----- Original Message -----
From: Jansy Berndt de Souza Mello
To: don barton johnson
Sent: Wednesday, January 19, 2005 9:51 PM
Subject: Fw: Argus

The dog that greets Hugh in TT " had braved a fabulous age"  so I thought a little information on Argus ( with a picture of him on a coin, while jumping to greet Ulysses) might interest you.
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The tale of Argus, Ulysses' dog in "Homer's Odyssey," is the story of a dog's devotion. Ulysses, King of Ithaca, goes off to war to fight the Trojans. He promises his wife Penelope, his son, and his dog Argus, that he will return quickly, but the prolonged war and his fabled journey home delay his return for twenty years. By the time he returns, many changes have taken place, since he was presumed long dead. So Ulysses disguised himself as a beggar, rather than alert anyone to his return. When he arrives at his home, he meets a very old dog, and realizes that it is his beloved Argus. Despite the long separation, and his master's disguise, Argus immediately recognizes Ulysses and lifts his head, and hearing his master's voice, Argus cocks his ears and slowly rises to his feet. Ulysses, tears in his eyes, embraces his old friend, and Argus, devoted to the very end, dies peacefully.

ROME, C. Mamilius C.f. Limetanus, Denarius
AR Denarius (3.9 grams), struck by C. Mamilius C.f. Limetanus, 82 B.C. On the obverse is a bust of Mercury, the messenger of the gods, right, caduceus and control letter behind. / C MAMIL LIMETAN, Ulysses holding a staff, greets his dog, Argus. Both the obverse and reverse of this coin refer to the Moneyer's family, which claimed descent from Mamilia, the daughter of Telegonus, who was the son of Ulysses, and a descendant of Mercury. Crawford 362/1, Sydenham 741, RCV 282.