Argos

Argos is the setting of the tale of Lydia, Nicostratus, and Pyrrhus, where a city introduced through the contrast between its royal past and modest scale frames the intimate intrigues of a wealthy household. Its narrative importance lies less in civic description than in the way its domestic spaces—a dining hall and a garden—become settings for Lydia’s bold maneuvers.

Setting and Introduction

The tale places Argos in Achia, describing it as far more famous for the kings who once ruled there than great in itself. The brief introduction gives the city a storied past while keeping the focus on the household where the action unfolds. Nicostratus is a wealthy nobleman nearing old age; his wife Lydia is of high family, beautiful, and strong-willed. Their household includes Pyrrhus, a handsome young servant whom Nicostratus trusts especially, and for whom Lydia develops an intense passion.

Household Scenes

At a dinner hosted by Nicostratus for several gentlemen, Lydia makes a public show of avenging herself on the hawk that occupies her husband’s attention: she releases it from its perch and kills it against a wall. She tells the guests that Nicostratus’s hunting leaves her alone while he rides out with the bird. The men take her explanation at face value, and their amusement turns Nicostratus’s anger into laughter. Pyrrhus, however, recognizes the act as the beginning of Lydia’s plan to secure his love.

A garden scene further establishes the household’s grounds as a place where appearances can be manipulated. Lydia pretends to be unwell and asks Nicostratus and Pyrrhus to help her into the garden, where they seat her beneath a pear tree. At her request, Pyrrhus climbs up to gather fruit and feigns astonishment at what he claims to see below. The scene draws Nicostratus into questioning his own perception, while Lydia acts as though Pyrrhus is raving.

Narrative Significance

Argos is rendered through these sharply staged episodes rather than through a sustained account of its streets or public life. The city’s remembered kings provide a brief historical frame; the story then narrows to household spaces where wealth, trust, desire, and deception intersect. The hawk and the pear tree give Lydia’s maneuvers visible form, while the guests’ credulity and Nicostratus’s trust help expose the gap between what the household appears to be and what Lydia is secretly arranging.