...

of the original 17 consecutive kings of Argos includes

Apis Apis or APIS may refer to: * Apis (deity), an ancient Egyptian god * Apis (Greek mythology), several different figures in Greek mythology * Apis (city), an ancient seaport town on the northern coast of Africa **Kom el-Hisn, a different Egyptian ci ...

and Argios between Argos and Triopas.

Inachid Dynasty

Inachos, the supposed son of

Oceanos MTS ''Oceanos'' was a French-built and Greek-owned cruise ship that sank in 1991 when she suffered uncontrolled flooding. Her captain, Yiannis Avranas, and some of the crew were convicted of negligence for fleeing the ship without helping the ...

and Tethys, is affirmed to have been the founder of this kingdom. He married his sister Melissa, by whom he had two sons, Phoroneus and Aegialeus: he is supposed to be the father of Io, and therefore the Greeks are sometimes called "Inachoi" after him (see also the names of the Greeks). *

Inachos In Greek mythology, Inachus, Inachos or Inakhos (Ancient Greek: Ἴναχος) was the first king of Argos, Peloponnese, Argos after whom a river was called Inachos (river), Inachus River,Bibliotheca (Pseudo-Apollodorus), Apollodorus2.1.1/ref> t ...

. * Phoroneus. Son of Inachos. *

. Son of Phoroneus. * Argos Pelasgos or Argeos. Son of Zeus and Niobe, the daughter of Phoroneus. Argos named the kingdom after himself. * Criasos or Pirasos or Peranthos. Son of Argos. * Phorbas. Son of either Argos or Criasos. * Triopas. Son of Phorbas. * Jasos. According to different sources, he was son of either Phoroneus, Argos Pelasgos, Argos Panoptes, or Triopas. *

Agenor Agenor (; Ancient Greek: Ἀγήνωρ or Αγήνορας ''Agēnor''; English translation: "heroic, manly") was in Greek mythology and history a Phoenician king of Tyre or Sidon. The Doric Greek historian Herodotus (c. 484–425 BC), born in ...

. Son of Triopas. * Crotopos. Son of Agenor. * Sthenelos. *

Pelasgos In Greek mythology, Pelasgus ( grc, Πελασγός, ''Pelasgós'' means "ancient") was the eponymous ancestor of the Pelasgians, the mythical inhabitants of Greece who established the worship of the Dodonaean Zeus, Hephaestus, the Cabeiri, and ...

Gelanor. He gave Danaus his kingdom in response to an oracle or omen.

Danaid Dynasty

Danaos In Greek mythology, Danaus (, ; grc, Δαναός ''Danaós'') was the king of Libya. His myth is a foundation legend of Argos, one of the foremost Mycenaean cities of the Peloponnesus. In Homer's ''Iliad'', "Danaans" ("tribe of Danaus") and " ...

. Son of Belus, a mythical king of Egypt. Danaus had fifty daughters, the Danaides. * Lynceus. Son of Aigyptos. Killed Danaus and married Danaus's daughter Hypermnestra. Lynceus means "lynx-eyed".

Abantiad Dynasty

* Abas. Son of Lynceus. * Proetos. A son of Abas. * Acrisios. A son of Abas. Twin brother of Proetos; they were rivals since the womb. Acrisios defeated and exiled Proetos and later shared the kingdom with him, surrendering to him Tiryns and eastern Argolis. *

Perseus In Greek mythology, Perseus (Help:IPA/English, /ˈpɜːrsiəs, -sjuːs/; Greek language, Greek: Περσεύς, Romanization of Greek, translit. Perseús) is the legendary founder of Mycenae and of the Perseid dynasty. He was, alongside Cadmus ...

Eurymedon. Son of Zeus and Danaë (the daughter of Acrisios). Perseus never reigned at Argos, traded the kingdom of Argos for that of Tiryns (which had been ruled by Megapenthes) and established the city and kingdom of

Mycenae Mycenae ( ; grc, Μυκῆναι or , ''Mykē̂nai'' or ''Mykḗnē'') is an archaeological site near Mykines in Argolis, north-eastern Peloponnese, Greece. It is located about south-west of Athens; north of Argos; and south of Corinth. ...

. * Megapenthes. Son of Proetos. * Argeos. Son of Megapenthes.

Lineage of Anaxagoras

Anaxagoras Anaxagoras (; grc-gre, Ἀναξαγόρας, ''Anaxagóras'', "lord of the assembly"; 500 – 428 BC) was a Pre-Socratic Greek philosopher. Born in Clazomenae at a time when Asia Minor was under the control of the Persian Empire, ...

. A descendant of Megapenthes. The kingdom of Argos was divided into three parts. One third was given to

Melampos In Greek mythology, Melampus (; grc, Μελάμπους, ''Melampous'') was a legendary soothsayer and healer, originally of Pylos, who ruled at Argos. He was the introducer of the worship of Dionysus, according to Herodotus, who asserted tha ...

and another to

Bias Bias is a disproportionate weight ''in favor of'' or ''against'' an idea or thing, usually in a way that is closed-minded, prejudicial, or unfair. Biases can be innate or learned. People may develop biases for or against an individual, a group ...

(brother of Melampos) while Anaxagoras and his lineage continued to rule the central region. * Alector. Son of Anaxagoras. *

Iphis In Greek and Roman mythology, Iphis or Iphys ( , ; grc, Ἶφις ''Îphis'' , gen. Ἴφιδος ''Ī́phidos'') was a child of Telethusa and Ligdus in Crete, born female and raised male, who was later transformed by the goddess Isis into a man ...

. Son of Alector. * Sthenelos. Regained the portion of the kingdom given to Melampus upon the death of Amphilochus. * Cylarabes, or Cylarabos, or Cylasabos. Son of Sthenelos. Regained the portion of the kingdom given to Bias upon the death of Cyanippus.

Lineage of Melampus

. * Antiphates. *

Oicles In Greek mythology, Oicles or Oecles (; grc, Οἰκλῆς), also Oicleus or Oecleus (; Οἰκλεύς), was the father of the seer Amphiaraus. He accompanied Heracles on his campaign against Troy. Family According to Homer's ''Odyssey'', Oicl ...

or Oikles or Oecles. * Amphiaraus or Amphiaraos. * Amphilochos. Son of Alcmaeon; he bequeathed his portion of the kingdom of Argos to Sthenelos.

Lineage of Bias

Talaus In Greek mythology, Talaus ( grc, Ταλαός) was the king of Argos and one of the Argonauts. He was the son of Bias (or Perialces) and Pero. His wife was Lysimache, daughter of Abas (also known as Eurynome, Lysippe or Lysianassa, daug ...

or Talaon. Son of Bias. One of the Argonauts. *

Adrastos In Greek mythology, Adrastus or Adrestus (Ancient Greek: Ἄδραστος or Ἄδρηστος), (perhaps meaning "the inescapable"), was a king of Argos, and leader of the Seven against Thebes. He was the son of the Argive king Talaus, but was ...

. Son of Talaos. Name is translated traditionally as "nonparticipant" or "uncooperative". Reigned during the war of the Seven Against Thebes. *

Diomedes Diomedes (Jones, Daniel; Roach, Peter, James Hartman and Jane Setter, eds. ''Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary''. 17th edition. Cambridge UP, 2006.) or Diomede (; grc-gre, Διομήδης, Diomēdēs, "god-like cunning" or "advised by ...

. According to legend,

Cometes In Greek mythology, Cometes (Ancient Greek: Κομήτης) may refer to the following figures: * Cometes, son of Thestius and brother of Prothous and Althaea. *Cometes, the Peirasian father of Asterius, one of the Argonauts. His wife could be A ...

, son of Sthenelos, had an affair with Diomedes's wife Aegiale while Diomedes was away for the

Trojan War In Greek mythology, the Trojan War was waged against the city of Troy by the Achaeans (Greeks) after Paris of Troy took Helen from her husband Menelaus, king of Sparta. The war is one of the most important events in Greek mythology and ha ...

. * Cyanippus. Son of Aegialeus and grandson of Adrastus. Upon his death, Cylarabes assumed control of his kingdom, thus reuniting Argolis.

Pelopid Dynasty

* Orestes. King of

and son of Agamemnon of the Trojan War. Orestes gained the throne of Argos and Sparta upon the death of Cylarabes. * Tisamenos. Son of Orestes. He was the final king of Argos, Mycenae and Sparta before the kingdom was conquered by the Heracleidae.

Heraclid Dynasty

* Temenus. Son of Aristomachos. Ancestor of the royal Macedonian dynasty, the

Temenids In Greek mythology, Temenus ( el, Τήμενος, ''Tḗmenos'') was a son of Aristomachus and brother of Cresphontes and Aristodemus. Temenus was a great-great-grandson of Heracles and helped lead the fifth and final attack on Mycenae in the ...

. * Pheidon I. Son of Temenus. * Deiphontes. Son-in-law of Temenos. * Cisos or Ceisos. Temenos had left his kingdom to his son in law Deiphontes even though he had natural sons of his own. In consequence of this, Deiphontes was slain by the stratagems of the sons of Temenos, the eldest of whom, Cisos, became king. * Medon. Son of Ceisos. * Maron. Son of Ceisos.Theophilus of Antioch, Apology to Autolycu
2.7
/ref> * Thestros(also known as thestios). Son of Maron. * Akoos(or Acous) or

Merops MEROPS is an online database for peptidases (also known as proteases, proteinases and proteolytic enzymes) and their inhibitors. The classification scheme for peptidases was published by Rawlings & Barrett in 1993, and that for protein inhibi ...

. Sons of Thestros. * Aristodamidas(or Aristodamis). Son of Akoos or Merops. * Eratos(Eratus). * Pheidon II. Son of Aristodamidas. * Damocratidas(dated by G.Huxley at around 600 B.C). *''unknown'' * Leokedes (also known as Lacidaus, or Lacidamos in some Italian versions or Lacedas). Son of Pheidon. * Meltas. Son of Lacidamos. After the death of Temenos, the royal prerogative began to decrease. To Cisos succeeded Lacidamos, who had little else than the title of king. His son Meltas, impatient of such restraint, endeavored, when it was too late, to restore it to its ancient dignity; but the people were by that time so powerful that, as soon as they discovered his plan, they ended the royal power, converted the government to a democracy, and condemned Meltas to death. After Meltas, the kingship survived into historical times but rarely had any political power, one exception being the tyrant king Pheidon.

Non-Heraclid Dynasty

This is the king after the heraaclids fell out. * Aigon(Aegon).(According to Plutarch in

Moralia The ''Moralia'' ( grc, Ἠθικά ''Ethika''; loosely translated as "Morals" or "Matters relating to customs and mores") is a group of manuscripts dating from the 10th–13th centuries, traditionally ascribed to the 1st-century Greek scholar Plu ...

)

Plutarch Plutarch (; grc-gre, Πλούταρχος, ''Ploútarchos''; ; – after AD 119) was a Greek Middle Platonist philosopher, historian, biographer, essayist, and priest at the Temple of Apollo in Delphi. He is known primarily for his ...

.On the Fortune or the Virtue of Alexander,Moralia