ABSTRACT
At the time of the Theban wars, which took place a generation or so before the Trojan War, the Argolid was no longer under common rule, but had come to be divided into two separate sections for reasons that were considered in Chapter 7 (see pp. 237ff). The north-western section, which was ruled from Mycenae, had fallen under the control of Atreus’ branch of the Pelopid family, while the other section of the province, whose main city was Argos, was still under the control of the old Argive ruling family and the royal lines established by Bias and Melampous (see p. 429 for the origin of the latter). Although Adrastos tried to enlist the Mycenaeans for the expedition of the Seven (see p. 318), the Argive cities under Pelopid rule took no part in either of the Theban wars and were unaffected by their outcome; but the dynastic history of the other section of the Argolid was greatly affected by the two wars, since many leading members of its ruling families were killed in them or as a consequence of them.
