In Homer's Odyssey, Argos (Argus) is Odysseus's faithful hunting dog. Bred by the king before he sailed for Troy, the hound is neglected for twenty years, lying vermin-ridden in dung. When the disguised Odysseus returns to Ithaca, Argos alone recognizes him at once, wags his tail, drops his ears, and dies — one of the poem's most famous recognition scenes. Distinct from Argus Panoptes, Argus the Argo-builder, and other Argos/Argus figures.
Adapted from Wikipedia, "Argos (dog)" · CC BY-SA 4.0
I.Recognition in Odyssey 17
As Odysseus and the swineherd Eumaeus approach the palace, Argos — once a peerless hunter of goats, deer, and hares — lies filthy and tick-infested. He alone marks his master through the beggar's disguise. Too weak to rise, he signals recognition; Odysseus wipes away a hidden tear and asks Eumaeus about the dog without revealing himself.
As the men enter where the suitors feast, black death seizes Argos in the twentieth year — language Homer elsewhere reserves for noble warrior deaths. Scholars read the episode as anagnorisis, pathos, and a metaphor for the decay of Odysseus's household (oikos).
II.Homonym care
The atlas id argos-dog is Odysseus's hound only. Other Argus/Argos nodes include the hundred-eyed watchman (argus-panoptes), the shipwright of the Argo (argus-arestor), and Colchian Argus son of Phrixus (argus-colchis).