This presentation summarizes biographies from ancient Spain, including King Gargoris of the Conii people who abandoned his infant grandson but the baby was protected by animals. Another king, Habis, established laws and social classes in Tartessos. Arganthonios ruled Tartessos for 120 years and aided Greeks with silver. The presentation also discusses Hamilcar Barca, a Carthaginian general who expanded territories in Iberia to gain resources for fighting Rome.

1. INTERESTING
BIOGRAPHIES RELATED
WITH THE ANCIENT ERA IN
SPAIN
In this presentation we are going to learn the stories of Gargoris,
Habis, Arganthonios and Hamilcar Barca.
Salvador Fuentes Lucas-Torres. Second
of Bachillerato, group B.

2. • Gargoris, Habis and Arganthonios belonged to this people.
• The origin of Conii people is unknown (Celts or pre-Celts). The legend says that their
capital city was Conistorgis, which was destroyed by the Lusitanians because the
Conii were an ally of the Romans. This hasn’t been proved.
• The Conii were a people of Tartessos (later included in the Turdetani).
 What we know about this territory comes from Greek and Eastern sources. It was supposed to be a very
rich kingdom. Its wealth was based on agriculture, stockbreeding, fishing and the rich mines of copper
in Huelva and the control of tin trade from the Atlantic. Archaeologists haven’t found any remains of
cities of this legendary kingdom yet, but they have found treasures in Carambolo (Seville), Aliseda
(Cáceres), etc.

3. According to the legend, Gargoris was the king of the Conii. He invented
apiculture. He had sexual relations with his daughter and she got
pregnant. Gargoris, dishonored, locked his daughter up and abandoned the baby
in the forest.
The legend was spread by
Roman historian Justin.
Instead of devouring him, animals
fed him. Gargoris discovered that
the baby wasn’t dead and threw the
baby to a crew of sows and female
dogs, but the animals looked after
the baby again. Gargoris tried to
get rid off the baby again, leaving
him in a basket on the sea. Gods
took care of the baby and he
arrived to the seashore, where he
was picked up and looked after by
a doe.

4. The baby grew and was reared as a savage. One day he fell into a trap of
Gargoris’ soldiers and was carried to him. Gargoris recognized him and
understood that he was protected by Gods. Gargoris named him Habis
and proclaimed him as his successor.
Tartessos people
occupied the
South West part of
the Iberian
Peninsula from
2000 BC to the
6th century BC.
According to other sources, the baby was
picked up by a woman who reared him.
The baby became an educated and hard-working
boy and when he grew up, he became a bandit
who stole things to rich people to give them to
poor people.
The invention of agriculture with plough is
attributed to Habis, as well as Tartessos laws
and division of society into seven classes, that
forbade servants’ tasks to the elite. He was a
generous and intelligent king.

5. According to the veracity of the facts
related by the legend, it’s evident that
the story has a lot of things in
common with other myths. For
example Moses or Romulus and
Remus survived thanks to gods
or animals’ help. It is an example of
cultural and religious influence of
Phoenician traders.

6. Arganthonios was Habis’ son. His reign corresponds
to the period of maximum splendor of Tartessos
civilization. He lived for 120 years (670-550 BC), so
many historians say that maybe he wasn’t a king but
a dynasty. Others say that he lived for three hundred
years.
Greek sources say that his
kingdom was rich in precious
metals (his name means Silver
Man). With these metals he
helped the Phocaeans to
resist the Persian invasion.
He helped them with 1.5 tones
of silver to his allies in total.
Phocaea

7. 15 years after his death, the decline of Tartessos civilization started.
Commercial relations
between the Tartessos
and the Phocaeans and
other Greek peoples
finished, so Tartessos
civilization was forgotten
little by little since that
moment.
The Carthaginians
allied with the
Etruscan people
because they wanted
to expell the Greeks
from their area of
influence.
Around 120 Carthaginian ships faced the 60
Phocaeans ships in the naval battle of Alaia.
The Phocaeans won, but they lost more than
half of their ships, so that battle supposed the
end of Phocaean expansion.

8. Hamilcar Barca (290-229 BC) was an
important Carthaginian general.
• He commanded the Carthaginian troops
from 247 to 241 BC in the First Punic
War (264-241 BC). He was defeated in 241
BC in the naval battle of Egadi Islands,
in which Cartago lost Sicily.
• Then, he had to face the uprising of his
own mercenaries between 241 and 238
BC and he lost Sardinia.
• Peoples of the Iberian Peninsula took
advantage of Carthage’s weakness and
fought for their freedom, but Hamilcar
directed the troops to the Iberian
Peninsula to get resources in order to
start a campaign against Rome.
Territories owned by Carthage
and Rome at the beginning of
the First Punic War.

9. He founded Akra Leuke (present Benacantil, in Alicante). He
advanced even across areas of Roman influence and, in order to
calm down the Romans, he said that Carthage needed resources
because it was in crisis due to territorial losses.
He died in combat during the siege of Heliké, against the
Oretani. Other sources say that Hamilcar died drowned.
His son-in-law, Hasdrubal the
Fair, continued with the
mission until 221 BC and later
his son, Hannibal, until 183
BC. Hannibal fought against the
Romans again in the Second
Punic War (218-201 BC),
where he was defeated in the
battle of Zama in 202 BC .

10. • Blog Las leyendas de tartesos on the Internet. Mario Cayetano. Published on the 23푟푑 December
2010. http://lasleyendasdetartesos.blogspot.com.es/2010/12/gargoris-y-habis-mitos-ii.html
• Planeta Sapiens on the Internet. Javier García Blanco. Published on the 1푠푡September 2009.
http://www.planetasapiens.com/?p=1719
• Wikipedia on the Internet. Created in 2004. Last modification on the 7푡ℎMarch 2003.
http://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Habis
• Wikipedia on the Internet. Created in 2006. Last modification on the 27푡ℎSeptember 2014.
http://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conios
• Wikipedia on the Internet. Created in 2004. Last modification on the 1푠푡August 2014.
http://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Argantonio
• Andalupedia on the Internet. http://www.andalupedia.es/p_termino_detalle.php?id_ter=20350
• El Mundo, sección Suplementos, on the Internet. Juan Antonio Cebrián. Published on the 15푡ℎ
January 2006. http://www.elmundo.es/suplementos/magazine/2006/329/1137177199.html
• Wikipedia on the Internet. Created in 2005. Last modification on the 6푡ℎJuly 2014.
http://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Batalla_de_Alalia
• Biografías y vidas on the Internet. http://www.biografiasyvidas.com/biografia/a/amilcar.htm
• Artehistoria on the Internet. http://www.artehistoria.jcyl.es/v2/personajes/4431.htm
• Wikipedia on the Internet. Created in 2003. Last modification on the 30푡ℎAugust 2014.
http://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Segunda_Guerra_P%C3%BAnica

11. PRESENTATION MADE BY
SALVADOR FUENTES LUCAS-TORRES
ퟐ풏풅 of Bachillerato, group B
ퟐퟖ풕풉 September 2014