Argia

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Argia is mentioned by Dante in the twenty-second canto of Purgatory, where the poet recalls, alongside Antigone and Deifile, certain female figures from the epic tradition sung by Statius. The critical notes to the canto identify her as the sister of Deifile, the wife of Tydeus one of the seven kings who besieged Thebes, and the spouse of Polynices, to whom belonged the ill-fated adornment alluded to in the passage of the Thebaid. Her presence in the Thebaid is placed by Statius in an episode of youthful modesty, recalled by Dante also in the Convivio. In Purgatory Dante numbers her among the legendary characters of Statius's poetry, placing her alongside the historical names of ancient poets according to a procedure that the same author also employs for the inhabitants of Limbo and for the lustful. For Statius these figures have an exemplary value no less real than that of the historical poets.