Algunas notas sobre la figura de Argantonio y sus elementos míticos

Abstract

Los aspectos míticos de la figura de Argantonio, manifestación del buen monarca acogedor del viajero y expresión de la idea de fuente de riqueza lejana y misteriosa; la base mítica de su cronología vital, determinada por la aplicación de un módulo cronológico mítico de origen mesopotámico integrado en el acervo mítico griego, la utilización de un verdadero cliché narrativo para contar la historia de sus relaciones con los marinos foceos y el probable origen de su propio nombre, quizá tomado por Caronte de Lámpsaco de un ciclo mitológico bitinio, permiten poner muy en duda la historicidad de este personaje.

Several elements of the story narrated by Herodotus (I, 163) about Arganthonius, King of Tartessos, raise questions on the historical reality of this character: first, the mythical aspects of his figure, since he can be considered both a realization of the picture of the friendly king who welcomes travelers and an embodiment of the idea of a far-off and mysterious source of wealth; second, the chronology of his reign and his life, in which a mythical period of Mesopotamian origin was used; third, the history itself of his relationships with the Phocaean sailors, in which a narrative cliché was employed, and finally the likely origin of his own name, maybe taken perhaps by Charon of Lampsacus from a Bithynian mythological cycle.