Ares, classical sculpture; in the National Roman Museum, Rome
ANDERSON-AUNARI FROM ART RESOURCE
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Argerich ► Aries I 101
became president on his death in 1974 but lost power after another mili¬ tary coup in 1976. The military government tried to take the Falkland Islands (Islas Malvinas) in 1982 but was defeated by the British in the Falkland Islands War, with the result that the government returned to civilian rule in 1983. The government of Raul Alfonsin worked to end the human rights abuses that had characterized the former regimes. Hyperin¬ flation, however, led to public riots and Alfonsin’s party’s electoral defeat in 1989; his Peronist successor, Carlos Menem, instituted laissez-faire eco¬ nomic policies. In 1999 Fernando de la Rua of the Alliance coalition was elected president, and his administration struggled with rising unemploy¬ ment, heavy foreign debt, and government corruption.
Argerich \'ar-ger-ich\, Martha (b. June 5, 1941, Buenos Aires, Arg.) Argentine pianist. A prodigy, she began concertizing before she was 10. In 1955 she went to Europe, where her teachers included Arturo Bene- detti Michelangeli (1920-95). She won two prestigious competitions at age 16 and the Chopin competition in 1965. Her exceptionally brilliant technique, emotional depth, and elan won her an enthusiastic international following.
arginine \'ar-ja- l nen\ One of the essential amino acids, particularly abun¬ dant in histones and other proteins associated with nucleic acids. It plays an important metabolic role in the synthesis of UREA, the principal form in which mammals excrete nitrogen compounds. Arginine is used in medi¬ cine and biochemical research, in pharmaceuticals, and as a dietary supplement.
argon Chemical element, chemical symbol Ar, atomic number 18. Colourless, odourless, and tasteless, it is the most abundant of the noble GASes on Earth and the one most used in industry. It constitutes about 1 % of air and is obtained by distillation of liquid air. Argon provides an inert gas shield in welding and brazing, in lightbulbs and lasers, in Geiger counters, and in the production and fabrication of certain metals. Because a radioactive form of argon is produced by decay of a naturally occurring radioactive potassium isotope, it can be used to date rocks and samples more than 100,000 years old.
argon-argon dating See potassium-argon dating
Argonauts In Greek legend, a band of 50 heroes who went with Jason in the ship Argo to retrieve the Golden Fleece from the grove of Ares at Colchis. They had many adventures before arriving at Colchis, from which they were even¬ tually forced to flee, pursued by Medea’s father, Aeetes. The Argo eventually returned to Jason’s home kingdom (Iolcus) and was placed in a grove sacred to Poseidon; Jason died when its prow toppled as he was resting in its shadow.
Argos Ancient city-state, north¬ eastern Peloponnese, Greece. Under the Argive king Pheidon, it was the dominant city-state in the Peloponnese in the 7th century bc until the rise of Sparta. After suffer¬ ing incursions from Macedonia,
Argos joined the Achaean League in 229 bc. Later it came under Roman rule. The city flourished in Byzantine times but ultimately fell to the Otto¬ man Empire in the 16th century. During the War of Greek Independence (1821-29), the first free Greek Parliament was convened at Argos. The modern town (pop., 1991: 22,429) is an agricultural centre.
argument from design or teleological argument Argument for the existence of God. According to one version, the universe as a whole is like a machine; machines have intelligent designers; like effects have like causes; therefore, the universe as a whole has an intelligent designer, which is God. The argument was propounded by medieval Christian thinkers, especially St. Thomas Aquinas, and was developed in great detail in the 17th and 18th centuries by writers such as Samuel Clarke (1675— 1729) and William Paley. It was powerfully criticized by David Hume in his Dialogues Concerning Natural Religion. Immanuel Kant also rejected the
argument. In the late 20th century the argument was revived as the doc¬ trine of INTELLIGENT DESIGN. See also CREATIONISM.
Argun Var-'gun\ River Chinese Ergun He or O-erh-ku-na
Vo-'ar-'gii-'naV Ho River, northeastern Asia. Rising in the Da Hinggan (Greater Khingan) Range, it runs about 1,000 mi (1,600 km), forming part of the boundary between northeastern China and Russia and uniting with the Shilka River to form the Amur River. In its upper course it is called the Hailar.
arhat \'ar-hot\ or arahant Va-ro-hantX In Buddhism, one who has gained insight into the true nature of existence, has achieved nirvana, and will not be reborn. Theravada Buddhism regards becoming an arhat as the goal of spiritual progress. It holds that a seeker must pass through three ear¬ lier stages before being reborn in a heaven as an arhat. Mahayana Bud¬ dhism criticizes the goal of becoming an arhat as selfish and considers the bodhisattva to be a higher goal because the bodhisattva remains in the cycle of rebirths to work for the good of others. This divergence of opin¬ ion is one of the fundamental differences between Theravada and Maha¬ yana Buddhism.
Arhus or Aarhus Vor-.husX Seaport (pop., 2001: 286,688), eastern Jut¬ land, Denmark. It lies along Arhus Bay and has an extensive harbour. Its origins are unknown, but it became a bishopric in ad 948 and, with its many religious institutions, prospered during the Middle Ages. In mod¬ ern times, industrialization and harbour expansion have made it Den¬ mark’s second largest city.
aria Solo song with instrumental accompaniment in opera, cantata, or oratorio. The strophic or stanzaic aria, in which each new stanza might represent a melodic variation on the first, appeared in opera in Claudio Monteverdi’s Orfeo (1607) and was widely used for decades. The stan¬ dard aria form c. 1650-1775 was the da capo aria, in which the opening melody and text are repeated after an intervening melody-text section (often in a different key, tempo, and metre); the return of the first section was often virtuosically embellished by the singer. Comic operas never limited themselves to da capo form. Even in serious opera, from c. 1750 a variety of forms were used; Gioacchino Rossini and others often expanded the aria into a complete musical scene in which two or more conflicting emotions were expressed. Richard Wagner’s operas largely abandoned the aria in favour of a continuous musical texture, but arias have never ceased to be written.